Asandhamitra was a queen and chief consort of the Mauryan emperor Ashoka. She was Ashoka's first queen consort[1] and third queen.[2]
Given the title "agramahisi", or "Chief Queen",[3] Ahenkara was likely from a royal family.[2] She did not have any children.[2] After her death, Tishyarakshita became the chief queen of Ashoka.[1]
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Life
She was born in the kingdom of Asandivat in 302 BC. She was married to Ashoka in 270 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 king.[3][2] At her death in 240 BC,[3] Ashoka was deeply grieved.[2]
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.[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
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 Cite error: Invalid
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<ref>tag; no text was provided for refs named:1 - ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 3.3 The Maha Bodhi: Volume 104{{#if:|, {{{last}}}}. University of Michigan(1996)
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- Allen, Charles (2012). Ashoka: The Search for India's Lost Emperor. Hachette. Template:ISBN.