{"product_id":"9781350648401","title":"Fourth Wife Telling Ajatasattu’s Story","description":"\u003ch1\u003eFourth Wife\u003c\/h1\u003e\u003ch2\u003eTelling Ajatasattu’s Story\u003c\/h2\u003e\u003ch3\u003eVanessa R. Sasson\u003c\/h3\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cb\u003eReligion \/ Buddhism \/ General\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/div\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003eVanessa Sasson brings early Buddhist history to life in this captivating retelling of Ajatasattu, the Magadhan king infamous for having imprisoned his father to take the throne and who later confesses to the Buddha, hoping for some reprieve from his now ongoing nightmares and regret.\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eDrawing on her deep knowledge of Buddhist sources, Sasson presents Ajatasattu's story as a great human tragedy that reflects the fundamental teachings of the Buddhist Dharma. She tells Ajatasattu's story through the eyes of a fictional fourth wife, a vantage point that also enables the reader to imagine what women's lives may have been like during the time of the historical Buddha. Sasson confronts the reader with painfully contemporary questions of how to live with tyranny, how to reckon with intergenerational trauma, and how to face the inevitability of karma. Her prose renders the ancient world with vivid emotional depth.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eThe book opens with a short introduction focused on the role of storytelling in Buddhist history. It then follows with the narrative retelling of Ajatasattu's story, and ends with extensive endnotes that provide readers with a window into how Sasson drew on the classical sources, how the sources relate to each other, and give readers the tools required to reconstruct a story that belongs to ancient India.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003c\/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\n\u003cb\u003eVanessa R. Sasson\u003c\/b\u003e is Professor of Religious Studies in the Liberal and Creative Arts Department of Marianopolis College, Canada. Her publications include \u003ci\u003eYasodhara and the Buddha\u003c\/i\u003e (Bloomsbury, 2021).\u003c\/div\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003ctable\u003e\n\u003ctr\u003e\n\u003ctd\u003ePublication Date: \u003c\/td\u003e\n\u003ctd\u003e04 February 2027\u003c\/td\u003e\n\u003c\/tr\u003e\n\u003ctr\u003e\n\u003ctd\u003ePublisher: \u003c\/td\u003e\n\u003ctd\u003eBloomsbury Academic\u003c\/td\u003e\n\u003c\/tr\u003e\n\u003ctr\u003e\n\u003ctd\u003eImprint: \u003c\/td\u003e\n\u003ctd\u003eBloomsbury Academic\u003c\/td\u003e\n\u003c\/tr\u003e\n\u003ctr\u003e\n\u003ctd\u003eISBN-13: \u003c\/td\u003e\n\u003ctd\u003e9781350648401\u003c\/td\u003e\n\u003c\/tr\u003e\n\u003ctr\u003e\n\u003ctd\u003eFormat: \u003c\/td\u003e\n\u003ctd\u003eHardback\u003c\/td\u003e\n\u003c\/tr\u003e\n\u003ctr\u003e\n\u003ctd\u003ePage Count: \u003c\/td\u003e\n\u003ctd\u003e304\u003c\/td\u003e\n\u003c\/tr\u003e\n\u003ctr\u003e\n\u003ctd\u003eWeight (oz): \u003c\/td\u003e\n\u003ctd\u003e16.0\u003c\/td\u003e\n\u003c\/tr\u003e\n\u003c\/table\u003e","brand":"Bloomsbury Academic","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":51936259670156,"sku":"9781350648401","price":28.8,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0710\/9545\/1788\/files\/getimage_5093bb34-d849-4283-9510-481a52bf72e9.jpg?v=1786016537","url":"https:\/\/fh90cf-fv.myshopify.com\/products\/9781350648401","provider":"Late Knight Books and Services, LLC","version":"1.0","type":"link"}