CandicePrenderga at 08:25, 7 March 2026

2026-03-07T08:25:07Z

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{{Use dmy dates|date=December 2015}}
{{Use Indian English|date=December 2015}}
{{Short description|Wife and Second Chief Queen of the emperor Ashoka}}
{{Infobox royalty
| image = File:Ashoka Inscriptions Queen's edict.jpg
| caption = The "[[Queen's edict]]" in [[Prayagraj]] mentions the charitable deeds of Karuvaki.
| birth_place = [[Kalinga (historical region)|Kalinga]]
| dynasty = [[Maurya Empire|Maurya]]
| title = [[Empress Consort]] of the [[Mauryan Empire]]
| father =
| spouse = [[Ashoka The Great]]
| issue = Prince [[Tivala]]
| religion = [[Buddhism]]
}}
'''Karuvaki''' was the "Second [[Maharani|Queen Consort]]"<ref>{{cite book|last1=Shah|first1=Kirit K.|title=The problem of identity : women in early Indian inscriptions|date=2001|publisher=Oxford University Press|location=New Delhi [u.a.]|isbn=9780195653229|pages=33, 180}}</ref> of the third Mauryan Emperor, [[Ashoka The Great]]. She was Ashoka's fourth wife and 2nd [[Empress consort]]. She was the mother of Ashoka's fourth son, Prince [[Tivala]].

==Life==

Karuvaki is mentioned in the Queen Edict wherein her religious and charitable donations were recorded as per her wishes. This gives an image of her being a self-possessed and strong-willed consort, who wanted an act of philanthropy recorded as specifically hers.<ref>{{cite book|title=Ashoka in Ancient India|year=2015|publisher=Harvard University Press|author=Nayanjot Lahiri|page=283}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|title=History of India, Volume 2; Volume 6|year=1906|publisher=The Grolier Society|author1=Romesh Chunder Dutt |author2=Vincent Arthur Smith |author3=Stanley Lane-Poole |author4=Henry Miers Elliot |author5=William Wilson Hunter |author6=Alfred Comyn Lyall |page=175}}</ref>

The edict also identifies her as mother to their son, Prince [[Tivala]] (also referred to as Tivara), who is the only son of Ashoka mentioned by name in his inscriptions.<ref>{{cite web |title = The Queen Edict |url=http://www.katinkahesselink.net/tibet/asoka1b.html#The_Queen|accessdate = 2009-03-05 |year = 1999 |publisher = Buddha's World}}</ref><ref name=Thapar>{{cite book|last=Thapar|first=Romila|title=Aśoka and the decline of the Mauryas|year=1973|page=30|publisher=Oxford University Press}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|title=The Cambridge Shorter History of India|page=53 |publisher=Cambridge University Press Archive}}</ref>

Despite the fact that Ashoka had many [[Rani|queens]], Karuvaki is the only queen of Ashoka who was named in his inscriptions and edicts.<ref>{{cite book|last1=Gupta|first1=Subhadra Sen|title=Ashoka|date=2009|publisher=Penguin UK|isbn=9788184758078|chapter=Ashoka's family}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal|author=University of Allahabad. Dept. of Modern Indian History, University of Kerala. Dept. of History, University of Travancore, University of Kerala|title=Journal of Indian History|publisher=Department of Modern Indian History|year=1963|volume=41|page=155}}</ref>

==Queen's Edict==
The Queen's Edict on the [[Allahabad Pillar]] refers to the charitable deeds of Karuvaki:{{sfn|Bhandarkar|1925|p=336}}{{sfn|Smith|1920|pp=215–219}}

{{quote|On the order of the Beloved of the Gods, the officers everywhere are to be instructed that whatever may be the gift of the second queen, whether a mango-grove, a monastery, an institution for dispensing charity or any other donation, it is to be counted to the credit of that queen ... the second queen, the mother of Tīvala, Karuvakī.<ref name="thapar">{{cite book|last1=Thapar|first1=Romila|author-link1=Romila Thapar|title=Aśoka and the Decline of the Mauryas|date=2012|publisher=Oxford University Press|location=New Delhi|isbn=9780198077244|pages=388–390|edition=3rd|chapter-url=http://www.oxfordscholarship.com/view/10.1093/acprof:oso/9780198077244.001.0001/acprof-9780198077244-appendix-5|access-date=8 February 2016|chapter=Appendix V: A Translation of the Edicts of Aśoka|chapter-url-access=subscription }}</ref>
}}

==In popular culture==
* Karuvaki was portrayed by [[Kareena Kapoor]] in the 2001 [[Bollywood]] film, ''[[Aśoka (film)|Aśoka]]''.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0249371/|title=Ashoka the Great (2001)|website=[[IMDb]]|accessdate=December 15, 2012}}</ref>
* [[Saumya Seth]] portrays Karuvaki in [[Colors TV]]'s 2015 historical drama, ''[[Chakravartin Ashoka Samrat]]'' while [[Reem Sheikh]] portrays the young Karuvaki.<ref>{{cite news|title=Reem to play Ashoka's love interest|url=https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/chakravartin-ashoka-samrat/photostory/49243582.cms|access-date=8 January 2016|work=[[The Times of India]]}}</ref>
* She is the main character of ''The Ashoka Trilogy'', The Prince of Pataliputra by Shreyas Bhave.
* Kalinga Karuvaki Award established by [[Kalinga Literary Festival]] to honour the great warrior princess of Kalinga<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.dailypioneer.com/state-editions/bhubaneswar/kalinga-lit-fest-begins-in-city-on-june-10.html |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180526190051/http://www.dailypioneer.com/state-editions/bhubaneswar/kalinga-lit-fest-begins-in-city-on-june-10.html |archive-date=26 May 2018 |title=Kalinga Lit Fest begins in city on June 10}}</ref>
* [[Mallika Singh]] portrays Karuvaki in [[Ekta Kapoor]]'s historical drama series ''[[Pracchand Ashok]]'' on [[Colors TV]].<ref name="Ashok">[https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/tv/news/hindi/adnan-khan-and-mallika-singh-starrer-new-historical-show-pracchand-ashok-is-all-set-to-launch-soon-watch-promo/articleshow/106484016.cms Adnan Khan and Mallika Singh to play leads in Ekta Kapoor's new historical drama series 'Pracchand Ashok']</ref>

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==Sources==
* {{cite book | last1=Bhandarkar | first1=D. R. | url=https://books.google.com/books?id=hhlfSZLDjRsC | title=Ashoka | publisher=Asian Educational Services | date=1925 | author-link=D. R. Bhandarkar | pages=336 | isbn=8120613333 }}* {{cite book | last=Smith | first=Vincent Arthur | author-link=Vincent Arthur Smith | url=https://books.google.com/books?id=4o_URem5WMcC | title=Ashoka, the Buddhist Emperor of India | publisher=Asian Educational Services| year=1920 | pages=215–219 | isbn=8120613031 }}

[[Category:3rd-century BC women]]
[[Category:Women from Odisha]]
[[Category:Kalinga (India)]]
[[Category:Buddhism and Hinduism]]
[[Category:Indian Buddhists]]
[[Category:Converts to Buddhism from Hinduism]]
[[Category:Wives of Ashoka]]
[[Category:3rd-century BC Buddhists]]
[[Category:3rd-century BC Indian people]]

Karuvaki - Revision history

CandicePrenderga at 08:25, 7 March 2026