Tishyaraksha or Tissarakkhā (c. 3rd century BCE) was the last wife of the third Mauryan emperor,

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 ...

. According to the '' Ashokavadana'', she was responsible for blinding Ashoka's son and heir presumptive Kunala. She married Ashoka four years before his death. She was very jealous of the attention paid by Ashoka to the Bodhi-tree, and caused it to be killed by means of poisonous thorns.

Early life

It is believed that Tishyaraksha was possibly born in

Gandhara Gandhāra is the name of an ancient region located in the northwestern region of the Indian subcontinent, more precisely in present-day north-west Pakistan and parts of south-east Afghanistan. The region centered around the Peshawar Val ...

region and was a favourite maid of Ashoka's chief queen, Asandhimitra, and after her mistress died, she went to

Pataliputra Pataliputra (IAST: ), adjacent to modern-day Patna, was a city in ancient India, originally built by Magadha ruler Ajatashatru in 490 BCE as a small fort () near the Ganges river.. Udayin laid the foundation of the city of Pataliputra at t ...

becoming a great dancer and charmed Ashoka with her dance and beauty. Later, she became his

concubine Concubinage is an interpersonal and sexual relationship between a man and a woman in which the couple does not want, or cannot enter into a full marriage. Concubinage and marriage are often regarded as similar but mutually exclusive. Concubi ...

and during the later life of Ashoka she took care of his health as well.

Kunala

It is also believed that due to the age difference between her and Ashoka, she was attracted towards Kunala, a son of Ashoka who was religious in nature. Kunala regarded Tishyaraksha as his mother due to her place in the Mauryan Empire at the time. After perceiving rejection from Kunala, Tishyaraksha turned so furious that she decided to blind him. It is believed that the eyes of Kunala were attractive and beautiful and that they had originally attracted Tishyaraksha to him..

Plot

When the Chandragupta Sabha led by Radhagupta (the then minister (''Mahaamatya'') of the Mauryan Empire) decided that Kunala would proceed to subjugate the revolt of Takshashila (

Taxila Taxila or Takshashila (; sa, तक्षशिला; pi, ; , ; , ) is a city in Punjab, Pakistan. Located in the Taxila Tehsil of Rawalpindi District, it lies approximately northwest of the Islamabad–Rawalpindi metropolitan area a ...

), Tishyaraksha conceived a plot. The plot succeeded after the conquest by Kunala. As per the plot, Ashoka had to request two very precious jewels from the governor of Takshashila which were believed to have been the most unusual of their kind. The decisive language of the letter written by Tishyaraksha was sent by Ashoka who did not understand the hidden meaning and therefore could not explain it to Kunala. However, Kunala immediately understood the hidden meaning, but due to his love for his father and his loyalty towards

Magadha Magadha was a region and one of the sixteen sa, script=Latn, Mahajanapadas, label=none, lit=Great Kingdoms of the Second Urbanization (600–200 BCE) in what is now south Bihar (before expansion) at the eastern Ganges Plain. Magadha was rul ...

, he felt forced to remove his own eyes. Then he sent both of his eyes to the court of Magadha at Pataliputra. Ashoka realized his fault but by then it was too late. Immediately Radhagupta ordered Tishyaraksha's death. However, it is believed that Tishyaraksha committed suicide after finding out this news.

In popular culture

Haraprasad Shastri's second novel " Kanchanmala" features Tisshyaraksha in a prominent role. The story of Tishyaraksha has also been captured by the

Bengali Bengali or Bengalee, or Bengalese may refer to: *something of, from, or related to Bengal, a large region in South Asia * Bengalis, an ethnic and linguistic group of the region * Bengali language, the language they speak ** Bengali alphabet, the w ...

writer Samaresh Majumdar in his novel "Saranagata", however, with very different strokes and shades that are attributed to the life of Ashoka.The same line of story was developed by a prominent Bengali dramatist Amit Maitra into a drama titled 'Dharmashok'.

References

{{reflist 230s BC deaths 3rd-century BC Indian people 3rd-century BC women Ancient Indian women Concubines Indian female classical dancers Indian queen consorts Mauryan dynasty Wives of Ashoka Ancient people who committed suicide Suicides in India Ancient dancers