Tishyaraksha
Encyclopedia
Tishyaraksha was one of the wives of emperor Ashoka
, who was the ruler of India
.
As per some of the accounts she has been referred to as Tishyarakshita, too. It is believed that she was a favourite maid of one of the wives of Ashok and after the death of this wife, she went to Pataliputra as a great dancer and charmed Ashok with her dance and beauty. Later she became his wife and during the later life of Ashok she medically served him, too.
It is also believed that due to the age difference between her and Ashok, once she attracted towards Kunal - Son of Ashok who was religious in nature and inclined towards Buddhism from his early life. Kunal considered Tishyaraksha as his mother due to her place in the Mauryan empire at the time. After perceiving neglect from Kunal, Tishyaraksha turned so furious that she decided to blind him (it is believed that the eyes of Kunal were attractive and beautiful and that they had originally attracted Tishyaraksha towards Kunal).
When The Chandragupt Sabha led by Radhagupt (the then minister (Mahaamatya) of Mauryan Empire) decided that Kunal would proceed to subjugate the revolt of Takshasheela, Tishyaraksha conceived a plot. The plot succeeded after the conquest by Kunal. As per the plot, Ashok had to request two very precious jewels from the governor of Takshasheela which were believed to have been the most unique of their kind. The decisive language of the letter written by Tishyaraksha was sent by Ashok who did not understand the hidden meaning and therefore could not transmit it to Kunal. However, Kunal immediately understood the hidden meaning, but due to his love towards his father and his loyalty towards Magadh, he felt forced to blow off his own eyes. Then he sent both of his eyes to the court of Magadh at Pataliputra. Ashok realised his fault but by then it was too late. Immediately Radhagupt ordered to slay Tishyaraksha. It is believed that Tishyaraksha committed suicide after coming to know of this news.
The story of Tishyaraksha has been captured by the Bengali writer Samaresh Mazumder in his novel "Saranagata", however, with very different strokes and shades that are attributed to the life of Emperor Ashoka.
Ashoka
Ashok Maurya or Ashoka , popularly known as Ashoka the Great, was an Indian emperor of the Maurya Dynasty who ruled almost all of the Indian subcontinent from ca. 269 BC to 232 BC. One of India's greatest emperors, Ashoka reigned over most of present-day India after a number of military conquests...
, who was the ruler of India
India
India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...
.
As per some of the accounts she has been referred to as Tishyarakshita, too. It is believed that she was a favourite maid of one of the wives of Ashok and after the death of this wife, she went to Pataliputra as a great dancer and charmed Ashok with her dance and beauty. Later she became his wife and during the later life of Ashok she medically served him, too.
It is also believed that due to the age difference between her and Ashok, once she attracted towards Kunal - Son of Ashok who was religious in nature and inclined towards Buddhism from his early life. Kunal considered Tishyaraksha as his mother due to her place in the Mauryan empire at the time. After perceiving neglect from Kunal, Tishyaraksha turned so furious that she decided to blind him (it is believed that the eyes of Kunal were attractive and beautiful and that they had originally attracted Tishyaraksha towards Kunal).
When The Chandragupt Sabha led by Radhagupt (the then minister (Mahaamatya) of Mauryan Empire) decided that Kunal would proceed to subjugate the revolt of Takshasheela, Tishyaraksha conceived a plot. The plot succeeded after the conquest by Kunal. As per the plot, Ashok had to request two very precious jewels from the governor of Takshasheela which were believed to have been the most unique of their kind. The decisive language of the letter written by Tishyaraksha was sent by Ashok who did not understand the hidden meaning and therefore could not transmit it to Kunal. However, Kunal immediately understood the hidden meaning, but due to his love towards his father and his loyalty towards Magadh, he felt forced to blow off his own eyes. Then he sent both of his eyes to the court of Magadh at Pataliputra. Ashok realised his fault but by then it was too late. Immediately Radhagupt ordered to slay Tishyaraksha. It is believed that Tishyaraksha committed suicide after coming to know of this news.
The story of Tishyaraksha has been captured by the Bengali writer Samaresh Mazumder in his novel "Saranagata", however, with very different strokes and shades that are attributed to the life of Emperor Ashoka.