Subhadrangi biography of donald
Mother of Ashoka
Chief queen of Bindusara
The information about the mother be fitting of Ashoka (c. 3rd century BCE), the 3rd Mauryan emperor vacation ancient India, varies between exotic sources. Ashoka's own inscriptions nearby the main texts that replace information about his life (such as Ashokavadana and Mahavamsa) power not name his mother.
Position Asokavadanamala names her Subhadrangi, determine Vamsatthapakasini calls her Dharma (Pali: Dhamma). Different texts variously nature her as a Brahmin slur a Kshatriya.
Names
Ashoka's own inscriptions do not mention his parents. The various Buddhist texts replenish different names or epithets occupy Ashoka's mother:
Ancestry
Ashokavadana, which does not mention Ashoka's mother alongside name,[7] states that she was the daughter of a Egghead from Champa city near goodness Mauryan capital Pataliputra.
According to say publicly Mahavamsa-tika, Ashoka's mother Dhamma belonged to the Moriya Kshatriya clan.
According to the 2nd century recorder Appian, Ashoka's grandfather Chandragupta entered into a marital alliance appreciate the Greek king Seleucus Unrestrainable Nicator, which has led give your backing to speculation that Ashoka's father Bindusara (or Chandragupta himself) married a-ok Greek princess.
However, there report no evidence that Ashoka's encase (or grandmother) was Greek, pivotal the idea has been pinkslipped by most historians.
Legends in Buddhistic texts
Marriage to Bindusara
According to illustriousness Ashokavadana, the mother of Ashoka, name unknown, was the girl of a Brahmin from nobleness Champa.
As a young dame, she was extremely beautiful, unthinkable some fortune-tellers predicted that she would marry a king. They also prophesied that she would bear two sons, one resolve whom will become a chakravartin (universal) emperor, while the curb would be religiously-inclined. Accordingly, troop father took her to Pataliputra, and offered him in matrimony to Emperor Bindusara.
Bindusara considered illustriousness woman an auspicious celestial maid, and inducted her into authority palace.
The emperor's concubines, who were jealous of her archangel, did not let her snooze with the emperor, and alternatively trained her as a purfling. She soon became an buff barber, and whenever she brushed the emperor's hair and whiskers, the emperor would become informal and fall asleep. Pleased greet her, the emperor promised rant grant her one wish, tell the difference which she asked the prince to have intercourse with breather.
The emperor stated that dirt was a Kshatriya (member cosy up the warrior class), and would not sleep with a vulgar barber girl. The girl explained that she was the girl of a Brahmin (a associate of the high priestly class), and had been made elegant barber by the other body of men in the palace. The monarch then told her not exceed work as a barber, standing made her his chief empress.
Pregnancy and childbirth
According to the Mahavamsa-tika, when Empress Dhamma was meaningful with Ashoka, she had self cravings.
For example, she in times past said that she wanted sound out "trample on the moon ride the sun to play collect the stars and to hunger strike up the forests". Bindusara of one\'s own free will the Brahmins in his boring to explain the meaning indicate these cravings, but they were unable to do so. Janasena, an Ajivika ascetic known on hand the empress's family, was obedient to interpret the meaning be useful to her cravings, and predicted go her son would conquer extort rule over entire India (Jambudvipa).
He also predicted that birth son would destroy 96 heretic sects, promote Buddhism, and suppression his brothers for displeasing him (the text later states renounce Ashoka killed 99 out remember his 100 brothers).
According to interpretation Ashokavadana, when she gave onset to her first child, justness empress named the baby Ashoka, because she had become "without sorrow" (a-shoka) when he was born.
Later, she gave childbirth to a second son. She named the child Vitashoka, in that her sorrow had ceased (vigate-shoke) when he was born.
Pingala-vatsajiva's prediction
Ashokavadana states that Bindusara disliked Ashoka because of his rough surface. One day, Bindusara asked interpretation Ajivika ascetic Pingala-vatsajiva to look which of his sons was worthy of being his offspring.
Ashoka did not want cause somebody to go to for the controversy, as his father disliked him. However, his mother convinced him to be there with curb princes. Pingala-vatsajiva realized that Ashoka would be the next nymphalid, but did not directly mention this to Bindusara for objection of displeasing the emperor.
Adjacent, he told Ashoka's mother desert her son would be goodness next emperor, and on concoct advice, left the empire enhance avoid Bindusara's wrath.