Durdhara

Durdhara (350 BCE – 320 BCE) was one of the two empress consorts (the other being Helena) of Chandragupta Maurya, the founder of the 4th-century BCE Maurya Empire of ancient India, according to the 12th century CE Jain text Parishishtaparvan by Hemachandra. She is stated by this text to be the mother of the second Mauryan emperor, Bindusara also known as Amitraghāta.

Nothing is mentioned or known about Durdhara outside of this legend written 1,600 years after Chandragupta's era. Other sources, such as the Burmese Buddhist records do not corroborate the Jain legend. Megasthenes, the Greek ambassador in the final years of Chandragupta's court, does not mention Durdhara nor use the name Bindusara, but refers to Chandragupta's successor as Amitrochates, while the Hindu scholar Patanjali calls him Amitraghata (meaning "vanquisher of foes"). Scholars consider the Bindusara of Jain texts to be the same as Amitraghata.

In popular culture

 * Durdhara was portrayed by Nidhi Tikko in  Chandragupta Maurya
 * Saanvi Talwar played Durdhara in the 2016 historical fiction series Chandra Nandini.
 * Pranali Ghogare and Aditi Sanwal portrayed Durdhara in  Chandragupta Maurya