Devi

Confessions of a Lover 

Etched in stone 

For time immemorial 

For you to adorn; 

A love that was 

Yet couldn't be. 

Time's reminder to its travellers 

That not all who love are happy 

Not all whose names survive 

Die a hero for their Beloved.

Betrayal, abandonment, sacrifice 

Virtues that a heroine would often live by, 

That proved her worthy of being 

A protagonist in his life. 

But she was so much more. 

One whose name was lost in time 

Because her identity 

Was not defined by his.

Yet somewhere in some Bard's tale 

A pillar or a few words in stone 

She survives through time as his 

Even when life kept them apart.

© Suranya

Sometimes in history, when you treat people as people, you stumble across characters, stories and incidents that touch your heart. Thanks to Anandabazar Patrika and its article on Saru Maru edict, long after I had read and mostly forgotten about Devi, what Asoka's first consort, mother to Sanghamitra and Mahindra, was known as, I revisited their story of love, respect, sacrifice and separation. Devi often comes across as a strong-headed individual in stories, and often as a consort, immersed in Buddhism and in love with a side of Asoka that was mostly flawed. She survives through time as an enigmatic character shrouded in mystery beside the Emperor Asoka as his first love, one who introduced him to Buddhism. Wrote this one almost impulsively for her, whose name is often overshadowed by that of Kurwaki in popular media.

It is believed that after having two children with him, Asoka left her to claim the throne of Patliputra, and a bloodshed of kinsmen ensued, forcing the devout Buddhist in her to stay away. She was a believer in monogamy, something her lover or husband (we aren't sure they married, given the caste difference) did not follow, and when they were older, both her children were taken away by their father to work for the Sangha. She spent all her life in Vaishali, where she grew up, built and looked after monasteries and stayed with monks and died a nun. If stories are to be believed, Asoka tried more than once to win her over and bring her to Patliputra, yet failed. The Kalinga devastation was perhaps the last straw as a disappointed Devi detached herself from any association with him. Perhaps a friendship rekindled when he spread the messages of Buddhism, her respect for him despite their differences as a devoted lover and wife was unmatched. The romantic in me believes it was she, the urge to win her over, that led him down the path of Dharma. True or not, Devi remains in history, elusive but not oblivious, as he mentions her in his edict fondly, and often appears in stories of a young prince, Asoka.