Kunala

Kunala
Kunala
Crown prince of the Maurya Empire
Predecessor	Susima
Successor	Samprati
Born	263 BC
Spouse	Kanchanamala
Issue	Samprati
Dynasty	Maurya
Father	Ashoka
Mother	Padmavati

Kunala (IAST: Kuṇāla) (263 BC – ?) was the Crown Prince and second son of 3rd Mauryan Emperor Ashoka^[2]^[3] and Empress Padmavati^[4] and the presumptive heir to Ashoka, thus the heir to the Mauryan Empire which once ruled almost all of the Indian subcontinent. After the departure of Mahendra, Ashoka's eldest son, he was supposed to be the heir to the empire, but was blinded by his step-mother, Tishyaraksha, at a young age in jealousy. While he was not able to take the throne, his son, Samprati, became his heir.

Kunala also served as the Viceroy of Taxila during the reign of his father, having been appointed to the position in 235 BCE.^[1]

^ ^a ^b Mookerji, Radhakumud (1995). Aśoka (3. rev. ed., repr ed.). Delhi: Motilal Banarsidass Publ. p. 45,124. ISBN 9788120805828.
^ Sen, Colleen Taylor (2022). Ashoka and the Mauraya Dynasty: the history and legacy of ancient India's greatest empire. Dynasties. London: Reaktion Books. ISBN 978-1-78914-596-0.
^ Olivelle, Patrick (2024). Ashoka: Portrait of a Philosopher King. New Haven: Yale University Press. ISBN 978-0-300-27490-5.
^ Lahiri, Nayanjot (2015). Ashoka in Ancient India. Harvard University Press. p. 284. ISBN 978-0674057777.

[Mookerji-1] Mookerji, Radhakumud (1995). Aśoka (3. rev. ed., repr ed.). Delhi: Motilal Banarsidass Publ. p. 45,124. ISBN 9788120805828.

[Sen-2] Sen, Colleen Taylor (2022). Ashoka and the Mauraya Dynasty: the history and legacy of ancient India's greatest empire. Dynasties. London: Reaktion Books. ISBN 978-1-78914-596-0.

[3] Olivelle, Patrick (2024). Ashoka: Portrait of a Philosopher King. New Haven: Yale University Press. ISBN 978-0-300-27490-5.

[4] Lahiri, Nayanjot (2015). Ashoka in Ancient India. Harvard University Press. p. 284. ISBN 978-0674057777.

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