Chandragupta Maurya’s Wives: Their History and Legacy

Chandragupta Maurya (c. 321 - c. 297 BCE), also called Sandrakottos by the Greeks, is an important figure in Indian history. He founded the Maurya Dynasty (4th-2nd century BCE) and established the first empire that covered a major part of the Indian subcontinent. With the help of his mentor, Chanakya or Kautilya (c. 4th century BCE), who later became his minister, he created a large and centralized empire.

Chandragupta Maurya had two wives. His first wife was Durdhara, with whom he had a son called Bindusara. His second wife was Helena, a Greek woman. Supposedly, he had a son with her, too. However, not much is known about him. Bindusara was the second Mauryan emperor of India and the father of Ashoka, the most famous Mauryan ruler.

Let us take a look at Chandragupta Maurya’s wives, the roles they played in his life and the empire that he built.

Durdhara: Chandragupta’s First Wife

Durdhara, the first wife of Chandragupta Maurya, was also his cousin. In popular culture, she is the daughter of Dhana Nanda, the last of the Nanda kings of Magadha. But Mahavamsa-tika says that she was the emperor’s first cousin and the daughter of his eldest maternal uncle, who had come to Pataliputra (current-day Patna in Bihar) with Chandragupta’s mother. She had an important position during the empire’s early years. Legends and historical narratives mention her prominence, her strong bond with Chandragupta, and her influence in the royal court. The ties between the two families strengthened after her marriage to Chandragupta. It also fortified the Mauryan dynasty’s political infrastructure.

Unfortunately, Durdhara met an untimely death. She died before she could even see the son she gave birth to. It was a devastating blow for Chandragupta and profoundly impacted him. The circumstances behind her death are not clear, which makes the tragedy more poignant.

One account says that Chandragupta was a Vishpurush, though he was not aware of it, and caused his wife’s death inadvertently. Vishkanyas and Vishpurush were women and men, respectively, who were immune to poison as they had ingested small amounts of poison over a period of time. There were many such people in the Indian subcontinent and Asia of those days. It was believed that a kiss from a Vishkanya or Vishpurush could cause instant death. In those ancient days of wars and courtly intrigues, Vishkanyas and Vishpurush were used as a means of covert warfare to eliminate foes without going to battle.

The emperor’s Prime Minister, Chanakya, feared that his foes might poison Chandragupta. So, he used to add small quantities of poison to the emperor’s food to create tolerance for the poison. Unaware of this, Chandragupta would share his food with his pregnant wife, Durdhara. Perhaps due to the effect of the poison, Durdhara died during childbirth. However, Chanakya managed to perform an emergency operation and removed the full-term baby from her womb. The child – whose name was Bindusara – survived. But a drop of his mother’s poisoned blood fell on his forehead, leaving a mark, a blue Bindu (dot), which inspired his name.

Despite her early demise, Durdhara’s legacy was carried forward by her son, Bindusara, who succeeded Chandragupta as the Mauryan emperor. Durdhara’s place in history is cemented by her influence on Chandragupta and her son, under whom the dynasty continued to thrive.

Helena: Chandragupta’s Second Wife

Chandragupta’s second wife, Helena, was a Greek princess. Her father was Macedonian and mother, a Persian. She was the daughter of Seleucus I Nicator. Seleucus was the Commander-in-Chief of Alexander the Great.  Her marriage to Chandragupta helped the Mauryan empire forge an alliance with the Seleucid empire. Their union established a bridge between the two powerful cultures.

Helena was a teenager when she married Chandragupta, whom the Greeks called Sandrocottos. The marriage took place in 305 BCE and was the first political marriage between an Indian and a Greek in the subcontinent. It was a very turbulent period in history when Vishkanyas (poison maidens) ruled the roost in diplomatic and political circles. Chandragupta Maurya supposedly saw Helena somewhere near Khyber Pakhtunkhwa for the first time. Helena was around 15 or 16, and Chandragupta was around 39 when they got married. There is no historical record of the marriage, but some quasi-historical materials suggest that Chandragupta fell for her beauty, and for Helena, too, it was love at first sight. Their meeting happened on the banks of the Jhelum River in a region currently in Pakistan.

Seleucus’s and Chandragupta’s armies fought in 305 BCE. In this battle, Seleucus faced defeat. Chanakya advised Chandragupta to invite Seleucus for a meeting. At this meeting, he proposed an alliance between Helena and Chandragupta. As the alliance proposal came after a war treaty, many historians feel that it was a political alliance. But some believe that they were already in love. Either way, the marriage was the first intercontinental political marriage in the subcontinent.

 Ancient chronicles claim that Helena became well-versed in Magadha’s system and had a huge influence in Magadha’s corridors of power. Some local legends claim that Helena remained in Pataliputra after Chandragupta Maurya died. She returned to Macedonia some years later during Bindusara’s reign. In some accounts, Helena has a son who returned to Macedonia with her. Megasthenes, Pataliputra’s Macedonian Ambassador, says in his book Indica that Helena had a son, but there is little else about him. The presence of Helena in the Mauryan court led to the intermingling of the two cultures, Greek and Mauryan. This cultural exchange was not confined to the royal court. It also influenced the art, architecture, and philosophical ideas that underpinned the empire.

Helena’s influence as queen has been well documented in Greek and Indian records, revealing her important role in the social circles of both. Her position enabled her to foster co-operation and understanding between the two empires.

Significance of Chandragupta’s Marriages

Chandragupta’s marriages had a substantial role in influencing the political and cultural life of ancient India. They led to powerful and strategic alliances, encouraged cultural exchange, and facilitated the stability and expansion of the Mauryan Empire.

Conclusion

Both Durdhara and Helena left their mark on the Mauryan Empire. From their stories, we can gain rich insights into the culture of ancient India, and the roles women played in shaping its history.

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