Love isn’t something that you find, but it is something that finds you. Love at first sight has always been a matter of debate for many. Many people share different opinions on this matter.
However, centuries of literature, mythology, and history have also showered this idea with attention, 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 no less than a fairy tale.
The historical love story began at first sight when Chandragupta Maurya saw Queen Helena near the river Jhelum while riding through the forest. Chandra fell instantly in love with the Greek beauty. Belonging to a royal family, Chandra decided to marry the princess. Meanwhile, the emperor was already married to Queen Dhundhara, and he confessed his desire to marry Queen Helena.
Chanakya, the learned counselor of the empress’s court, advised Chandragupta Maurya that the only way to seek her hand was to declare war against Seleucus, who, after the death of Alexander, seized the opportunity to take over the eastern part of the Greek empire (Persia and Western India) and became emperor. However, this was only possible by conquering North India, which was under the Nanda Empire.
Soon, Maurya triumphed in the North, which alarmed Seleucus about the rise of Chandragupta Maurya in North India. At the same time, Chandra Gupta expressed his love for Queen Helena by sending proposals through carrier pigeons. Helena, too, was moved by the Indian ruler. Lately, Helena learned that the Indian ruler was a Hindu and a heathen. He won’t let her practice her religion or worship the Greek gods. Still, out of true love, she accepted him and adored him immensely.
In 305 B.C. Chandragupta defeated Seleucus (father of Queen Helena) and invited him to his court to ask for his daughter’s hand. There, he also offered war elephants as a token of gift. Seleucus was not ready to give his daughter Helena’s hand to a heathen, but Helena, who was already in love with the emperor, convinced her father, and they happily got married.
The Indian emperor, newly wed, settled in Patliputra. Later, he moved to Karnataka after converting to Jainism, handing the throne to Helena and her son Bindusar. He died there at the age of 42.
