Asandhamitra (304 BCE – 240 BCE) was an empress and 1st chief consort of the

Mauryan The Maurya Empire was a geographically extensive Iron Age historical power in South Asia with its power base in Magadha. Founded by Chandragupta Maurya around c. 320 BCE, it existed in loose-knit fashion until 185 BCE. The primary sourc ...

emperor

Ashoka Ashoka, also known as Asoka or Aśoka ( ; , ; – 232 BCE), and popularly known as Ashoka the Great, was List of Mauryan emperors, Emperor of Magadha from until #Death, his death in 232 BCE, and the third ruler from the Mauryan dynast ...

. She was Ashoka's second wife and first empress consort Given the title "agramahisi", or "Chief Empress", Asandhimitra was likely from a royal family. She did not have any children. After her death, Tishyarakshita became the first chief empress of Ashoka.

Life

According to Maha Bodhi Society, she was married to Ashoka during c. 270-240 BC. She was a trusted, faithful, and favourite wife of

. She is often referred to as his "beloved" or his "dear" consort and is said to have been a trusted adviser of the emperor. At her death in c. 240 BC, Ashoka was deeply grieved.

Karmic legends

The '' Mahavamsa'' tells a legend of how she became empress, stating that she became Ashoka's empress 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. . {{Authority control Wives of Ashoka Mauryan empresses consort Indian Buddhists 3rd-century BC Buddhists