Maharani Devi (302 BCE – 242 BCE) was, according to the Sri Lankan chronicles, the first wife of the third Mauryan 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 also the mother of Ashoka's first two children—his son, Mahendra, and daughter, Sanghamitra—both of whom played important roles in the spread of

Buddhism Buddhism, also known as Buddhadharma and Dharmavinaya, is an Indian religion and List of philosophies, philosophical tradition based on Pre-sectarian Buddhism, teachings attributed to the Buddha, a wandering teacher who lived in the 6th or ...

to other countries. She is also remembered for the

Sanchi Stupa Sanchi Stupa is a Buddhist art, Buddhist complex, famous for its Great Stupa, on a hilltop at Sanchi Town in Raisen District of the States and territories of India, State of Madhya Pradesh, India. It is located, about 23 kilometers from Raisen ...

Origin

According to the Ceylonese chronicles, Ashoka's first wife was the daughter of a merchant of Vedisagiri (present-day Vidisha), Devi by name, whom Ashoka had married while he was

Viceroy A viceroy () is an official who reigns over a polity in the name of and as the representative of the monarch of the territory. The term derives from the Latin prefix ''vice-'', meaning "in the place of" and the Anglo-Norman ''roy'' (Old Frenc ...

at Ujjain. The ''Mahabodhivamsa'' (a Ceylonese source) calls her Vedisa-Mahadevi and a Sakyani or a Sakyakumari as being the daughter of a clan of the

Shakya Shakya (Pali, Pāḷi: ; Sanskrit: ) was an ancient Indo-Aryan clan of the northeastern region of South Asia, whose existence is attested during the Iron Age in India, Iron Age. The Shakyas were organised into a Gaṇasaṅgha, (an Aristocrac ...

s who had immigrated to ''Vedisa nagaram'' out of fear of Vidudabha menacing their mother country. This would make her a relative of the

Buddha Siddhartha Gautama, most commonly referred to as the Buddha (),* * * was a wandering ascetic and religious teacher who lived in South Asia during the 6th or 5th century BCE and founded Buddhism. According to Buddhist legends, he was ...

's family or clan, as he also belonged to a clan of the

Marriage

Devi and Ashoka shared a close and loving relationship unlike the usual dynastic arrangements. She gave Ashoka his first two children—the boy Mahendra, born in about the year 285 BCE, and the girl Sanghamitra, born about three years later. Yet, Devi failed to convert Ashoka to Buddhism and he left her and their children in Vidisha when he was finally recalled to

Pataliputra Pataliputra (IAST: ), adjacent to modern-day Patna, Bihar, 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 Pataliput ...

. Thus, Devi did not follow Ashoka as sovereign to

, for there his Chief Empress (''agramahisi'') was his wife,

Asandhimitra Asandhamitra (304 BCE – 240 BCE) was an empress and 1st chief consort of the Mauryan emperor Ashoka. She was Ashoka's second wife and first empress consort Given the title "agramahisi", or "Chief Empress", Asandhimitra was likely from a roya ...

. It would have been unfitting for a prince of the House of Maurya to have a merchant's daughter for a spouse, and a more suitable wife was found for Ashoka in Princess Asandhimitra who was his chief empress for the majority of his reign. Devi is described as having caused the construction of the Great Vihara of Vedisagiri, probably the first of the monuments of

Sanchi Sanchi Stupa is a Buddhist art, Buddhist complex, famous for its Great Stupa, on a hilltop at Sanchi Town in Raisen District of the States and territories of India, State of Madhya Pradesh, India. It is located, about 23 kilometers from Raisen ...

and Bhilsa. This explains why Ashoka selected Sanchi and its beautiful neighbourhood for his architectural activities. Vedisa also figures as an important Buddhist site in earlier literature.

In popular culture

Devi plays an important role in modern artistic adaptions concerning Ashoka, playing the role of his love interest and wife in them. * '' Asoka'', a

Hindi Modern Standard Hindi (, ), commonly referred to as Hindi, is the Standard language, standardised variety of the Hindustani language written in the Devanagari script. It is an official language of India, official language of the Government ...

movie where she is played by Hrishita Bhatt. * ''

Chakravartin Ashoka Samrat ''Chakravartin Ashoka Samrat'' () is a 2015 Indian historical drama TV series that aired on Colors TV from 2 February 2015 to 7 October 2016. with Siddharth Nigam portraying the young version of the character. Series is based on the life of Em ...

'', a TV serial where she is portrayed by Kajol Srivastav. * Prachi Bohra portrays Maharani Devi in

Ekta Kapoor Ekta Kapoor (born 7 June 1975) is an Indian television and film producer, known for her work in Hindi television and Bollywood cinema. She is the founder of Balaji Telefilms, Balaji Telefilms Limited, where she serves as joint managing directo ...

's historical drama series '' Pracchand Ashok'' on

Colors TV Colors TV is an Indian general entertainment pay television channel owned by JioStar, a joint venture between Viacom18 and Disney India. Its programming consists of Soap opera, family dramas, Comedy, comedies, fantasy shows, youth-oriented Rea ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Devi People from Ujjain Women from Madhya Pradesh Wives of Ashoka 3rd-century BC Buddhists Indian Buddhists