Karuvaki

Karuvaki Biography

Karuvaki was the Empress of the Maurya Empire and the consort of Emperor Ashoka, who gave birth to emperor’s second son, Prince Tivala. Historians have different opinions on Karuvaki’s identity. Some believe her to be a fisherwoman while others, to be a princess. She secretly married Ashoka during his exile to Kalinga.  According to eminent historian, M.N. Das, Karuvaki was a fisherman's daughter who was married by Ashoka following his acceptance of Buddhism. Her life late became a part of a popular Hindi film – Ashoka (2001), starring Shah Rukh Khan and Kareena Kapoor. Kareena played the role of Karuvaki, though some of the historical facts have been altered while the movie was depleted on screen.

She belonged to the 3rd century BC of Kalinga of present-day Odisha. She met Ashoka during his exile period in Kalinga, following his conflicts with his brother Susima Maurya who claimed the Maurya throne. They got secretly married. In an uprising in Ujjain Province, Ashoka was seriously hurt. But he was rescued by Buddhist monks. Thus they got separated for 8 years. He later married Devi – a Buddhist, who treated him as a nurse. Ashoka later ascended the throne killing his brother Susima and lived with Devi for 8 years and had twin kids - Prince Mahindra and Princess Sanghamitra, who later established Buddhism in Ceylon. The historical Kalinga war happened 8 years after his coronation taking the lives of more than 100,000 people.

But after his conquest of Kalinga, he repented over the acts he has conducted to achieve power. Karuvaki, who is also popularized as a princess fought war against Ashoka. Odisha legends do describe her as a local princess. Ashoka embraced Buddhism following its principles and later led his full life in popularizing the religion across India. He accepted Karuvaki as his wife after his conversion to Buddhism and made his queen.

Though Ashoka had numerous wives and kids, Karuvaki gets a distinct position in his life. It can be stated she is the only person immortalized in the Queen Edict. The edict also identifies her as mother to their son, Prince Tivala, the only son of the emperor to be named in his inscriptions. It gives strong clues that Karuvaki was a powerful queen and she supported him to initiate several welfare measures for the subjects. It can also be assumed that Prince Tivala was king’s favourite to the throne and might have deceased earlier.

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Updated: September 24, 2017