Ajatasatru and His Successors

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Ajatasatru(493-462 B.C.) continued his father’s policy of expansion through military conquests. First, a fierce struggle started between Magadha and Kosala. Prasenajit’s sister who was the wife of Bimbisara died of grief at the death of her husband. Prasenajit could not tolerate it and asked Ajatasatru to return Kasi which was given in dowry to Bimbisara.

Ajatasatru, refused and thus a protracted war began between Magadha and Kosala. The war remained indecisive for a long time but ultimately Prasenajit agreed to give Kasi to Ajatasatru and also gave his daughter Vajira in marriage to him, which proves that the outcome of war, finally, went in favour of Magadha.

The foundation of the political supremacy of Magadha was laid by Ajatasatru by defeating the strong confederacy of Vriji. The confederacy which dominated Eastern India included 36 republican states. The bone of contention between the two powers was a newfound jewel-mine.

The two powers had agreed to share equally the jewels of the mine but the Lichchhavi violated this agreement and so the war was declared by Magadha.

The real issue was that Magadha could not be the supreme power in Eastern India without defeating the powerful Lichchhavi confederacy. This was realized by both sides. That is why not only the Lichchhavi but the entire Vriji confederacy including the chiefs of Kasi and Kosala united themselves against Magadha.

The conflict between Magadha and the confederacy continued for sixteen years (484-468). Ajatasatru made all sorts of preparations for it. To be near the theatre of war, a new fort was built near the bank of the Ganges, which later grew to be the famous city of Pataliputra and future capital of Magadha.

Ajatasatru also realized that to gain victory against such a powerful confederacy its inner unity had to destroyed.

Therefore, he sent his minister, Vassakara, to sow of dissension amongst the members of the confederacy. Vassakara remained there for three years and proved successful in his mission. The political and social unity of the Vrijis was broken. Moreover Magadha was able to produce two new weapons of war.

One was the Mahasilakantaka which was used to throw heavy pieces of stone on the enemy from a distance.

The other was the Rathamusala, a chariot with knives and cutting edges fixed on to it and a place under cover for the charioteer.

Thus after preparing himself diplomatically and militarily, Ajatasatru attacked the Vrijis and finally won. Magadha became an unchallenged supreme power in east India.

The success of Ajatasatru aroused the hostility of king Chanda Pradyota of Avanti who started making preparations to attack Magadha. But it was Ajatasatru who strengthened his fortifications and took various other measures to defend his boundaries and succeeded. Pradyota could not attack Magadha. Ajatasatru was successful in further extending the boundaries of his kingdom and in laying the foundations of the greatness of Magadha.

Ajatasatru was of liberal religious opinions. Ajatasatru, probably, was first inclined to Jainism but later on he became a devotee of the Buddha. The first General Council of the Buddhists was held under his patronage near Rajagriha. He built several Buddhist Chaityas.

Ajatasatru died in 461 B.C. Five kings succeeded him.All of them ascended the throne after killing their fathers.

Ajatasatru was succeeded by his son Udayabhadra. The rivalry between Magadha and Avanti continued during his time but Udayabhadra succeeded in defeating Palaka, the then ruler of Avanti several times. It is believed that Palaka then engaged a hired assassin to kill Udayabhadra who murdered him when he was listening to the discourse of a religious teacher. Udayabhadra was a Jain. He built a town called Kusumapura and a Jain Chaityagriha inside it.

Udayabhadra was succeeded by Anurudha, Munda and Nagadasaka respectively. None of them proved himself capable of ruling and ach of them was a parricide. It created dissatisfaction among their subjects and, therefore, one of the ministers of the last king, Sisunaga succeeded in overthrowing his rule and established the rule of a new dynasty.

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Tags: ajatasatru, avanti, bimbisara, eastern india, kingdom, kosala, kusumapura, magadha, palaka, pradyota prasenajit, rajagriha, sisunaga, udayabhadra

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.

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