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Ashoka
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Amidst the tens of thousands of names of monarchs that crowd the columns of history, their majesties and graciousnesses and serenities and royal highnesses and the like, the name of Ashoka shines, and shines, almost alone, a star.
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The Gārgīsaṃhitā section of the Yuga Purāṇa assesses the damage caused by the invasion of Śakas (Scythians) as follows: caturbhāgaṃ tu śastreṇa nāśayiṣyanti prāṇinām/ śakāḥ śeṣaṃ hariṣyanti caturbhāgaṃ svakaṃ puraṃ. Vinaṣṭe śakarājye tu śūnyā pṛthvī bhaviṣyati. In other words, these wars of conquest reduced the population of north India by ‘one half, 25 per cent being killed and 25 per cent being enslaved and carried away’.27 The Yuga Purāṇa further informs us that during this period even women
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― From Fire to Light: Rereading the Manusmriti
― From Fire to Light: Rereading the Manusmriti
