The Elusive History of the Mother of Ashoka

The world remembers Ashoka for many reasons. History has properly recorded Bindusara and Chandragupta Maurya as well. But when it comes to the women of importance during ancient Pataliputra, history turns silent and illusionary. Similar is the history of Subhadrangi, the woman who was the mother of Ashoka.

Subhadrangi is a recurring mystery, despite being such an important woman I Source: Pinterest

It is astonishing how history, which for the most part was recorded by men through oral and written narratives, refuses to take stock of prominent women. Time can also be a factor in it, or maybe a discipline or an unspoken rule that not all women should be mentioned in entirety, apart from their biological aspect of birthing a child who grew up to become a great warrior and king.

When one reads the history of ancient India, specifically about Patliputra and the Mauryan empire, one would be shocked to notice how little attention has been given to important women at the court. They were known for their status, a title they held concerning their biological contribution, like the mother of some great king and the wife of some great warrior. True history only suffers such omission; women of mythology have been given a great character description by their respective compilers.

The mother of Ashoka is one such woman. She is so elusive in history that even her real name is not known with a hundred per cent certainty. Indeed, history disappoints the mother of the third and greatest king of ancient Magadha, Ashoka. Buddhist texts like Ashokavadana and Mahavamsa mention her with the title of ‘mother of Ashoka’. This could be a documentation problem or simply a bureaucratic necessity to conceal the identity of women in court, or it could be sheer ignorance.

Some names that history does give for the woman who was the mother of Ashoka and the chief queen of King Bindusara, are Subhadrangi, Dharma, and Dhamma. Ashokavadanamala is an eleventh-century text detailing the reign of King Bindusara. In this text, a woman is mentioned who was the mother of Ashoka, who came from a humble background but was a Brahmin. Later, the same text mentions the name Subhadrangi, who was the daughter of a Brahmin, in the city of Champa, an ancient city a few miles away from Patliputra, the capital of Magadh.

When the Brahmin was blessed with a daughter, a prophecy was written about her. She would grow up to become a beautiful woman who would marry a great king and would bear him two sons. Now, this might seem like a fairytale, but that’s how legends were recorded at the time, like an elusive narrative. This girl was named Subhadrangi, and when she matured, her father, to abide by the prophecy, handed her over to King Bindusara, as he was a great ruler of that time.

Being a king, Bindusara had many concubines; he added Subhadrangi to his harem, and she remained forgotten for quite a while. Being a woman of high caste but humble status, she became the object of ridicule in the eyes of other women. It is recorded that the harem women turned Subhadrangi into a barber, a lowly job associated with a lowly caste of that time. Subhadrangi, with time, became a master barber, so much so that she was called upon by the king to do this hair. That’s how Bindusara noticed Subhadrangi, who always assumed King Bindusara to be the sole purpose of her life. They fell in love, and Subhadrangi became the chief queen of Bindusara. Later, she gives birth to her first son, Ashoka, who was not born crying, without sorrow.

Apart from this foundational story of how Subhadrangi came into Bindusara’s life, there is no mention of any importance of the mother of Ashoka. The ancient text Mahavamsa, however, records an interesting event. The event occurred when a great seer called Pingala Vatasjiva visited Patliputra and blessed Ashoka to become the future king of Magadha and a Chakravartin. This could only be a legend, but it is based on some truth, as it mentions Bindusara’s distaste towards Ashoka due to his rough and mysterious skin disease.

Only Subhadrangi was made aware of this prophecy, and after this, she commanded Ashoka to keep a distance from Bindusara, as much as he could, until the right time came. That’s what he did. Later, when Bindusara dies and Ashoka, after killing many of his brothers, becomes the king of Magadh, Subhadrangi vanishes from history. It is believed that she spent the rest of her days with the serenity of a satisfied widow and a proud mother. Still, the truth is, that Subhadrangi, the mother of Ashoka, was never given much of a character or importance by the recorded history, to even imagine or believe that. It's all illusionary and ignored, which is sadly frustrating.