The Indian King Ajatashatru
AJATASHATRU
| Ajatashatru | |
|---|---|
 | |
| 2nd Haryanka Emperor | |
| Reign | 492 – c. 460 BCE or early 4th cent. BCE |
| Predecessor | Bimbisara |
| Successor | Udayabhadra |
| Died | 460 BCE or c. 380 BCE |
| Spouse |
|
| Issue | Udayabhadra |
| Dynasty | Haryanka |
| Father | Bimbisara |
| Mother | Kosala Devi or Chellna |
Ajātasattu 492 – 460 BCE– or early 4th century ) was a king of the Haryanka dynasty of Magadha in East India. He was the son of King Bimbisara and was a contemporary of both Mahavira and Gautama Buddha. He forcefully took over the kingdom of Magadha from his father and imprisoned him. He fought a war against Vajji, ruled by the Lichchhavis, and conquered the republic of Vaishali.
Ajatashatru followed policies of conquest and expansion. He defeated his neighbours including the king of Kosala; his brothers, when at odds with him, went to Kashi, which had been given to Bimbisara as dowry. This led to a war between Magadha and Kosala. Ajatashatru occupied Kashi and captured the smaller kingdoms. Magadha under Ajatashatru became the most powerful kingdom in North India.
He is the inventor of two weapons used in war called rathamusala.Datings
Mahavamsa dates accession of Ajatashatru in 491 BC. It further dates his second campaign against Vajjis in 481-480 BC. Based on the same, A. L. Basham dates the first campaign of Ajatashatru in 485 BC. The Samannaphala Sutta states that Ajatashatru visited the six teachers to hear their doctrines and at last visited Buddha in 491 BC.
Birth
Ajatashatru, also known as Kunika, was the son of Bimbisara. The ancient inscription in Government Museum, Mathura refers to him as vaidehi putra Ajatashatru Kunika "Ajatashatru Kunika, the son of Vaidehi." The story of Ajatashatru is found in the Tripiṭaka of Buddhism and Jain Agamas. The account of Ajatashatru's birth is more or less similar in both the traditions. According to Jainism, Ajatashatru was born to King Bimbisara and Queen Chelna; Buddhist tradition records Ajatashatru being born to Bimbisara and Kosala Devi. It is worthwhile to note that both the queens were called "Vaidehi" in both the traditions.
According to the Jain Nirayavalika Sutra, during her pregnancy Queen Chelna had the strong desire to eat fried flesh of her husband's heart and drink liquor. Meanwhile, the very intelligent Prince Abhayakumara, son of King Bimbisara and Queen Nanda, fried a wild fruit that resembled a heart and gave it to the queen. The queen ate it and later felt ashamed for having such a demonic desire and she feared that the child might grow up and prove fatal for the family, thus after a few months of the child being born, the queen had him thrown out of the palace. When the child was lying near the garbage dump, a cock bit his little finger. King Bimbisara, learning about the child being thrown out, ran outside and picked up the child and put its bleeding little finger in his mouth and sucked it until it stopped bleeding and continued this for days until it was healed. As the little finger of the child was sore, he was nicknamed Kunika "Sore Finger". Later he was named Asokacanda.
Kingdom
After conquering Vaishali, Kasi and Kosala (Kaushala) Ajatashatru conquered 36 republican states surrounding his kingdom and firmly established the predominance of Magadha. Ajatashatru was monarch of a huge kingdom, which covered almost all of modern India's Bihar, Chandigarh, Haryana, Uttarakhand, Himachal Pradesh, Delhi, Uttar Pradesh, One fourth of north Madhya Pradesh, tip of Chhattisgarh, Jharkhand, and west Bengal.
Ajatashatru, with the help of his two ministers Sunidha and Vassakāra, built a fort near the banks of the river Ganges to strengthen the defense of Magadha and named it Pātali Grama(village). Later it developed into a city, which soon became popular as Pataliputra, now known as Patna, the capital of Bihar.
Family
The Jaina tradition
According to the Nirayāvaliyā Suttā Ajatashatru was born to King Bimbisara and Queen Chellana, who was the daughter of Chetaka the king of Vaishali, who was the brother of Queen Triśalá, mother of Mahavira. Ajatashatru had eight wives, but Padmavati, Dharini and Subhadra were his principal consorts. He also had a son named Udayabhadda or Udayabhadra.
The Buddhist tradition
According to Dīgha nikāya, Ajatashatru was born to King Bimbisara and Queen Kosala Devi, who was the daughter of Maha-Kosala, the king of Kosala and sister of Pasenadi who later succeeded to the throne. Ajatashatru had 500 wives but the principal consort was Princess Vajira. The City of Kasi was given to Bimbisara as dowry by Maha-kosala. After the murder of Bimbisara, Prasenajit took the city back. This resulted in a war between Ajatashatru and Prasenajit, in which Prasenajit was first defeated but became successful later. As Ajatashatru happened to be his nephew his life was spared. In a peace treaty Prasenajit married his daughter Vajira to him. Ajatashatru later had a son named Udayabhadda or Udayabhadra.
Death
The account of Ajatashatru's death recorded by historians is c. 535 BCE. The account of his death differs widely between Jain and Buddhist traditions. Other accounts point towards c. 460 BCE as the year of his death.
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