The information about the mother of Ashoka (c. 3rd century BCE), the 3rd Mauryan emperor of ancient India, varies between different sources.
Ashoka's own inscriptions and the main texts that provide information about his life (such as Ashokavadana and Mahavamsa) do not name his mother.
The emperor stated that he was a Kshatriya (member of the warrior class), and would not sleep with a low-class barber girl.
The girl explained that she was the daughter of a Brahmin (a member of the high priestly class), and had been made a barber by the other women in the palace.
Janasena, an Ajivika ascetic known to the empress's family, was able to interpret the meaning of her cravings, and predicted that her son would conquer and rule over entire India (Jambudvipa).
[9] According to the Ashokavadana, when she gave birth to her first child, the empress named the baby Ashoka, because she had become "without sorrow" (a-shoka) when he was born.
Later, he told Ashoka's mother that her son would be the next emperor, and on her advice, left the empire to avoid Bindusara's wrath.