| Yasomati | |
|---|---|
| Spouse | Prabhakaravardhana |
| Issue | 3 |
Yasomati (died 604 or 605 or 606 CE) was an ancient Indian queen [1] as the chief wife of King Prabhakaravardhana of Thanesar.
Name[edit | edit source]
Yasomati is also known as Yasovati,[2] and as Yasomati Devi[3] ("devi" meaning 'goddess'). Since the "s" in the common English spelling of her name is pronounced "sh" (as in "fish"), her name is also spelled Yashomati.
Biography[edit | edit source]
According to a theory, Yasomati was a daughter of King Yashodharman of Malwa and a sister of King Shiladitya of Malwa.[4]
Yasomati married Prabhakaravardhana (member of the Pushyabhuti dynasty), and she bore him three children:
- King Rajyavardhana
- King Harsha[5][6] (ą¤¹ą¤°ą„ą¤·ą¤µą¤°ą„ą¤§ą¤Ø)
- Rajyashri, Queen consort of Kannauj
Yasomati burnt herself to death, and this is sometimes considered sati, although sati is a term usually used for the widows who died by self-immolation, whilst Yasomati killed herself before her husbandŹ»s death. Poet BÄį¹abhaį¹į¹a mentioned in Harshacharita that Yasomati distributed her jewellery to the other members of the royal court shortly before she killed herself.[7]
Bhandi, a nephew of Yasomati, was a companion of Harsha.[8]
References[edit | edit source]
- ā Although it is not known if she had an official title, she was probably a Rani
- ā Bireshwar Nath Srivastava (1976). Harsha and His Times: A Glimpse of Political History During the Seventh Century A.D.
- ā Epigraphia Indica Archaeological Survey of India. Published in 1971
- ā Chintaman Vinayak Vaidya (1979). History of Mediaeval Hindu India: Rise of Hindu kingdoms. Yasomati is mentioned on the pages 38 and 39.
- ā Abraham Eraly (2011). The First Spring: The Golden Age of India. p. 372. "Two centuries later, in another celebrated incident, Harsha's mother Yasomati committed sati..."
- ā Andrea Major (2007). Sati: A Historical Anthology. Oxford University Press.
- ā Jakub PigoÅ, ed. (18 December 2008). The Children of Herodotus: Greek and Roman Historiography and Related Genres. Cambridge Scholars Publishing. p. 126. ISBN 978-1443802512.
- ā Journal of the Royal Asiatic Society of Great Britain and Ireland. Published in 1909. Cambridge University Press for the Royal Asiatic Society.