Dictionary of Pali Proper Names v1.c6.3482

v1.c6.3482

1. **Asoka.**—King of Magadha. He was the son of Bindusāra. Bindusāra had sixteen wives who bore him 101 sons. The Pāli Chronicles (*Dīpavaṃsa* and *Mahāvaṃsa*)¹ mention only three of the sons, viz. Sumana (Susīma according to the northern legends) the eldest, Asoka, and Tissa (uterine brother of Asoka) the youngest. The *Mahāvaṃsa Ṭīkā*² gives the name of his mother as Dhammā and calls her Aggamahesī (Bindusāra’s chief queen); she belonged to the Moriyavaṃsa. The preceptor of Dhammā’s family was an Ājīvaka called Janasāna.³