Political History of Ancient India, from the Accession of Parikshit to the Extinction of the Gupta Dynasty c12.s6.8

c12.s6.8

**Uḍyāin** : Before his accession to the throne Udāyin or Udāyi-bhadda, the son of Ajātaśatru, seems to have acted as his father's Viceroy at Champā.¹ The *Pariśishṭaparvan* informs us that he founded a new capital on the banks of the Ganges which came to be known as Pāṭaliputra.² This part of the Jaina tradition is confirmed by the testimony of the *Gārgī Samhitā*³ and the *Vāyu Purāṇa* according to which Udāyin built the city of Kusumapura (Pāṭaliputra) in the fourth year of his reign. The choice of the place was probably due to its position in the centre of the realm which now included North Bihār. Moreover, its situation at the confluence of two large rivers, the Ganges and the Śon and close to other streams, was important from the commercial as well as the strategic point of view. In this connection it is interesting to note that the *Kauṭilīya Arthaśāstra* recommends a site at the confluence of rivers for the capital of a kingdom.