Kunala

Kunala (IAST: Kuṇāla ) (263 BC - ?) was a son of Emperor Ashoka and Queen Padmavati and the presumptive heir to Ashoka, thus the heir to the Mauryan Empire which once ruled almost all of the Indian subcontinent. After the departure of Mahendra (who was Ashoka's eldest son), he was supposed to be the future heir to the empire, but was blinded by his step-mother, Tishyaraksha, at a young age in jealousy. While he was not able to take the throne, his son, Samprati, became his heir.

Kunala also served as the Viceroy of Taxila during the reign of his father, having been appointed to the position in 235 BC.

Significance of name

The name Kunal in many Indian languages means "Eagle". Kuṇāla is also the name of a Himalayan bird, the 'Painted Snipes'. The most famous meaning of Kunal is in Sanskrit which is "Lotus". Kunal also means "bird with beautiful eyes", "someone who sees beauty in everything" or "one with beautiful eyes".

Early life

Due to the premature death of his birth mother, Rani Padmavati within a few months of his birth, he was raised by Ashoka's chief queen consort Asandhimitra who loved him like her own son. Due to this, Asandhimitra is often mistaken to be his birth mother. At the age of eight, Ashoka sent his son to Ujjain, there to be brought up and carry out his princely education, to become the heir to the throne of the Mauryan Empire. Which he should not have succeeded because he was the youngest and had no right to rule just like his father.

Kunal Nayyar

Kunal Nayyar (/kʊˌnɑːl ˈnaɪər/; Hindi: कुणाल नय्यर, Punjabi: ਕੁਨਾਲ ਨੈਯ੍ਯਰ, born 30 April 1981) is a British-Indian actor and writer known for his role as Rajesh Koothrappali in the CBS sitcom The Big Bang Theory.

According to Forbes, Kunal was third on the list of World’s Highest-Paid TV Actors for 2015 with earnings of $US20 million.

Early life

Nayyar was born to a Punjabi family in London and brought up in New Delhi, India. He attended St Columba's School in New Delhi, where he played badminton for the school team.

In 1999, Nayyar moved to the US to pursue a Bachelor of Science in Business (Finance) from the University of Portland, Oregon. Working on his degree, he started taking acting classes and appeared in several school plays.

After participating in the American College Theater Festival, Nayyar decided to become a professional actor. He then attended Temple University in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, where he received a Master of Fine Arts in Acting.

Career

After graduating, Nayyar found work doing American television ads and plays on the London stage. He first gained attention in the US for his role in the West Coast production of Rajiv Joseph's 2006 play Huck & Holden, where he portrayed an Indian exchange student anxious to experience American culture before returning home. In 2006, Nayyar teamed up with Arun Das to write the play Cotton Candy, which premiered in New Delhi to positive reviews.