Samprati

Samprati (r. 224 – 215 BCE) was an emperor of Maurya dynasty. He was the son of Ashoka's blind son, Kunala, and succeeded his cousin, Dasharatha, as emperor of the Maurya Empire.

Claim to throne

Kunala was the son of one of Ashoka's queens, Padmavati (who was Jain), but was blinded in a conspiracy to remove his claim to the throne. Thus, Kunala was replaced by Dasharatha as the heir to the throne. Kunala lived in Ujjain with his "Dhai Maa". Samprati was brought up there. Years after being denied the throne, Kunala and Samprati approached Ashoka's court in an attempt to claim the throne. Ashoka could not deliver the throne to his blind son, but promised Samprati to be heir apparent after Dasharatha. After Dasharatha's death, Samprati inherited the throne of the Maurya Empire.

Reign

According to the Jain tradition he ruled for 53 years. The Jaina text, Pariśiṣṭaparvan mentions that he ruled both from Pataliputra and Ujjain.

Samprati and Jainism

Samprati is regarded as the "Jain Ashoka" for his patronage and efforts to spreading Jainism in east India. While in one source he is described as nominally a Jain from birth (Sthaviravali 9.53), most accounts emphasize his conversion at the hands of the Jain monk Suhastin, the eighth leader of the congregation established by Mahavira. After his conversion he was credited with actively spreading Jainism to many parts of India and beyond, both by making it possible for monks to travel to barbarian lands, and by building and renovating thousands of temples and establishing millions of icons.