But Chandragupta and Helena had no children. Now, Helen or Helena was a Greek. Later, Chandragupta’s son, continued expanding The Mauryan Empire to the south. Later, the boy named as Bindusara and became famous king in Indian history. Chandragupta and Helena had a son from their union. Helena was teen-aged when she married Sandrocottos: as the Greeks called Chandragupta Maurya, ruler of the Magadh Empire. Like them, the seniormost minister of the Magadh Empire, Chanakya or Kautilya too is wrapped up in a bundle of mysteries. Many thanks for your kind attention. Megasthenes was sent as Greek ambassador to the court of Chandragupta, Hence he was the first Indian ruler to have official foreign relations. This is well written. At the age of 20, Chandragupta married his first wife – Durdhara. But he did just that. Nandini who was already let down by Sandrocuttus overthrowing her father Dhanananda from the thrown was now furious. She was the daughter of Seleucus Nicator. Being Chandragupta Maurya’s wife, Helena wanted to usurp the throne from her… Historical records do not speak much of Helena but ancient chronicles do say she became well-versed in the system of Magadh or today’s Bihar and wielded massive influence in the corridors of power of the Mauryan Empire. Post the war, Chandragupta Maurya married Helena. 12 hours ago, Wedding Season Brings More Women to Hospital with Injuries from Rape Later, Chandragupta’s son, continued expanding The Mauryan Empire to the south. Only information is from foreign books like Megasthanese and pillars or stupas. It happpened to be love at first sight some accounts explain. Another mystery about Helena is that nothing practically is heard of her after she went to Macedonia. History does not say if Helena was immune to poison or a Vishkanya. In the struggles following the death of Alexander the Great, he rose from governor of Babylon to king of an empire centring on Syria and Iran. Chandragupta was attracted to this young lady and fell in love with her. The characters Helena and Chhaya were created by Roy. A mystery, indeed! When Chandragupta Maurya expressed his desire to marry Helena to Chanakya, he said it would only be possible if he wars Selecus Nicator – Helena’s father and put pressure on him.At the start, Chandragupta acquired northern parts which were under the Nanda rule, and then he declared war … What Chankya would have told is that Helena cannot become Chief Queen and Empress of Maurya as she was a foreigner. Later Chandragupta Maurya Married Helena who was Seleucus’ daughter and then entered into an alliance with Seleucus. After Alexander's death, Seleucus became the king of Babylon. She became his chief consort and Empress of Mauryan Empire. Both Mahinda and King Thissa spoke in a language each other understood. The foremost among them was the kingdom of Magadha in eastern India, whose rulers beginning with King Bimbisara (543 – 492 BCE) had embarked on a quest for empire-building. Chandragupta Maurya made Bindusara the new emperor and asked Chankaya to continue his services as the chief advisor of the Maurya dynasty. He started writing letters to her and after sometime she too started reciprocating his feelings. In 320 AD, Chandragupta Maurya and his first wife Durdhara had a child whose name was Bindusara. 12 hours ago, It Could Be Mission Impossible for the Indians Now We do not have an authentic historical record of the marriage but quasi-historical materials point to the fact that Chandragupta had fallen for Helena due to her beauty, and Helena too fell in love with him at the first very sight. It is believed that some soldiers of Alexander the Great did not return to Greece in 326 BCE but stayed back in present-day Himachal. It was found by Seleucus I Nicator following the division of the empire created by Alexander the Great. 1. Faxian imagined in the ruins of Ashoka’s palace Chandragupta Maurya Waged a War against Selecus Nicator to Marry Devi Helena When Chandragupta Maurya expressed his desire to marry Helena to Chanakya, he said it would only be possible if he wars Selecus Nicator – Helena’s father and put pressure on him. Chandragupta defeated Seleucus (father of Queen Helena) and invited him in his court to ask for his daughter’s hand. Selecus angrily asks what is he doing here. Later Chandragupta Maurya Married Helena who was Seleucus’ daughter and then entered into an alliance with Seleucus. Sandhi: + Seleucus married his daughter Helena to Chandragupta Maurya. Helena : The Greek Mauryan Princess – History and Chronicles Magadha’s boundaries had thus been much extended over time and contained a good part of central, eastern and north-eastern India. Hence the historians hint a love affair between Helena and Chandragupta. Also I heard that Pandukabhaya, a former king of Sri Lanka who was the great grandfather of Thissa was born in India and related to Chandragupta. Very strange! 12 hours ago, J&K - Everything has Changed, Nothing has Changed Parvatak death – How Chandragupta became the only emperor of India? Incidentally, she brought with her a troupe of women from Persia and Babylon to Pataliputra. Chandra gupta Maurya and his times by Willam Meyers, Ancient India by Megasthenes, Invasion of India by Arrian etc. Society in Chandragupta Maurya’s Times: Megasthenes, Nand daughter – Chandragupta Maurya’s wife. 'Seleucus the Victor') was a Greek general and one of the Diadochi, the rival generals, relatives, and friends of Alexander the Great who fought for control over his empire after his death. Seleucus married his daughter Helena when she was only 16 years old to Chandragupta Maurya of the mauryan empire… Change ), You are commenting using your Google account. We can have a rough idea about his looks. Taking place in 305 BCE, it was the first Indo-Grecian political marriage in the subcontinent. How did Chandragupta Maurya gain control of territories across the river Indus Log in. HRE Ferdinand I's 55-Great Grandfather. Chandragupta Maurya defeated Seleukos Nikator the commander in chief of Alexander the great and the ruling Emperor of Persia in 305 B.C. However centuries of literature, mythology, and history too have showered upon this idea, and to our surprise, the epic love affair of Chandragupta Maurya and Queen Helena (daughter of Seleucus Nicator, the ruler of Western India and Persia) is not less than a fairy tale. It is believed Helena’s son’s name was Justin. Then Thiissa and Ashoka are related. Her real-life character, however, was a very dominant female character in those ancient days. Log in. Seleucus married his daughter, Helena, to Chandragupta Maurya of the Mauryan Empire when she was just 16 years old. Essentially, it sounds Roman. Whatever it was, this marriage undoubtedly was the subcontinent’s first intercontinental political marriage. Bindusara’s son Ashoka sent a Buddhist mission to Sri Lanka led by Ashoka’s son, Mahinda Thera. - Seleucus crossed the Indus and attacked Chandragupta in which Seleucus was defeated. Change ), You are commenting using your Twitter account. What is the source you’ve referred to, on which this is based? What happened to her after the death of Chandragupta Maurya remains shrouded in mystery. No books of mauryan era exist as they were burnt in raids in india. Chandragupta Maurya made Bindusara the new emperor and asked Chankaya to continue his services as the chief advisor of the Maurya dynasty. Chandragupta had two wives, one named Durdhara and the other named Helena. Awesome. Seleucus married his daughter, Helena, to Chandragupta Maurya of the Mauryan Empire when she was just 16 years old. General under Alexander the Great; Satrap of BABYLON; Basileus; eponym of SELEUCID Empire. Hence Chankya bringing this point is not possible. Change ), Nand daughter – Chandragupta Maurya’s wife, Nigrodha and Ashoka – A meeting that changed Emperor Ashoka, Nands daughter and Chandra Gupta Maurya : Love at first sight. Seleucus I Nicator (l. c. 358-281 BCE, r. 305-281 BCE) was one of the generals of Alexander the Great (l. 356-323 BCE) who make up the group of Diadochi ("successors") who divided the vast Macedonian Empire between them after Alexander's death in 323 BCE (the others being Cassander, Ptolemy, and Antigonus).Despite not receiving his share of the fallen king’s empire until several years … Helena became quiet Indian after marriage to Chandragupta Maurya. Whether Helena had a son is debatable point. He then married Helena, a Greek Princess at the age of 40. On Kautilya's advice, Chandragupta married the daughter of Seleucus, Helen. Some local legends in Patna say Helena stayed back in Pataliputra after the death of Chandragupta Maurya, and left for Macedonia a few years later during the reign of Bindusara, son of Chandragupta Maurya from another wife. But in her time, it is said Vishkanyas were there in Persia, Mesopotamia and Babylonia. Chandragupta had once seen Seleucus' daughter, Helena, near the Jhelum River. We have stone sculptures that show Chandragupta Maurya. Helena was the daughter of the Greek ruler Seleucus Nicator. maiyeshekRangis maiyeshekRangis 20.08.2016 Social Sciences Secondary School Name the daughter of selucus who was the wife of chandragupta mauraya? Folklore, archaeological evidence, books in Jainism, Buddhism, Brahmanism and the records of ancient Grecian chroniclers make Helena a character shrouded in mystery. Invasion of seleucus Nicator Treaty of Chandragupta &Nicator. Let us begin the story with Pakistan. DONATE. History is mute here. You should write something about medieval history too. But Chandragupta, her husband, was. The Seleucid Empire was a Hellenistic state ruled by the Seleucid dynasty from 312 BC to 63 BC. Was Helena also a Vishkanya? Seleucus I Nicator involved himself in a peace treaty with Maurya Dynasty and married his daughter Helena (or Diodora or Durdhara) with Sandrocuttus(Chandragupta). Though it is said that Chandragupt Maurya and Helena Maurya’s marriage was a strategic alliance between the two states, there are tales that hint a love story between the two. ( Log Out /  But Helena was Greek, and a Grecian would never name her son after Roman traditions. It was found by Seleucus I Nicator following the division of the empire created by Alexander the Great. I would definetly like to write in future on Asian history and Indian history. But whatsoever the story may be, Chandragupta married Helena in his 40s. Helena’s son cannot be heir anyways because he was younger son of Chandragupta Maurya. Chandragupta Maurya gave 500 elephants as gifts to his father in law Seleukos Nikator and he in return gave him large parts of Afghanistan and Persian Empire. Learn more about Chandragupta Maurya . 358 BC Died: 281 BC murdered. Seleucus I `Nicator' (King) of SYRIA. Daughter of Seleukos Nikator, the Commander-in-Chief of Alexander the Great and ruling Emperor of Persia and his Persian wife, Helena was believed to be around 15 or 16 when she married Chandragupta who was around 39 then. In fact, the activities of Alexander, Seleukos Nikator whose daughter Helena was, Chanakya and Chandragupta were initially confined to the North West Frontier Province of undivided India. Poss. Who knows many of these ladies might have married the local people? Born: abt. Thats possible. But some accounts explain that Chandragupta in his 40s, saw Helena and fell in love with her. Another strange fact is that we do not know what she looked like. It happpened to be love at first sight some accounts explain. As their alliance happened after a war treaty, so mostly it is written that ‘the marriage’ was a political alliance between the two states, but a few back the view that they were already in love. Helena, however, had a son who believed to have returned to Macedonia with her. Please log in using one of these methods to post your comment: You are commenting using your WordPress.com account. Nands daughter and Chandra Gupta Maurya : Love at first sight, Nigrodha and Ashoka - A meeting that changed Emperor Ashoka. Mura – Chandragupta's mother. Seleucus got married his daughter “Helena” with Chandragupta and in return Seleucus got 500 war elephants. In doing so, a swarm of questions come to life. He had many elder brothers who were before him in line of succession. Their lives were so extraordinary that even after 2,300 long years they amaze us. Megasthenes, the Macedonian Ambassador to Pataliputra, also wrote in his book Indica that Helena had a son but did not say much about him. In 289 B. C. at the age of 56 years Chandragupta Maaurya abdicated his throne to his son Bindusara and embraced Jainism and left for Shravanabelegola in Karnataka where he meditated for 2 years and fasted unto death in 287 B.C. Join now. Curiosity about Helena is also seen at the Uppsala University of Sweden, which is going to intensify research on the people of Malana and Kanashi villages in Himachal Pradesh, who claim to be of Macedonian origin, thus perhaps the progeny of our beloved Mauryan Empress. Agnes Harris's 54-Great Grandfather. According to Appian, a popular Roman historian, a part of the truce also came through Seleucus forming a marriage relationship with the Mauryas, by getting his daughter Helena betrothed to Chandragupta Maurya, thus receiving 500 very efficient war elephants as a part of the dowry in return. Chandragupta Maurya had fallen in love with Helena and fought against Seleucus Nikator in war and defeated him to marry Helena. As per Chankaya’s advice, Chandragupta Maurya then invited Seleucus for a meeting and proposed the alliance of Helena with Chandragupta. On a still moonlit night as you walk along the ancient ruins of Kumhrar, Bulandibagh or the ancient ghats of the river Ganga in today’s Patna, you perhaps will have the eerie feeling of making an imaginary rendezvous with Helena. Seleucus I Nicator, Macedonian army officer who founded the Seleucid kingdom. Chandragupta sent 500 war elephants in a return gesture, a military decision that would play a decisive role in the Battle of Ipsus in 301 BC. Chhaya – Chandraketu's sister. Why? Seleucus had first set foot in India in 326 BC as a newly-appointed captain of an infantry guard in the army of Alexander who was fighting against King Porus. By the terms of the treaty, Seleucus surrebderred his territories in Afghanistan - Herat, Kandhar, and the Kabul valley - to Chandragupta Maurya. She was Seleucus Nicator’s daughter whom Chandragupt Maurya had defeated in a war. 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