Asandhimitra
Empress Consort of Maurya Dynasty
Wife of Ashoka
SpouseEmperor Ashoka The Great
DynastyMaurya
ReligionBuddhism

Asandhamitra was an empress and 1st chief consort of the Mauryan emperor Ashoka The Great. She was Ashoka's second wife and first empress consort[1][2]

Given the title "agramahisi", or "Chief Empress",[3] Asandhimitra was likely from a royal family.[2] She did not have any children.[2] After her death, Tishyarakshita became the chief empress of Ashoka.[1]

Life

According to Maha Bodhi Society, she was married to Ashoka during c. 270-240 BC.[3] She was a trusted, faithful, and favourite wife of Ashoka. She is often referred to as his "beloved" or his "dear" consort and is said to have been a trusted adviser of the emperor.[3][2] At her death in c. 240 BC,[3] Ashoka was deeply grieved.[2]

Karmic legends

The Mahavamsa tells a legend of how she became empress, stating that she became Ashoka's empress because in a previous life, she had given directions to a pratyekabuddha who was looking for a honey merchant. The story says that after the merchant filled his bowl completely with honey, the pratyekabuddha made a vow to become the lord of Jambudvipa. After hearing this, she herself wished they would be reborn as King and Queen, leading them to be reborn as Ashoka and Asandhimitra.[4]

In the Extended Mahavamsa, a story is additionally told that in a separate past life, Asandhimitra gave a pratyekabuddha a piece of cloth, which is thought to have given her the status of Queen, karmically independent of Asoka.[4]

In the Dasavatthuppakarana, it combines both stories into one, telling the story of the pratyekabuddha and the honey merchant and adding that Asandhimitra's past self gifted the same pratyekabuddha with a piece of cloth.[4]

References

  1. ^ a b Barua, Beni Madhab; Topa, Ishwar Nath (1968). Asoka and his inscriptions. Vol. 1. New Age Publishers. p. 53.
  2. ^ a b c d e Gupta, Subhadra Sen (8 September 2009). Ashoka: The Great and Compassionate King. Penguin Books. ISBN 978-81-8475-807-8. Retrieved 25 September 2020.
  3. ^ a b c d The Maha Bodhi: Volume 104. University of Michigan. 1996. pp. 25–26.
  4. ^ a b c Holt, John Clifford; Kinnard, Jacob N.; Walters, Kinnard, eds. (2003). Constituting Communities: Theravada Buddhism and the Religious Cultures of South and Southeast Asia. SUNY Press. pp. 43–51. ISBN 978-0-7914-8705-1. Retrieved 25 September 2020.