Indira of Janviera, Eadien Empress

Indira of Janviera (16 January 1026 - 11 December 1095), was Eadien Empress as the second wife of Thusuaye I. Since her becoming empress was related to Kalidha Min Gasi, the empress regent, Thusuaye I was very distant from her and regarded her as a symbol of his mother's power. After the fall of Kalidha Min Gasi in 1051, her marriage to the emperor was annulled. Her grandson Minsi III later became the emperor, and the two emperors of the House of Thiwarik were her descendants.

Early life
Indira was the daughter of Joan II, Duke of Janviera and his wife Suwei Mihadela. She grew up in a Suma Temple in Sedhiwra and was not taken back to the court of Janviera until she was nine years old. Her parents didn't like her because she was silent and unsmiling all day long, and her sister Suwei of Janviera was welcomed, in sharp contrast to her. Most of the time in the court, Indira lived a simple life with her maids, one of whom, Countess of Hegunak, a widow, often taught her to be indifferent to fame and wealth, to be upright and to help others, which had a great influence on her.

She was first arranged to marry her father's most loyal subordinate, Reramonsi, Count of Biguiate, who was 21 years older than her. Therefore, this marriage was strongly opposed by Suwei Mihadela, and the count of Biguiate gave in wisely, and married his friend's sister Manarella Zolamen. Joan II was very dissatisfied with his wife's opposition. He vented his anger on their children and refused to find a suitable marriage for them. After the setback of marriage, Indira's view on marriage became negative. She once expressed her idea of becoming a nun to the countess of Hegunak, but the countess encouraged her not to give up hope.

Marriage
She was not married until 1048, when she was 22, and so was her sister, Suwei, 25. However, in this year, Joan II suddenly decided to arrange the marriage of the two sisters, because the marriage between Thusuaye I and his first wife, Isovanasi, was annulled at that time. The empress dowager Kalidha expressed her intention to broker a marriage with Janviera, which meant that one of Joan's daughters would become the empress. Joan II initially arranged for Suwei to marry the emperor, but the arrogant Suwei resented her father's continuous delay in their marriage. She directly announced that she would not marry any husband arranged by Joan II. Joan II was very angry, but in order not to have an accident, he did not force Suwei to obey him. Instead, he changed the object of the marriage to his second daughter, Indira. On 14 January, the day after Indira arrived in Nanwa, she and the emperor held a wedding in the Minor Ethong Palace. Only 5 days ago, the marriage between the emperor and Isovanasi was annulled. The wedding was held in such a hurry that there are clamours of comments among people at that time.

Thusuaye I was very dissatisfied with his newlywed wife. He gave her a cold shoulder and didn't speak much. Kalidha also felt that she didn't have the style of an empress and didn't pay much attention to her. According to the records at that time, Indira was short and had eyes not uniform in size obviously. Her appearance can't be described as "beauty". Moreover, she was slow in action and had a slight stuttering, which made people reluctant to communicate with her too much. She was unobtrusive and had little influence in the court of Nanwa, and she had no sense of existence compared to her distinct predecessor and successor. However, people in the palace at that time all spoke highly of her. Although many people looked down upon her, they all acknowledged that Indira was a woman of high moral character and always thought of others. She often read books or did needlework in her bedroom alone, and occasionally strolled in the garden of the harem. She didn't like the company of maids, and was more used to being alone.

On 22 August 1049, Indira gave birth to a son, the eldest son of the emperor. This child was immediately announced as the crown prince and Duke of Thiwarik, named Menshan Maya, which was taken from his mother's name. After having a son, Indira spent more time with her children. Although Thusuaye I seldom stayed with his wife and son, she didn't complain. She persuaded some noble women to bring their children to the harem to accompany Menshan Maya. Her father was entrusted by her to find excellent teachers for her son. Indira and her father and brother were responsible for the whole cultivation process of Menshan Maya, while Tusuaye I, the father, only ignored and was indifferent to his son.

The coronation of Indira caused controversy in the court. After Thusuaye I married her, he didn't mean to hold a coronation ceremony for his wife. After all, when he married Isovanasi, he also announced that he would wait for the empress to give birth to an heir before the coronation, so people didn't pay much attention to it at that time. Now that Indira had given birth to Prince Menshan, Thusuaye still didn't mention the coronation. Some nobles had proposed that the empress should be crowned. Thusuaye had agreed, but he had never ordered to do it or issued a plan for it. It's obvious that the emperor did not want to crown his wife. There was a lot of discussion in the court for a moment, and people were wondering whether the same thing that Hsinpalay IV divorced his wife Galandaph would happen again. Finally, under the pressure of public opinion, Thusuaye crowned Indira in the Tongtha Khin Temple on 19 February 1050.

Marriage annulment
In 1051, Thusuaye I exiled his mother, and all her followers were punished. Although Indira and Kalidha had no political connection and she had no influence, in Thusuaye's view, Indira who was chosen by his mother was the symbol of her dictatorship. Thus, Indira became an innocent victim in the power struggle.

On 25 January, Thusuaye I sent people to Indakali, hoping that Indra VI would resume his marriage to his late first wife, Isovanasi. The request was approved two days later. Since the marriage between Thusuaye and Isovanasi had come into force again, it meant that his marriage with Indira was invalid, because Isovanasi was still alive when they got married. Knowing the result, Indira didn't resist or be unwilling. She ordered people to pack up and prepare to leave Nanwa, and blessed the emperor. However, Indira's son Menshan was not deprived of the right of inheritance, because Thusuaye had only one son at that time. He had already started to look for a new wife and wanted to give birth to a son to replace Menshan.

Indira retired to the Formaya Manor in Malin from the palace. This was a wedding gift given to her by Thusuaye three years ago. Perhaps because of feeling sorry to her, Thusuaye ordered that she still be provided with an annuity of 10,000 nelas, and the imperial family will support her until her death, meanwhile all the land and property that Thusuaye gave her was not confiscated. In the same year, with Ophia of Salin, Thusuaye's third wife, giving birth to a son, Menshan Maya was no longer the crown prince, only retained the title of Duke of Thiwarik, and was sent to Janviera for the care of his grandfather Joan II.

Death and aftermath
Indira had been living a simple life in Malin, and there was no record of the details of her life since then. On 11 December 1095, Indira died in the Formaya Manor at the age of 69. She was considered to have died normally because there was no specific record of her death reason. It was time for Thusuaye II, the grandson of her former husband, to be in the throne, so the court did not respond much to her death. Her funeral was held in Malin in a low-key manner, only her relatives were present, and she was buried in the Khaung Malla Temple in Malin, in next February.

According to the documentary novel Imperial Roses In Dusk by Lady Ghong, Muhatana of Hsindra, the regent at that time and the last wife of Thusuaye I, was very curious by her husband's ex-wife as they had never met before, thus she ordered that the body of Indira be transported to Nanwa. She went to see the remains of Indira and praised, "she's so beautiful.". Then Indira was buried. Nevertheless, many historians believe that this is only a literary creation by analyzing historical materials, because it is recorded that Indira is not beautiful, and she was nearly 70 when she died. In fact, there was no superfluous reaction of the former empress's death at imperial court, and Indira's body never left Malin.

After her grandson Minsi III was taken office, he once wanted to build an empress's mausoleum in Yanimen and to bury her. But until his abdication, the tomb was not finished, only four white towers in the four corners of the tomb were finished. As the mausoleum was not completed, the four white towers were meaningless, so later emperors demolished these white towers which belonged to Indira as raw materials for building their own mausoleums. By the early 17th century, all four white towers had been demolished.