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Bindusara (320 BCE – 273 BCE) () was the second Maurya Empire of Magadha in Ancient India. The ancient Greco-Roman writers called him Amitrochates, a name likely derived from his Sanskrit title Amitraghāta ("slayer of enemies").
Bindusara was the son of the dynasty's founder Chandragupta and the father of its most famous ruler Ashoka. His life is not documented as well as the lives of these two emperors. Much of the information about him comes from legendary accounts written several hundred years after his death. Bindusara consolidated the empire created by his father.
The 16th century Tibetan Buddhism author Taranatha credits his administration with extensive territorial conquests in South India, but some historians doubt the historical authenticity of this claim.
Buddhist sources that provide information about Bindusara include Divyavadana (including Ashokavadana and Pamsupradanavadana), Dipavamsa, Mahavamsa, Vamsatthappakasini (also known as Mahvamsa Tika or "Mahavamsa commentary"), Samantapasadika, and the 16th century writings of Taranatha. The Jain sources include the 12th century Parishishta-Parvan by Hemachandra and the 19th century Rajavali-Katha by Devachandra. The Hinduism Puranas also mention Bindusara in their genealogies of Mauryan rulers. Some Greek sources also mention him by the name "Amitrochates" or its variations.
Chandragupta had a marriage alliance with the Seleucid Empire, which has led to speculation that Bindusara's mother might have been Greek or Macedonian. However, there is no evidence of this. According to the 12th century Jain writer Hemachandra's Parishishta-Parvan, the name of Bindusara's mother was Durdhara.
The Mahabhashya names Chandragupta's successor as Amitra-ghāta (Sanskrit for "slayer of enemies"). The Greek writers Strabo and Athenaeus call him Allitrochades (Ἀλλιτροχάδης) and Amitrochates (Ἀμιτροχάτης) respectively; these names are probably derived from the Sanskrit title. J.F. Fleet believed that the Greek name was derived from the Sanskrit word Amitrakhāda ("devourer of enemies"), a title of Indra.
In addition, Bindusara was given the title Devanampriya ("The Beloved of the Gods"), which was also applied to his successor Ashoka."According to the Jaina and the Buddhist traditions Chandragupta had many sons and Bindusara was chosen to succeed him. He also had the title 'Devanampriya'. The Greeks call him Amitrachates, the Sanskrit equivalent of Amitragatha" The Jain work Rajavali-Katha states that his birth name was Simhasena.
Both Buddhist and Jain texts mention a legend about how Bindusara got his name. Both accounts state that Chandragupta's minister Chanakya used to mix small doses of poison in the emperor's food to build his immunity against possible Visha Kanya. One day, Chandragupta, not knowing about the poison, shared his food with his pregnant wife. According to the Buddhist legends ( Mahavamsa and Mahavamsa Tikka), the empress was seven days away from delivery at this time. Chanakya arrived just as the empress ate the poisoned morsel. Realizing that she was going to die, he decided to save the unborn child. He cut off the empress's head and cut open her belly with a sword to take out the foetus. Over the next seven days, he placed the foetus in the belly of a goat freshly killed each day. After seven days, Chandragupta's son was "born". He was named Bindusara, because his body was spotted with drops (" bindu") of goat's blood. The Jain text Parishishta-Parvan names the empress as Durdhara, and states that Chanakya entered the room the very moment she collapsed. To save the child, he cut open the dead empress's womb and took the baby out. By this time, a drop (" bindu") of poison had already reached the baby and touched its head. Therefore, Chanakya named him Bindusara, meaning "the strength of the drop".
Another legend in Divyavadana names Ashoka's mother as Janapadakalyani. According to the Vamsatthappakasini ( Mahavamsa Tika), the name of Ashoka's mother was Dhamma. The Mahavamsa states that Bindusara had 101 sons from 16 women. The eldest of these was Sumana / Sushima, and the youngest was Tishya (or Tissa). Ashoka and Tishya were born to the same mother.
Sailendra Nath Sen notes that the Mauryan empire already extended from the western sea (beside Saurashtra) to the eastern sea (beside Bengal) during Chandragupta's reign. Besides, Ashoka's inscriptions found in southern India do not mention anything about Bindusara's conquest of Deccan Plateau (southern India). Based on this, Sen concludes that Bindusara did not extend the Mauryan empire, but managed to retain the territories he inherited from Chandragupta.
K. Krishna Reddy, on the other hand, argues that Ashoka's inscriptions would have boasted about his conquest of southern India, had he captured Deccan. Reddy, therefore, believes that the Mauryan empire extended up to Mysore during Bindusara's reign. According to him, the southernmost kingdoms were not a part of the Mauryan empire, but probably acknowledged its suzerainty.
Alain Daniélou believes that Bindusara inherited an empire that included the Deccan region, and made no territorial additions to the empire. Daniélou, however, believes that Bindusara brought the southern territories of the Cheras, the Cholas and the Satyaputras under nominal Mauryan control, although he could not overcome their armies. His theory is based on the fact that the ancient Tamil literature alludes to Vamba Moriyar (Mauryan conquest), although it does not provide any details about the Mauryan expeditions. According to Daniélou, Bindusara's main achievement was organization and consolidation of the empire he inherited from Chandragupta.
Ashokavadana suggests that Bindusara had 500 imperial councillors. It names two officials – Khallataka and Radhagupta – who helped his son Ashoka became the emperor after his death.
Diodorus Siculus states that the king of Palibothra (Pataliputra, the Mauryan capital) welcomed a Greek author, Iambulus. This king is usually identified as Bindusara. Pliny states that the Ptolemaic king Philadelphus sent an envoy named Dionysius to India. India, the Ancient Past, Burjor Avari, p.108-109 According to Sailendra Nath Sen, this appears to have happened during Bindusara's reign.
Some Buddhist texts mention that an Ajivika astrologer or priest at Bindusara's court prophesied the future greatness of the prince Ashoka. The Pamsupradanavadana (part of Divyavadana) names this man as Pingalavatsa. The Vamsatthappakasini (the Mahavamsa commentary) names this man as Janasana, based on a commentary on Majjhima Nikaya.
The Divyavadana version states that Pingalavatsa was an Ajivika parivrajaka (wandering teacher). Bindusara asked him to assess the ability of the princes to be the next emperor, as the two watched the princes play. Pingalavatsa recognized Ashoka as the most suitable prince, but did not give a definitive answer to the Emperor, since Ashoka was not Bindusara's favourite son. He, however, told Empress Subhadrangi of Ashoka's future greatness. The empress requested him to leave the empire before the Emperor forced him to provide an answer. Pingalavatsa returned to the court after Bindusara's death.
The Mahavamsa commentary states that Janasana (also Jarasona or Jarasana) was the Empress's kulupaga (ascetic of the imperial household). He had been born as a python during the period of Kassapa Buddha, and had become very wise after listening to the discussions of the . Based on his observations of the empress's pregnancy, he prophesied Ashoka's future greatness. He appears to have left the court for unknown reasons. When Ashoka grew up, the empresd told him that Janasana had forecast his greatness. Ashoka then sent a carriage to bring back Janasana, who was residing at an unnamed place far from the capital, Pataliputra. On the way back to Pataliputra, he was converted to Buddhism by one Assagutta. Based on these legends, scholars such as A. L. Basham conclude that Bindusara patronized the Ajivikas.
According to the Mahavamsa, Bindusara reigned for 28 years, while according to the Puranas, he ruled for 25 years. The Buddhist text Manjushri-Mula-Kalpa claims that he ruled for 70 years, which is not historically accurate.
All sources agree that Bindusara was succeeded by his son Ashoka, although they provide varying descriptions of the circumstances of this succession. According to the Mahavamsa, Ashoka had been appointed as the viceroy of Ujjain. On hearing about his father's fatal illness, he rushed to the capital, Pataliputra. There, he killed his 99 brothers (leaving only Tishya), and became the new emperor.
According to the prose version of Ashokavadana, Bindusara's favourite son Sushima once playfully threw his gauntlet at the prime minister, Khallataka. The minister thought that Sushima was unworthy of being an emperor. Therefore, he approached the 500 imperial councillors, and suggested appointing Ashoka as the emperor after Bindusara's death, pointing out that the had predicted his rise as the universal ruler. Sometime later, Bindusara fell sick and decided to hand over the administration to his successor. He asked his ministers to appoint Sushima as the emperor, and Ashoka as the governor of Takshashila. However, by this time, Sushima had been sent to Takshashila, where he was unsuccessfully trying to quell a rebellion. When the Emperor was on his deathbed, the ministers suggested appointing Ashoka as the temporary emperor, and re-appointing Sushima as the emperor after his return from Takshashila. However, Bindusara became angry when he heard this suggestion. Ashoka then declared that if he was meant to be Bindusara's successor, the devatas would appoint him as the emperor. The devatas then miraculously placed the imperial crown on his head, while Bindusara died. When Sushima heard this news, he advanced towards Pataliputra to claim the throne. However, he died after being tricked into a pit of burning charcoal by Ashoka's well-wisher Radhagupta.
On the contrary, the Brahmanda Purana mentions that Bindusara himself crowned Ashoka as the king. Chapter 74 – Royal Dynasties Devachandra's Rajavali-Katha (19th century) states that Bindusara sannyasa after handing over the throne to Ashoka.
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