Indian History

Ashoka, the great Mauryan Emperor, became a Buddhist eight years after his coronation, that is a year after his conquest of Kalinga . According to Sri Lankan chronicle Mahavamasa (Great Chronicle), Ashoka was converted to Buddhism by Nigrodha , a boy monk who was just seven years old, and afterwards he came into contact with Moggaliputa Tissa who presided over the third Buddhist Council called by Ashoka in his capital Patliputra (modern Patna, the capital of Bihar).  After the third Buddhist Council Ashoka sent Buddhist mission to several parts of India and to Sri Lanka where he sent Mahendra his son, or in some sources his brother, and daughter Sanghamitra for the spread of Buddhism. The conversion of Sri Lanka into Buddhism is unanimously ascribed to Mahendra.  When Ashoka embraced conversion to Buddhism the other members of his family also followed suit. According to the Buddhist sources, Ashoka’s brother Tissa, his son, daughter and queen Karuvaki also became converts to Bu

We have to rely on the traditional accounts to know the early life of Ashoka, the greatest of the Indian kings. According to Buddhist accounts his mother was Janapada Kalyani or Subhadrangi . As a prince he served as a Viceroy of Ujjaini and Taxila. During his Viceroyalty he fell in love with the daughter of a merchant of Bidisha, referred to as Devi or Vedisa Mahadevi , whom he married.  Ashoka’s two other well-known queens were Karuvaki and Asandhimitra . The second queen, Karuvaki is mentioned in the Queen’s Edict inscribed on a pillar at Allahabad , in which her religious and charitable donations are referred to. She is described as the mother of Prince Tivara , the only son of Ashoka to be mentioned by name in edicts and inscriptions erected by the Great Mauryan Emperor throughout the kingdom.  According to the Sri Lankan Buddhist chronicle Mahavamsa , Ashoka usurped the throne by killing 99 of his brothers. Only the youngest brother named Tishya was spared .

We have to rely on the traditional accounts to know the early life of Ashoka, the greatest of the Indian kings. According to Buddhist accounts his mother was Janapada Kalyani or Subhadrangi . As a prince he served as a Viceroy of Ujjaini and Taxila. During his Viceroyalty he fell in love with the daughter of a merchant of Bidisha, referred to as Devi or Vedisa Mahadevi , whom he married. Ashoka’s two other well-known queens were Karuvaki and Asandhimitra . The second queen, Karuvaki is mentioned in the Queen’s Edict inscribed on a pillar at Allahabad , in which her religious and charitable donations are referred to. She is described as the mother of Prince Tivara , the only son of Ashoa to be mentioned by name in inscriptions.