Karuvaki

Kaurvaki was the "Second Queen Consort"^[1] of the third Mauryan Emperor, Ashoka The Great. She was Ashoka's fourth wife and 2nd chief empress consort. She was the mother of Ashoka's fourth son, Prince Tivala.

Karuvaki
Maharani
The "Queen's edict" in Prayagraj mentions the charitable deeds of Kaurvaki.
Born	Kalinga
Spouse	Emperor Ashoka The Great
Issue	Prince Tivala
Dynasty	Maurya
Religion	Hinduism, Buddhism

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]

In popular culture

• Kaurvaki was portrayed by Kareena Kapoor in the 2001 Bollywood film, Aśoka.^[12]
• Saumya Seth portrays Karuvaki in Colors TV's 2015 historical drama, Chakravartin Ashoka Samrat while Reem Sheikh portrays the young Karuvaki.^[13]
• She is the main character of The Ashoka Trilogy, The Prince of Pataliputra by Shreyas Bhave.
• Kalinga Karuvaki Award established by Kalinga Literary Festival to honour the great warrior princess of Kalinga^[14]
• Mallika Singh portrays Karuvaki in Ekta Kapoor's historical drama series Pracchand Ashok on Colors TV.^[15]

References

1. Shah, Kirit K. (2001). The problem of identity : women in early Indian inscriptions. New Delhi [u.a.]: Oxford University Press. pp. 33, 180. ISBN 9780195653229.
2. Nayanjot Lahiri (2015). Ashoka in Ancient India. Harvard University Press. p. 283.
3. 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.
4. "The Queen Edict". Buddha's World. 1999. Retrieved 5 March 2009.
5. Thapar, Romila (1973). Aśoka and the decline of the Mauryas. Oxford University Press. p. 30.
6. The Cambridge Shorter History of India. Cambridge University Press Archive. p. 53.
7. Gupta, Subhadra Sen (2009). "Ashoka's family". Ashoka. Penguin UK. ISBN 9788184758078.
8. 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. {{cite journal}}: Cite journal requires |journal= (help)CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
9. Bhandarkar 1925, p. 336.
10. Smith 1920, pp. 215–219.
11. Thapar, Romila (2012). "Appendix V: A Translation of the Edicts of Aśoka". Aśoka and the Decline of the Mauryas (3rd ed.). New Delhi: Oxford University Press. pp. 388–390. ISBN 9780198077244. Retrieved 8 February 2016.
12. "Ashoka the Great (2001)". IMDb. Retrieved 15 December 2012.
13. "Reem to play Ashoka's love interest". The Times of India. Retrieved 8 January 2016.
14. "Kalinga Lit Fest begins in city on June 10". Archived from the original on 26 May 2018.
15. Adnan Khan and Mallika Singh to play leads in Ekta Kapoor's new historical drama series 'Pracchand Ashok'

Sources

• Bhandarkar, D. R. (1925). Ashoka. Asian Educational Services. p. 336. ISBN 8120613333.* Smith, Vincent Arthur (1920). Ashoka, the Buddhist Emperor of India. Asian Educational Services. pp. 215–219. ISBN 8120613031.