Sisunaga and His Successors

If you're new here, you may want to subscribe to my RSS feed. Thanks for visiting!

(430-364 B.C.)

Sisunaga had gained respect under the weak successors of Ajatasatru and, probably, became the ruler of Magadha with the consent of the people.

He proved to be a capable ruler and extended the territories of Magadha. He defeated the neighbouring rival state of Avanti, Vatsa and Kosala annexed theri territories to Magadha.

Sisunaga was succeeded by his son Kalasoka or Kakavarna. He made Pataliputra the capital of Magadha.

Kalasoka was murdered because of a palace conspiracy and, probably, his murderer was the founder of Nanda dynasty.

The ten sons of Kalasoka ruled for ten years after him. The princes were allowed to rule nominally for these years to cover the guilt of the murder of their father. But, ultimately, all of them were killed and a new dynasty of kings started its rule over Magadha.

Regarding the first Nanda ruler, there is a difference of opinion. Puranas called him Mohapadma whereas the Mahabodhivamsa gives his name as Ugrasena. Jain-texts describe him as the son of a barber while Puranas say that the founder of the Nanda dynasty was a Sudra.

Mahapadma Nanda according to Puranas destroyed all Kshatriya rulers. The kingdoms of Aikshvakus, Panchalas, Kasis, Haihayas, Kalingas, Asmakas, Kurus, Maithilas, Sursenas etc., were defeated and their territories were annexed to Magadha. Nandas rules over the southern part of Bombay and north-western part of Mysore.

Nandas succeeded in establishing a great empire which covered the greater part of northern India and part of the South. The credit for it goes primarily to the first ruler of this dynasty.

Nine rulers of Nanda dynasty ruled over Magadha. Little is known about the history of Nandas after Mahapadma Nanda except the last ruler, nicknamed Dhana Nanda.

He was a contemporary of Alexander and his empire seems to have extended up to the frontiers of Punjab. He was a powerful king and kept a large army. But he was cruel and miserly. He accumulated fabulous wealth at the expense of his subjects by means of excessive taxation and extractions. Therefore, he was unpopular among his subjects.

Chandra Gupta Maurya, the founder of the Mauryan dynasty took advantage of his unpopularity and succeeded in killing him and captured the throne of Magadha.

Popularity: 21% [?]

Tags: ajatasatru, avanti, kakavarna, kosala, magadha, mohapadma, nanda dynasty, pataliputra, puranas, sisunaga, successors, vaisali, vatsa

The Factors That Led To Rise of Magadha

The kingdom of Magadha rose to pre-eminence during the period the period of Bimbisara and became the first great empire in India by the time of the Nandas.

Apart from ambitious and powerful rulers, other geographical, economic and cultural factors also contributed to its rise. There were certain permanent factors also which enabled it to rise to to the zenith of political greatness.

Magadha occupied a strategic position of geographical importance. The river Ganges and its tributaries Son, Gandak and Gagra served as means for defence, communication and trade. The older, capital Rajagriha was protected by seven hills and the later one Pataliputra being at the junction of the Ganges and the Son had natural means of defence.

The natural facilities of communication and trade helped it in its economic prosperity.

The land of Magadha was also fertile which yielded rich harvests. Land taxes could be kept high which proved to be regular and substantial sources of income to the state without which the maintenance of a big army could not be possible and the empire could neither be built up nor consolidated.

Besides, while neighbouring forests provided timber for building and elephants for the army, its own iron ore deposits made profitable the manufacture of better implements and weapons and a profitable trade in iron. Thus Magadha became an economically prosperous and militarily strong state.

Magadha, being in the East, was a place where a balanced synthesis between the Aryan and the non-Aryan cultures took place. The Brahmanic culture could not claim dominance in Magadha because by the time it reached there it had lost much of its strength and, therefore, liberal traditions in religion and society could be maintained in Magadha, Jainism and Buddhism which took their birth within the territories of Magadha were, probably, the results of liberal traditions and they participated in further enhancing these traditions.

Liberal traditions also contributed to the building of a strong empire in Magadha.

The administrative system of Magadha, wherein the state was ruled by a hereditary monarch who had the opportunity to enhance his financial and military resource, was also one of the causes of its rise.

The foundation of the Magadha empire was laid by Bimbisara and Ajatastru. Both were ambitious rulers and extended the boundaries of Magadha both by war and diplomacy.

After Ajatasatru, Sisunaga pursued the policy of empire-building and then came the Nandas who finally succeeded in establishing the first great empire in India.They created an extensive empire in India and left it to their successors, the Mauryas in a state when it was extremely prosperous and militarily strong so that the Mauryas became powerful enough to turn the foreigners, the Greeks out of India and also succeeded in completing the task began by Bimbisara and Ajatasatru of consolidating Indian into a big empire.

Popularity: 18% [?]

Tags: ajatastru, bimbisara, cause of rise, nandas, pataliputra, rajagriha, rise of magadha, sisunaga

Buddhism-Sangha or Monastic Order and Spread of Buddhism

Buddha founded a monastic order which is called Sangha. In the beginning, this Sangha was open to men only, but latter on the Master hesitatingly admitted even women into the Order.The monks were known as Bhikshus and the nuns as Bhikshunis.

A Bhikshu, before he joined the Order, had first to renounce family life and worldly pleasures and was to devote his whole life to the service of humanity. Then he was led to the assembly of ten monks and was to make a request that he wanted to become a monk. His hair and beard were then cut off and he was asked to wear the yellow robes of a monk.

He then uttered the following thrice- “Buddham, Sharnam Gachchami, Dharma Sharnam Gachchami, Sangham Sharnam Gachchami” that is “I take refuge in Buddha, I take refuge in Dharma and I take refuge in Sangha or Order”. Then the rules and procedure of the Sangha were read out to him. He was particularly informed of the “Ten Commandments” of the Master:

1. He was not to covet others’ property
2. He was not to take wine
3. He was to refrain from killing animals
4. He was not to associate with women
5. He was not to tell lies
6. He was not to eat at forbidden times
7. He was not to sing nor dance nor take part in dramas
8. He was not to use flowers, scents and ornaments
9. He was not to sleep on soft beds
10. He was not to have gold or silver.

There were special conditions for nuns or Bhikshunis:

a. A nun was not to spend her retreat where there were monks
b. Twice a month she was to receive admonition
c. Punishment to nuns was given by a Sangha consisting of monks and nuns.

All this meant life of poverty and chastity for a monk. He was to have one meal a day; and if he missed it, he could not take it any other time. He was not to touch gold and sliver.

The members of the Holy Order-the monks and the nuns were to spend most of the year among the people converting them to their point of view. They were to lives in monasteries and nunneries and were not to live in families.

During three months of the rainy season they had to return to their original monastery where a stock of the year’s work was taken. Each monastery then discussed the programme for the next year.

The Buddhist Sangha has had no central organization. Each Sangha carried on its work as an independent entity. But all Sanghas were accepted as merely parts of one Universal Sangha, and, every member of every Sangha was regarded as a member of all Sanghas. This was the bond of unity amongst them. Whenever any occasion arose, General Councils of the monks were held.

Every Sangha functioned on democratic principles. the general assembly of all the monks of a Sangha constituted the supreme authority concerning that Sangha, its members and all their activities. No meeting was legal, unless all the members were present, or if absent, formally declared their consent. All matters were decided by majority votes in the assembly. The head of the Sangha or Sangha-Parinayanka and all the officials concerning routine work of the Sangha were also elected by the assembly.

The nuns (Bhikkhunis) had separate Sanghas. They were established near the monk-Sanghas and were subordinate to them, as the Buddhist canon law assigned an inferior position to the nuns. Certain separate rules were also framed for nuns and their Sanghas.

The organization of the Sanghas had two other special features.

One was the regular assemblies of all monks residing within fixed boundaries of a locality held on the 8th, 14th and 15th days of each fortnight for religious discourses. Every monk had to accept his guilt or breach of any rule by him, if any, before all present and punishment to him was decided according to rules and regulations of the assembles.

During the three months of rains, the monks were enquired to take up a fixed abode. The rest of the year the monks used to wander all over the country.

Monks and the nuns had to practice certain spiritual exercises besides observing the code of conduct and rule of morality. The most important of he monk’s or the nun’s spiritual exercises were the four Sublime Moods (Brahma Vihara) in which sitting quietly cross-legged, he or she endeavored to fill his or her mind with the four cardinal virues of Buddhism, viz. love, compassion, joy and equanimity.

A fifth mood was that of impurity, in which he or she considered all the evilness and horror of the world and of the life of flesh. Another exercise for mental discipline was necessary for a monk, it was “Right collection.” It mean that he had to train himself to be continually aware of what he was doing, what faults or mistakes he had committed and be prepared to accept them and take remedial measures.

Hence the Sanghas were primarily the training centres for monks and nuns. These organization of the Sanghas helped in the propagation of Buddhism. The idea of organizing the Sanghas for the propagation of a particular religious faith was not new but the credit to give it a systemic character goes to Mahatma Buddha.

The first Buddhist council was held at Rajagriha soon after Buddha’s death under the auspices of King Ajatasatru and an attempt was made to compile the teachings of Buddha. The attempt did not succeed because the scriptures of Buddhism grew by a long process of development over several centuries.

The monks of Vaisali and Pataliputra had accepted certain rules which were declared against the teachings of Buddha by the monks of Kausambi and Avanti. The second council held at Vaisali failed to being about a compromise between the two opposite opinions which led to the first division of Buddhism.

Henceforth, those who opposed the rules were called the Sthaviravadins; and those who were in favour of the rules and their further relaxation were called the Mahasanghikas.

The third council was held at Pataliputra during the reign of Emperor Asoka. By that time Buddhists had developed serious differences among themselves. The lack of a supreme head of Buddhism who could settle the rival claims about the teachings of Mahatma Buddha proved to be the main cause of these divisions.

By Asoka’s time many Buddhist sects had raised Buddha almost to divinity and various places connected with his life had become places of pilgrimage. At several places Buddhsit viharas and stupas were also built-up. Emperor Ashoka himself helped in building many of them.

Asoka took keen interest in the propagation of Buddhism not only in Indian but even outside its geographical limits. By the time of his death Buddhism had become the most popular religion in India.

Asoka’s zeal created a reaction which reached its climax during the reign of Pushyamitra Sunga, and the progress of Buddhism did not stop. Rather, the invasions of foreigners like the Sakas and the Kushans gave India an opportunity to come in contact with the north-western countries of Asia and helped in its further progress beyond the frontiers of India. The Kushan rulers, particularly Kanishka, extended their patronage to Buddhism.

It was during the reign of Kanishka that the fourth general council of Buddhism was held in Kashmir which was presided over by Vasumitra. The great division took place after this council. Buddhism was divided into two major and important sects. One was called the Hinayana or the Lessser Vehicle, and the other was called the Mahayana or the Great Vehicle.

The new sect, Mahayanism proved to be more popular. It became popular not only in India but it penetrated and became popular in Afghanistan, Central Asia and as far as China and Japan. Hinayana sect of Buddhism remained popular in Ceylon and penetrated into Burma, Siam and certain other countries of South-East Asia. Thus at one time Buddhism became the foremost religion of Asia.

The Religious Texts

Buddhist religious texts were written in Pali and collectively known as Tripitaka (three baskets). The first part is the Vinayapitaka which lays down rules for the guidance of the monks and the general management of the Buddhist Church. The second part is the Suttapitakas, a collection of the religious discourses of Buddha; and, the third is the Abhidhammapitaka which contains an exposition of the philosophical principles underlying Buddhism.

Later, the Mahayana sect of Buddhism created their own texts. Besides, authoritative commentaries on the sacred texts and the Jatakas or stories relating to different births of Buddha also added much to the religious literature of Buddhism.

Popularity: 22% [?]

Tags: bhikshu, buddha, buddhism, fix abode, kausambi and avanti, monastic order, monk, nuns, pataliputra, sangha order, spiritual exercises