Yasomati (died 604 or 605 or 606 CE) was an ancient Indian queen Although it is not known if she had an official title, she was probably a Rani as the chief wife of King Prabhakaravardhana of Thanesar.
Name Yasomati is also known as Yasovati,Bireshwar Nath Srivastava (1976). Harsha and His Times: A Glimpse of Political History During the Seventh Century A.D. and as Yasomati DeviEpigraphia Indica Archaeological Survey of India. Published in 1971 ("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 According to a theory, Yasomati was a daughter of King Yashodharman of Malwa and a sister of King Shiladitya of Malwa.Chintaman Vinayak Vaidya (1979). History of Mediaeval Hindu India: Rise of Hindu kingdoms. Yasomati is mentioned on the pages 38 and 39.
Yasomati married Prabhakaravardhana (member of the Pushyabhuti dynasty), and she had three children with him: King Rajyavardhana King HarshaAbraham 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..."Andrea Major (2007). Sati: A Historical Anthology. Oxford University Press. (हर्षवर्धन) Rajyashri, Queen consort of Kannauj
Yasomati burnt herself to death. 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 husbandʻs death. Poet Bāṇabhaṭṭa mentioned in Harshacharita that Yasomati distributed her jewellery to the other members of the royal court shortly before she killed herself.Jakub Pigoń, ed. (18 December 2008). The Children of Herodotus: Greek and Roman Historiography and Related Genres. Cambridge Scholars Publishing. p. 126. .
Bhandi, a nephew of Yasomati, was a companion of Harsha.Journal of the Royal Asiatic Society of Great Britain and Ireland. Published in 1909. Cambridge University Press for the Royal Asiatic Society.
References