>245CMR at 15:57, 5 June 2021

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{{Short description|Queen and chief consort of the Mauryan emperor Ashoka}}
'''Asandhamitra''' was a queen and chief consort of the [[Maurya Empire|Mauryan]] emperor [[Ashoka]]. She was Ashoka's first [[queen consort]]<ref name=":0"/> and third queen.<ref name=":1"/>

Given the title "agramahisi", or "Chief Queen",<ref name="The Maha Bodhi: Volume 104">{{cite book |title=The Maha Bodhi: Volume 104 |date=1996 |publisher=University of Michigan |pages=25–26 |url=https://www.google.co.in/books/edition/The_Maha_Bodhi/JnjXAAAAMAAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&bsq=Asandhimitra&dq=Asandhimitra&printsec=frontcover}}</ref> Ahenkara was likely from a royal family.<ref name=":1"/> She did not have any children.<ref name=":1"/> After her death, [[Tishyarakshita]] became the chief queen of Ashoka.<ref name=":0"/><br/> {{Infobox royalty
| full name = Ahenkara
| dynasty = [[Maurya]]
| spouse = [[Ashoka]]
| issue = [[Charumati]] (adopted daughter)
| religion = [[Buddhism]]
| father =
|name=Ahenkara| birth_date = 302 BC
| death_date = 240 BC
| birth_place =[[Asandhiwat Kingdom]]
}}

==Life==
She was born in [[the kingdom of Asandivat]] in 302 BC. She was married to Ashoka in 270 BC.<ref name="The Maha Bodhi: Volume 104"/> 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 king.<ref name="The Maha Bodhi: Volume 104"/><ref name=":1"/> At her death in 240 BC,<ref name="The Maha Bodhi: Volume 104"/> Ashoka was deeply grieved.<ref name=":1"/>

==Karmic legends==
The ''[[Mahavamsa]]'' tells a legend of how she became queen, stating that she became Ashoka's queen 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.<ref name=":2"/>

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.<ref name=":2"/>

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.<ref name=":2"/>

==References==
{{Reflist|refs=
<ref name=":0">{{cite book |last1=Barua |first1=Beni Madhab |last2=Topa |first2=Ishwar Nath |title=Asoka and his inscriptions |publisher=New Age Publishers |page=53 |url=https://www.google.com/books/edition/Asoka_and_his_inscriptions/cME5AQAAIAAJ |accessdate=25 September 2020 |language=en |volume=1}}</ref>

<ref name=":1">{{cite book |last1=Gupta |first1=Subhadra Sen |title=Ashoka: The Great and Compassionate King |publisher=Penguin Books |isbn=978-81-8475-807-8 |url=https://www.google.com/books/edition/Ashoka/L5ru08et_ZAC |accessdate=25 September 2020 |language=en}}</ref>

<ref name=":2">{{cite book |editor1-last=Holt |editor1-first=John Clifford |editor2-last=Kinnard |editor2-first=Jacob N. |editor3-last=Walters |editor3-first=Kinnard |title=Constituting Communities: Theravada Buddhism and the Religious Cultures of South and Southeast Asia |date=2003 |publisher=SUNY Press |isbn=978-0-7914-8705-1 |pages=43–51 |url=https://www.google.com/books/edition/Constituting_Communities/PnnG8sclrdYC |accessdate=25 September 2020 |language=en}}</ref>
}}
* Allen, Charles (2012). Ashoka: The Search for India's Lost Emperor. Hachette. {{ISBN|978-1-408-70388-5}}.

{{Authority control}}

[[Category:Ashoka]]
[[Category:Mauryan empresses]]

Asandhimitra - Revision history

>245CMR at 15:57, 5 June 2021