Asandhamitra was a queen and chief consort of the
Mauryan
The Maurya Empire, or the Mauryan Empire, was a geographically extensive Iron Age historical power in the Indian subcontinent based in Magadha, having been founded by Chandragupta Maurya in 322 BCE, and existing in loose-knit fashion until 1 ...
emperor
Ashoka The Great
Ashoka (, ; also ''Asoka''; 304 – 232 BCE), popularly known as Ashoka the Great, was the third emperor of the Maurya Empire of Indian subcontinent during to 232 BCE. His empire covered a large part of the Indian subcontinent, ...
. She was Ashoka's second wife and first
queen consort
Given the title "agramahisi", or "Chief Queen",
Asandhimitra was likely from a royal family.
She did not have any children.
After her death,
Tishyarakshita became the chief queen of Ashoka.
Life
She was born in the kingdom of Asandivat (Today’s
Assandh
Assandh is a city and a municipal committee in Karnal district in the state of Haryana, India. Assandh is 45 km south-west of Karnal.
History Early history
Archaeological excavations have revealed Painted Grey Ware, associated with the ...
) in 302 BC. She was married to Ashoka in 270 BC.
She was a trusted, faithful, and favourite wife of
Ashoka
Ashoka (, ; also ''Asoka''; 304 – 232 BCE), popularly known as Ashoka the Great, was the third emperor of the Maurya Empire of Indian subcontinent during to 232 BCE. His empire covered a large part of the Indian subcontinent, s ...
. She is often referred to as his "beloved" or his "dear" consort and is said to have been a trusted adviser of the king.
At her death in 240 BC,
Ashoka was deeply grieved.
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.
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.
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.
References
* Allen, Charles (2012). Ashoka: The Search for India's Lost Emperor. Hachette. .
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Ashoka
Mauryan empresses