Political History of Ancient India, from the Accession of Parikshit to the Extinction of the Gupta Dynasty c12.s8.22

c12.s8.22

¹ Conquest of some of the territories occupied by the tribes and clans named here by former kings of Magadha does not necessarily mean the total extinction of the old ruling families, but merely a deprivation of their glory (*yaśaḥ*) and an extension of the suzerainty of the conqueror. Extirpation cannot be meant unless it is definitely asserted as in the case of Mahāpadma Nanda's conquest, or that of Samudra Gupta in Āryāvarta. It may also sometimes be implied by the appointment of a prince of the conquering family as viceroy. Allowance, however, must be made for a good deal of exaggeration. Even the Vajjiaus were not literally 'rooted out' by Ajātaśatru, as the most important of the constituent clans, *viz.*, the Lichchhavis, survive till the Gupta Age. A branch of the Ikshvākus may have been driven southwards as they are found in the third or fourth century A.D. in the lower valley of the Kṛishṇā. The Kāśis overthrown by Nanda may have been the descendants or successors of the prince whom Śiśunāga had placed in Benares. The Haihayas occupied a part of the Narmadā valley. Conquest of a part of Kaliṅga by Nanda is suggested by the Hāthīgumphā record, that of Aśmaka and part of the Godāvarī valley by the city called ‘Nau Nand Dehra’ (Nander, Macauliffe, *Sikh Religion*, V, p. 236), Vītihotra sovereignty had terminated before the rise of the Pradyotas of Avanti. But if the Purāṇic statement (*DKA*, 23, 69) “Contemporaneously with the aforesaid kings (Śaiśunāgas, etc.) there will be . . . . . Vītihotras” has any value, the Śaiśunāgas may have paved the way for a restoration of some scion of the old line in Avanti. According to the evidence of the *Purāṇas* (*Vāyu* 94. 51-52) the Vītihotras were one of the five gaṇas of the Haihayas, and the survival of the latter is well attested by epigraphic evidence. The Maithilas apparently occupied a small district to the north of the Vajjian dominions annexed by Ajātaśatru. The Pañchālas, Kurus, and the Sūrasenas occupied the Gangetic Doāb and Mathurā and the control of their territories by the king of Magadha *c.* 326 B.C., accords with Greek evidence.