Kunala

2021-06-02T18:20:15Z

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{{Use dmy dates|date=December 2015}}
{{Use Indian English|date=December 2015}}
{{redirect|Kunal}}
{{one source|article|date=January 2009}}
{{infobox royalty
| title = [[Crown prince]] of the [[Maurya Empire]]
| dynasty = [[Maurya Empire|Maurya]]
| father = [[Ashoka]]
| mother = [[Padmavati (wife of Ashoka)|Padmavati]]
| issue = [[Samprati]]
| spouse = Kanchanamala
| birth_date = 263 BC<ref name=Mookerji />
}}
'''Kunala''' ([[IAST]]: {{IAST|Kuṇāla }}) (263 BC – ?) was a son of Emperor [[Ashoka]] and Queen [[Padmavati (wife of Ashoka)|Padmavati]]<ref>{{cite book|last1=Lahiri|first1=Nayanjot|title=Ashoka in Ancient India|date=2015|publisher=Harvard University Press|isbn=0674057775|page=284}}</ref> and the [[Heir presumptive|presumptive heir]] to Ashoka, thus the heir to the [[Mauryan Empire]] which once ruled almost all of the [[Indian subcontinent]]. After the departure of [[Mahinda (buddhist monk)|Mahendra]], Ashoka's eldest son, he was supposed to be the heir to the empire, but was blinded by his step-mother, [[Tishyaraksha]], at a young age in jealousy. While he was not able to take the throne, his son, [[Samprati]], became his heir.

Kunala also served as the [[Viceroy]] of [[Taxila]] during the reign of his father, having been appointed to the position in 235 BC.<ref name=Mookerji>{{cite book|last1=Mookerji|first1=Radhakumud|title=Aśoka|date=1995|publisher=Motilal Banarsidass Publ|location=Delhi|isbn=9788120805828|page=45,124|edition=3. rev. ed., repr}}</ref>

==Significance of name==
Kuṇāla is the name of a Himalayan bird, the 'Painted Snipes'.{{Citation needed|date=January 2016}} Kunal also means "bird with beautiful eyes", "someone who sees beauty in everything" or "one with beautiful eyes".<ref name=strong>{{cite book|last1=Strong|first1=John S.|title=The legend of King Aśoka : a study and translation of the Aśokāvadāna|date=1989|publisher=Princeton University Press|location=Princeton|isbn=0-691-01459-0|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=feD_AwAAQBAJ}}</ref>

==Early life==
Due to the death of his birth mother, Padmavati, within a few months of his birth, he was raised by Ashoka's chief queen consort [[Asandhimitra]], who loved him like her own son. Due to this, Asandhimitra is often mistaken to be his birth mother. At the age of eight, Ashoka sent his son to [[Ujjain]], to be brought up and carry out his princely education, to become the heir to the throne of the [[Mauryan Empire]].{{cn|date=November 2015}}

==Blinding==
When the prince was eight years old, the king wrote (in [[Prakrit]]) to the tutors that Kunala should begin his studies.<ref name="strong"/> One of Ashoka's wives who wanted to secure the succession to her own son, being then present, took up the letter to read it. She secretly put a dot over the letter 'a', changed Adheeyu into Andheeyu—another word, meaning he must be blinded. Without rereading the letter, the king sealed and dispatched it. The clerk in Ujjayini was so shocked by the contents of this letter that he was unable to read it aloud to the prince. Kunala, therefore, seized the letter and read the cruel sentence of his father. Considering that as yet no Maurya prince had disobeyed the chief of the house, and unwilling to set a bad example, he stoutly put out his eyesight with a hot iron".<ref name="strong"/>

Alternatively, some stories explain that Kunala had been sent to Taxila to put down a rebellion, which he managed to do peacefully. But he was similarly blinded through the treacherousness of Ashoka's wife [[Tishyaraksha]].<ref name="strong"/>

It is said by some scholars that the letter was sent to Kunal; not believing it, Kunal went to his father. This made King Ashoka angry, finding out that his wife had changed the letter, he sentenced her to death. Kunal then became heir to the throne of Mauryan Empire. It is uncertain whether this is true.{{cn|date=November 2015}}

==Attempts to claim throne==
Years later Kunala came to Ashoka's court dressed as a minstrel accompanied by his favourite wife [[Kanchanmala]]. When he greatly pleased the king by his music, the king wanted to reward him. At this, the minstrel revealed himself as prince Kunala and demanded his inheritance. Ashoka sadly objected that being blind, Kunala never could ascend the throne. Thereupon the latter said that he claimed the kingdom not for himself but for his son. "When," cried the king, "has a son been born to you?" "[[Samprati]]" (meaning "Just now") was the answer. Samprati accordingly was the name given to Kunala's son, and though a baby, he was appointed Ashoka's successor. However, when Ashoka died, Samprati was too young to rule. Therefore, Ashoka was succeeded by another, older grandson, [[Dasharatha Maurya|Dasharatha]]. After the demise of Dasharatha, Samprati did indeed become Emperor.<ref name="strong"/>

It is said that Prince Kunala established a kingdom in the Mithila region on the Indo-Nepal Border. It might be the same place where the present village, [[Kunauli]] (earlier known as Kunal Gram) at the bank of Kosi river on the Indo-Nepal Border is situated. There are some historical and archaeological evidences to support this claim.{{cn|date=November 2015}}

==Portrayal in popular media==
A semi-fictionalized portrayal of Kunal's life was produced as a motion picture under the title ''[[Veer Kunal]]'' (1941). ''[[Ashok Kumar (film)|Ashok Kumar]]'', a Tamil film was produced in 1941 based on the life of Kunal.<ref>[[Ashok Kumar (film)#CITEREFRajadhyakshaWillemen1998|Rajadhyaksha & Willemen 1998]], p. 288.</ref>

==See also==
* [[History of India]]
* [[Dhritarashtra]]

==References==
{{reflist}}
[[Category:Blind royalty and nobility]]
[[Category:People of the Maurya Empire]]
[[Category:Heirs apparent who never acceded]]
[[Category:Blind people from India]]
[[Category:Ashoka]]
[[Category:3rd-century BC Indian people]]
[[Category:Mauryan dynasty]]

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Kunala