Bindusara

According to ‘Mahavamsa’, Bindusara had 101 sons from 16 women of whom Ashoka and the youngest son Tishya were born to the same mother. ‘Ashokavadana’ states that Sushima, Ashoka and Vigatashoka were the sons of Bindusara of whom the latter two were born through a Brahmin lady called Subhadrangi.

Again, Ashoka's mother is named as Janapadakalyani in a legend in ‘Divyavadana’ while she is named as Dhamma in ‘Vamsatthappakasini’.

Bindusara’s time of death and the information about how Ashoka succeeded to the throne differs in different sources. While historical data indicate his death occurred in the 270s BCE, it is suggested to be sometime around 273-272 BCE by Sailendra Nath Sen; around 274 BCE by Alain Daniélou; and around 273 BCE by Upinder Singh.

The life of Bindusara is not documented in detail like the lives of his father, Chandragupta and son Ashoka. Most of the data accounting his life and rule are found in different Jain legends that detail the life of Chandragupta and Buddhist legends that account the life of Ashoka. Bindusara is also mentioned in the Hindu Puranas.

These legendary accounts dating back to the ancient and medieval times focussing on Chandragupta and Ashoka are not totally reliable and can only serve as inferences of his rule.

The Jain sources mentioning Bindusara includes Jain scholar, poet, and polymath, Acharya Hemachandra’s 12th-century Sanskrit mahakavya ‘Parishishta-Parvan’ and the ‘Rajavali-Katha’ composed by 19th century Jain scholar, Devachandra.

The Buddhist works that mention him includes Samantapasadika, Vamsatthappakasini, Divyavadana, Mahavamsa and Dipavamsa among others.

Various Puranas and the ‘Mahavamsa’ affirm that Bindusara was born to the founder of the Mauryan Empire, Chandragupta Maurya. The Jain text called ‘Parishishtaparvan’ written by Hemachandra that dates back to the 12th century CE mentions Bindusara’s mother as Durdhara.

However, there are other sources that differ about Bindusara’s ancestry and provide different information. For instance, according to oldest historical record of Sri Lanka called ‘Dipavamsa’, he was born to the founder of the Shishunaga dynasty of the Magadha Empire, King Shushunaga.

Again, he is mentioned as the son of Nanda and a 10th generation descendant of the Magadha King Bimbisara from the Haryanka dynasty in the prose version of the Indian Sanskrit-language text ‘Ashokavadana’.

Although there is no evidential proof to validate such point, it is also speculated that he was born to a lady of Greek or Macedonian origin as his father Chandragupta went in for a matrimonial alliance with the Seleucids.

Different religious texts mention his name differently. These include ‘Vindusar’ in Hindu texts like ‘Vishnu Purana’ and ‘Bindusaro’ in Buddhist texts like ‘Mahavamsa’ and ‘Dipavamsa’. His birth name is mentioned as Simhasena in the Jain work ‘Rajavali-Katha’. The title Deva-nampriya ("The Beloved of the Gods") was given to him.

According to historian Upinder Singh, Bindusara was enthroned sometime around 297 BCE.

Different sources mention the realm he inherited from his father and the conquests he made differently. While many like K. Krishna Reddy opine that he extended his territories, others such as Sailendra Nath Sen and Alain Daniélou hold that he only succeeded in retaining and consolidating the territories acquired by Chandragupta without making any territorial gains.

Tibetian Buddhist scholar, exponent and Lama of the Jonang School, Taranatha mentioned that Bindusara became master of all the territory that fall within the Arabian Sea and the Bay of Bengal with the aid of Chanakya who destroyed kings and nobles of sixteen towns. Such data led some historians to infer it as Bindusara’s conquest of Deccan, however many others imply this as his suppression of uprisings.