Kaurvaki was the "Second
Queen Consort"[1] of the third Mauryan emperor,
Ashoka. She was Ashoka's fourth wife and 2nd
chief empress consort. She was the mother of Ashoka's fourth son, Prince
Tivala.
Life
Kaurvaki is mentioned in the Queen Edict wherein her religious and charitable donations were recorded as per her wishes. This gives an image of her being a self-possessed and strong-willed consort, who wanted an act of philanthropy recorded as specifically hers.[2][3]
The edict also identifies her as mother to their son, Prince
Tivala (also referred to as Tivara), who is the only son of Ashoka mentioned by name in his inscriptions.[4][5][6]
Despite the fact that Ashoka had many
queens, Karuvaki is the only queen of Ashoka who was named in his inscriptions and edicts.[7][8]
Queen's Edict
The Queen's Edict on the
Allahabad Pillar refers to the charitable deeds of Kaurvaki:[9][10]
On the order of the Beloved of the Gods, the officers everywhere are to be instructed that whatever may be the gift of the second queen, whether a mango-grove, a monastery, an institution for dispensing charity or any other donation, it is to be counted to the credit of that queen ... the second queen, the mother of Tīvala, Kaurvakī.[11]
^Shah, Kirit K. (2001). The problem of identity : women in early Indian inscriptions. New Delhi [u.a.]: Oxford University Press. pp. 33, 180.
ISBN9780195653229.
^Nayanjot Lahiri (2015). Ashoka in Ancient India. Harvard University Press. p. 283.
^Romesh Chunder Dutt; Vincent Arthur Smith; Stanley Lane-Poole; Henry Miers Elliot; William Wilson Hunter; Alfred Comyn Lyall (1906). History of India, Volume 2; Volume 6. The Grolier Society. p. 175.
^Thapar, Romila (1973). Aśoka and the decline of the Mauryas. Oxford University Press. p. 30.
^The Cambridge Shorter History of India. Cambridge University Press Archive. p. 53.
^Gupta, Subhadra Sen (2009). "Ashoka's family". Ashoka. Penguin UK.
ISBN9788184758078.
^University of Allahabad. Dept. of Modern Indian History, University of Kerala. Dept. of History, University of Travancore, University of Kerala (1963). "Journal of Indian History". 41. Department of Modern Indian History: 155. {{
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