Political History of Ancient India, from the Accession of Parikshit to the Extinction of the Gupta Dynasty c9.s7: Section I. The Sixteen Mahājanapadas
Political History of Ancient India, from the Accession of Parikshit to the Extinction of the Gupta Dynasty c9.s7
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Section I. The Sixteen Mahājanapadas
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The Vedic texts do not throw much light on the political condition of the period which elapsed from the fall of the Videhan monarchy, probably early in the sixth century B.C., to the rise of Kosala under Mahākosala, the father-in-law of Bimbisāra, about the middle of that century. But we learn from the Buddhist *Aṅguttara Nikāya* that during this period there were sixteen states of considerable extent and power known as the "*Solasa Mahājanapada*."¹ These states were:—
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¹ P. T. S. I., 213; IV, 252, 256, 260. *The Mahāvastu* (I. 34) gives a similar list, but omits Gandhāra and Kamboja, substituting in their place Sibi and Daśārṇa in the Punjab (or Rājputāna) and Central India respectively. A less complete list is found in the *Jana-vasabha-suttanta*.
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| 1. | Kāsi (Kāśi) | 9. | Kuru |
| 2. | Kosala (Kośala) | 10. | Pañchāla |
| 3. | Aṅga | 11. | Machchha (Matsya) |
| 4. | Magadha | 12. | Sūrasena |
| 5. | Vajji (Vṛiji) | 13. | Assaka (Aśmaka) |
| 6. | Malla | 14. | Avanti |
| 7. | Chetiya (Chedi) | 15. | Gandhāra |
| 8. | Vaṁsa (Vatsa) | 16. | Kamboja |
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These *Mahājanapadas* flourished together during a period posterior to Karāla-Janaka but anterior to Mahākosala, because one of them, Vajji, apparently rose to power after the fall of the Videhan monarchy, while another, namely, Kāsi, lost its independence before the time of Mahākosala and formed an integral part of the Kosalan empire in the latter half of the sixth century B.C.
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The Jaina *Bhagavatī Sūtra*² gives a slightly different list of the sixteen *Mahājanapadas* :
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² *Saya xv Uddessa 1* (Hoernle, the *Uvāsagadasāo*, *II* Appendix); W. Kirfel, *Die Kosmographie Der Inder*, 225.
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| 1. | Aṅga | 9. | Pāḍha (Pāṇḍya or Pauṇḍra) |
| 2. | Baṅga (Vaṅga) | 10. | Lāḍha (Lāṭa or Rāḍha) |
| 3. | Magaha (Magadha) | 11. | Bajji (Vajji) |
| 4. | Malaya | 12. | Moli (Malla) |
| 5. | Mālava (ka) | 13. | Kāsi (Kāśi) |
| 6. | Achchha | 14. | Kosala |
| 7. | Vachchha (Vatsa) | 15. | Avāha |
| 8. | Kochchha (Kachchha ?) | 16. | Sambhuttara (Sumhottara ?) |
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It will be seen that Aṅga, Magadha, Vatsa, Vajji, Kāsi, and Kosala are common to both the lists. Mālava of the *Bhagavatī* is probably identical with Avanti of the *Aṅguttara*. Molī is probably a corruption of Malla. The other states mentioned in the *Bhagavatī* are new, and indicate a knowledge of the far east and the far south of India. The more extended horizon of the *Bhagavatī* clearly proves that its list is later than the one given in the Buddhist *Aṅguttara*.¹ We shall, therefore, accept the Buddhist list as a correct representation of the political condition of India after the fall of the House of Janaka.
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¹ Mr. E. J. Thomas suggests (*History of Buddhist Thought*, p. 6) that the Jaina author who makes no mention of the northern Kambojas and Gandhāras but includes several south Indian peoples in his list, "wrote in South India and compiled his list from countries that he knew." If the writer was really ignorant of the northern peoples his Mālavas could not have been in the Pañjāb and must be located in Central India. In that case his account can hardly be assigned to a very early date.
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Of the sixteen Mahājanapadas **Kāsi** was probably at first the most powerful. We have already seen that Kāsi probably played a prominent part in the subversion of the Videhan monarchy. Several *Jātakas* bear witness to the superiority of its capital Benares over the other cities, and the imperial ambition of its rulers. The *Guttila Jātaka*² says that the city of Benares is the chief city in all India. It extended over twelve leagues³ whereas Mithilā and Indapatta were each only seven leagues in extent.¹ Several Kāsi monarchs are described as aspirants for the dignity of the chief king of all kings (*sabbarājunam aggarājā*), and lord of the whole of India (*sakala-Jambudīpa*).² The *Mahāvagga* also mentions the fact that Kāsi was in former times a great and prosperous realm, possessed of immense resources:
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² No. 243.
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³ "*Dvādasa-yojanikaṃ sakala-Bārāṇasī-nagaram*"—*Sambhava Jātaka* No. 515; *Sarabha-miga J.*, 483; *Bhūridatta J.*, 543.
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¹ *Suruchi., J.*, 489; *Vidhurapaṇḍita J.*, 545.
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² *Bhaddasāla Jātaka*, 465; *Dhonasākha Jātaka*, 353
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"*Bhūtapubbaṁ bhikkhave Bārāṇasiyaṁ Brahmadatto nāma Kāsirājā ahosi aḍḍho mahaddhano mahābhogo mahadbalo mahāvāhano mahāvijito paripuṇṇakosa-koṭṭhāgāro*."³
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³ *Mahāvagga*, X, 2. 3; *Vinaya Piṭakam*. I, 342.
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The Jainas also afford testimony to the greatness of Kāsi, and represent Aśvasena, king of Benares, as the father of their *Tīrthaṅkara* Pārśva who is said to have died 250 years before Mahāvīra, *i.e.*, in or about 777 B.C.
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Already in the *Brāhmaṇa* period a king of Kāsi, named Dhṛitarāshṭra, attempted to offer a horse-sacrifice, but was vanquished by Śatānīka Sātrājita with the result that the Kāśis down to the time of the *Śatapatha Brāhmaṇa*, gave up the kindling of the sacred fire.⁴ Some of the other Kāsi monarchs were more fortunate. Thus in the *Brahāchatta Jātaka*⁵ a king of Benares is said to have gone against the king of Kosala with a large army. He entered the city of Sāvatthī and took the king prisoner. The *Kosambī Jātaka*,⁶ the *Kunāla Jātaka*,⁷ and the *Mahāvagga*⁸ refer to the annexation of the kingdom of Kosala by the Brahmadattas of Kāsi.¹ The *Assaka Jātaka*² refers to the city of Potali, the capital of Assaka on the Godāvarī, as a city of the kingdom of Kāsi. Evidently the reigning prince of Potali was a vassal of the sovereign of Kāsi. In the *Sona-Nanda Jātaka*³ Manoja, king of Benares, is said to have subdued the kings of Kosala, Aṅga and Magadha. In the *Mahābhārata*⁴ Pratardana, king of Kāsi, is said to have crushed the power of the Vītahavyas or Haihayas.⁵ In the absence of corroborative evidence it is difficult to say how far the account of the achievements of individual kings, mentioned in the *Jātakas* and the epic, is authentic. But the combined testimony of many *Jātakas* and the *Mahāvagga* clearly proves that Kāsi was at one time a great, almost an imperial power, stronger than many of its neighbours including Kosala.
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⁴ *Śat. Br.*, XIII. 5. 4. 19.
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⁵ No, 336.
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⁶ No. 428.
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⁷ No. 536.
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⁸ S. B. E., Vol. XIII, pp. 294-99.
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¹ The reference in the *Mahābhārata* (I. 105. 47. ff; 106. 2, 13; 113. 43; 114. 3f; 126, 16; 127, 24) to Kāsi princesses, the mothers of Dhṛitarāshṭra and Pāṇḍu, as Kausalyā, possibly points to the traditional union of the two realms of Kāsi and Kosala in the period when part of the epic was compiled. The expression Kāsi-Kausalya already occurs in the Gopatha Brāhmaṇa (*Vedic Index*. I. 195).
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² No. 207.
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³ No. 532.
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⁴ XIII. 30.
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⁵ Dr. Bhandarkar points out that several Kāsi monarchs, who figure in the *Jātakas*, are also mentioned in the Purāṇas, *e. g.*, Vissasena of *Jātaka* No. 263, Udaya of *Jātaka* No. 458, and Bhallāṭiya of *Jātaka* No. 504 are mentioned in the Purāṇas as Vishvaksena, Udakasena and Bhallāṭa. *Matsya*, 49. 57 *et seq*. *Vāyu*, 99. 180 *et seq*.; *Vishṇu*, IV. 19. 13.
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We learn from the *Bhojājānīya Jātaka*⁶ that "all the kings round coveted the kingdom of Benares." We are told that on one occassion seven kings encompassed Benares.⁷ Benares in this respect resembled ancient Babylon and mediæval Rome, being the coveted prize of its more warlike but less civilized neighbours.
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⁶ No. 23.
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⁷ *Jātaka*, 181.
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The **Kingdom of Kosala,** as we have seen, was bounded on the west by the Gumti, on the south by the Sarpikā or Syandikā (Sai) river,¹ on the east by the Sadānīrā which separated it from Videha, and on north by the Nepāl hills. It included the territory of the Kālāmas of Kesaputta,² possibly on the Gumti, and that of the Śākyas of Kapilavastu in the Nepalese Tarai. In the *Sutta Nipāta*³ the Buddha says, "Just beside Himavanta there lives a people endowed with the power of wealth, the inhabitants of *Kosala*.⁴ They are *Ādichchas*⁵ by family, Sākiyas by birth; from that family I have wandered out, not longing for sensual pleasures." The *Majjhima Nikāya*,⁶ too, mentions the Buddha as a Kosalan :
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¹ Rām. II. 49.11-12; 50. 1; VII. 104. 15.
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² *Aṅguttara Nikāya*, I. 188 (PTS); *IC.* II. 808. In the *Ṛig-veda*, V, 61, the Dālbhyas, a family or clan closely connected with the Keśins (who possibly gave their name to Kesaputta), are placed on the Gumti.
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³ *S.B.E.*, X, Part II, 68-69.
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⁴ *Kosalesu niketino*. As pointed out by Rhys Davids and Stede, Niketin means 'having an abode,' 'being housed,' 'living in,' *cf. J.* III, 432—*dumasākhā-niketini*.
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⁵ Belonging to the Āditya (Solar) race (*cf.* Lüders, Ins., 929 i).
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⁶ II. 124.
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"**Bhagavā pi Kosalako** *aham pi Kosalako*"
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The political subjection of the Sākyas to the king of Kosala in the latter half of the sixth century B. C. is clear from the evidence of the *Aggañña Suttanta*⁷ and the introductory portion of the *Bhaddasāla Jātaka*.⁸
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⁷ *Dīgha Nikāya*, III (P.T.S.), 83; *Dialogues* III. 80.
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⁸ No. 465; Fausboll, IV. 145.
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Kosala proper contained three great cities, namely Ayodhyā, Sāketa and Sāvatthī or Śrāvastī, besides a number of minor towns like Setavyā⁹ and Ukkaṭṭha.¹⁰ Ayodhyā (Oudh) was a town on the river Sarayū now included in the Fyzabad district. Sāketa is often supposed to be the same as Ayodhyā, but Professor Rhys Davids points out that both cities are mentioned as existing in the Buddha’s time. They were possibly adjoining like London and Westminster.¹ Sāvatthī is the great ruined city on the south bank of the Achiravatī or Rāptī called Sāhēṭ-Māhēṭ, which is situated on the borders of the Goṇḍa and Bahraich districts of the present Uttar-Pradesh.²
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⁹ *Pāyāsi Suttanta*.
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¹⁰ *Ambaṭṭha Sutta*.
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¹ *Buddhist India*, p. 39.
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² Cunningham, *Ancient Geography of India*, 1924, p. 469; Smith, E. H. I., 3rd ed., p. 159. The royal palace at Śrāvastī overlooked the Achiravatī (*DPPN*, II, 170n).
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In the *Rāmāyaṇa* and in the *Purāṇas* the royal family of Kosala is represented as being descended from a king named Ikshvāku. Branches of this family are represented as ruling at Kusinārā,³ at Mithilā⁴ and at Vīśālā or Vaiśālī.⁵ A prince named Ikshvāku is mentioned in a passage of the *Ṛig-Veda*.⁶ In the *Atharva-Veda*⁷ either this king, or one of his descendants, is referred to as an ancient hero. The *Purāṇas* give lists of kings of the Aikshvāka dynasty from Ikshvāku himself to Prasenajit, the contemporary of Bimbisāra. The names of many of these kings are probably found in the Vedic literature. For example :—
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³ The *Kuśa Jātaka*, No. 531. The *Mahāvastu* (III. 1) places an Ikshvāku king in Benares—*Abhūshi Rājā Ikshvāku Vārāṇasyāṁ mahābalo*.
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⁴ *Vāyu P.*, 89, 3.
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⁵ *Rāmāyaṇa*, I. 47, 11-12.
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⁶ X. 60. 4
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⁷ XIV. 39. 9.
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Mandhātṛi Yuvanāśva⁸ is mentioned in the *Gopatha Brāhmaṇa*.⁹ Purukutsa¹⁰ is referred to in the *Ṛig-Veda*.¹¹
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⁸ *Vāyu*, 88. 67.
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⁹ I. 2. 10 *et. seq*.
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¹⁰ *Vāyu*, 88, 72.
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¹¹ I, 63. 7; 112. 7. 14; 174. 2, VI. 20. 10.
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In the *Śatapatha Brāhmaṇa*¹ he is styled an Aikshvāka.² Trasadasyu,³ too, finds mention in the *Ṛig-Veda*.⁴ Tryaruṇa⁵ is also mentioned in the same *Veda*.⁶ In the *Pañchaviṁśa Brāhmaṇa*⁷ he is called an Aikshvāka Triśaṅku⁸ is referred to in the *Taittirīya Upanishad*.⁹
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¹ XIII. 5. 4. 5.
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² *Cf.* reference to the *Ṛig-Veda*, IV, 42. 8 in this connection.
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³ *Vāyu*, 88. 74.
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⁴ IV. 38. 1; VII. 19. 3, etc.
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⁵ *Vāyu*, 88, 77.
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⁶ V. 27.
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⁷ XIII. 3. 12.
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⁸ *Vāyu*, 88. 109.
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⁹ 1. 10. 1.
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Hariśchandra¹⁰ figures in the *Aitareya Brāhmaṇa*¹¹ and is styled Aikshvāka. Rohita, the son of Hariśchandra¹² is also alluded to in the same *Brāhmaṇa*¹³. Bhagīratha¹⁴ figures prominently in the *Jaiminīya Upanishad Brāhmaṇa* under the slightly different name of Bhageratha¹⁵ and is called Aikshvāka and ‘*Ekarāṭ*’ (sole ruler). Under the name of Bhajeratha he is probably referred to in the *Ṛig-Veda*¹⁶ itself. Ambarīsha¹⁷ is mentioned in the same *Veda*.¹⁸ The name Ṛituparṇa¹⁹ finds mention in a Brāhmaṇa-like passage of the *Baudhāyana Śrauta Sūtra*.²⁰ Daśaratha and Rāma²¹ bear names that are known to the *Ṛig-Veda*.²² But these personages and a few others mentioned above are not connected in the Vedic texts with the Ikshvāku family or with Kosala.
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¹⁰ *Vāyu* 88. 117.
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¹¹ VII. 13. 16.
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¹² *Vāyu*, 88. 119.
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¹³ VII. 14.
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¹⁴ *Vāyu*, 88. 167.
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¹⁵ IV. 6. 1 ff.
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¹⁶ X. 60. 2.
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¹⁷ *Vāyu*, 88. 171.
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¹⁸ I. 100. 17.
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¹⁹ *Vāyu*, 88. 173.
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²⁰ XVIII. 12 (Vol. II, p. 357).
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²¹ *Vāyu*, 88. 183-184.
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²² I. 126. 4; X. 93. 14.
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Hiraṇyanābha Kausalya,²³ is mentioned in the *Praśna Upanishad* as a *rājaputra* or prince.²⁴ He is undoubtedly connected with Para Āṭṇāra (Āhlāra), the Kosala-Videhan king, mentioned in a *gāthā* (song) occurring in the *Śatapatha Brāhmaṇa*¹ and the *Śāṅkhāyana Śrauta Sūtra*,² as well as a passage of *Jaiminīya Upanishad Brāhmaṇa*.³ The *gāthā* as quoted in the *Śatapatha Brāhmaṇa* gives to Para the patronymic ‘Hairaṇyanābha’, while the *Śrauta Sūtra* identifies Para with Hiraṇyanābha himself. It is difficult to say whether the original *gāthā* extolling the deeds of Para Āṭṇāra (Āhlāra) gave to that conqueror the name ‘Hiraṇyanābha’ or the patronymic ‘Hairaṇyanābha.’ The *Śatapatha Brāhmaṇa* is the older of the two works mentioning the prince’s exploits and is, therefore, more likely to preserve the original text than the *sūtra*. According to the *Praśna Upanishad*, Hiraṇyanābha, the father, was a contemporary of Sukeśā Bhāradvāja,⁴ who was himself a contemporary of Kausalya Āśvalāyana.⁵ If it be true, as seems probable, that Āśvalāyana of Kosala is identical with Assalāyana of Sāvatthī mentioned in the *Majjhima Nikāya*⁶ as a contemporary of Gotama Buddha, he must be placed in sixth century B. C. Consequently Hiraṇyanābha and his son, Hairaṇyanābha too, must have flourished in that century.
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²³ *Vāyu*, 88. 207.
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²⁴ VI. 1. In the Jaim. Up. Br. II. 6. he (*cf.* *Sāṅkh*, *Śr*. *Sutra*, XVI 9. 13) or his son (*Śat.* *Br.* XIII. 5. 4. 4) is styled a *māhārāja*. Too much significance should not be attached to the designation *rājaputra* (as distinguished from *rājā*). In the Mbh. V. 165. 18. Bṛihadvala is a *rājā* of Kosala (Kausalya). In a later passage of the epic (XI. 25. 10) the same ruler is referred to as *Kosalānāmadhi-patiṁ rājaputraṁ Bṛihadbalam.*
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¹ XIII. 5. 4. 4. *Āṭṇārasya Paraḥ putro'śvaṃ medhyamabandhayat Hairaṇyanābhaḥ Kausalyo diśaḥ pūrṇā amamañhata* (*iti*)
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² XVI. 9. 13.
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³ II. 6.
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⁴ VI. 1.
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⁵ *Praśna*, I. 1.
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⁶ II. 147 *et. seq.*
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Some of the later princes of the Purāṇic list, *e.g.*, Śākya, Suddhodana, Siddhārtha, Rāhula and Prasenajit, are mentioned in Buddhist texts. The exact relations of Hiraṇyanābha (and Hairaṇyanābha) with Prasenajit, who also flourished in the sixth century B. C. are not known. The Purāṇic chroniclers make Hiraṇyanābha an ancestor of Prasenajit, but are not sure about his position in the dynastic list.⁷ Further they refer to Prasenajit as the son and successor of Rāhula, and grand-son of Siddhārtha (Buddha). This is absurd, because Prasenajit was of the same age as the Buddha and belonged to a different branch of the Ikshvāku line. The Tibetans represent him as the son of Brahmadatta.¹ It is clear that no unanimous tradition about the parentage of Prasenajit and the position of Hiraṇyanābha in the family tree has been preserved. Hiraṇyanābha, or preferably his son, performed an *Aśvamedha* sacrifice and was apparently a great conqueror. Is this ruler identical with the "Great Kosalan" (Mahākosala) of Buddhist tradition? If he really flourished in the sixth century B.C., he may have been identical with 'Mahākosala' of Buddhist texts.
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⁷ AIHT., 173.
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¹ *Essay on Guṇāḍhya*, p. 173.
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Pargiter admits that several Purāṇic passages make Hiraṇyanābha (and therefore also his son) one of the "future" kings after the Bhārata battle.² He was the only prince of antiquity who is styled in the Vedic literature both a Kausalya and a Vaideha. That description admirably fits Mahākosala whose daughter, the mother of Ajātaśatru according to Buddhist tradition, is called Kosalādevī as well as Vedehī (Vaidehī).
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² *A.I.H.T.*, 173.
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A word may be added here regarding the value of the Purāṇic lists. No doubt they contain names of some real kings and princes. But they have many glaring defects, defects which are apt to be forgotten by writers who make these the basis of early Indian chronology.
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(1) Ikshvākuids of different branches and perhaps princes of other tribes, *e.g.*, Trasadasyu, king of the Pūrus,³ Ṛituparṇa, king of Śaphāla,⁴ Śuddhodana of Kapilavastu and Prasenajit, king of Śrāvastī, have been mixed up in such a way as to leave the impression that they formed a continuous line of monarchs who ruled in regular succession.
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³ *Ṛig-Veda*, IV. 38. 1; VII. 19. 3.
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⁴ *Baud. Śrautra Sūtra*, XVIII. 12 (Vol. II, p. 357); *Āpas. Śr. Sūtra*, XXI. 20. 3. Ṛituparṇa is, however, not distinctly called an Aikshvāka. But from the rarity of the name it is possible to surmise that the epic and Purāṇic king of that designation is meant.
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(2) Contemporaries have been represented as successors and collaterals have been represented as lineal descendants, *e.g.*, Prasenajit, king of Śrāvastī, is represented as the lineal successor of Siddhārtha and Rāhula, though he was actually a contemporary of Siddhārtha, *i.e.*, the Buddha, and belonged to a separate line of the Ikshvākuids.
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(3) Certain individuals have been omitted, *e.g.*, Vedhas (father, or ancestor of Hariśchandra), Para Āṭnāra (unless he is identical with Hiraṇyanābha), and Mahākosala.
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(4) Names in the list include Śākya, the designation of a clan, and Siddhārtha (Buddha) who never ruled.
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It is not easy to find out all the kings of the Purāṇic chronicles who actually ruled over Kosala. Some of the earlier princes, *e.g.*, Purukutsa, Trasadasyu, Hariśchandra, Rohita, Ṛituparṇa and a few others, are omitted from the list of the kings of Ayodhyā given in the *Rāmāyaṇa*.¹ We gather from the Vedic literature that many, if not all, of these monarchs ruled over territories lying outside Kosala. The only kings or princes in the Purāṇic list who are known from the Vedic and early Buddhist texts to have reigned in Kosala, or over some outlying part of it, are Hiraṇyanābha,² Prasenajit and Śuddhodana.
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¹ *I.* 70.
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² In the *Śat. Br.* XIII. 5. 4, 4-5, Hiraṇyanābha is described as *Kausalyarāja*, but not as an Aikshvāka. On the other hand, Purukutsa Daurgaha is styled *Aikshvāka-rājā* but not as *Kausalya*, as if a distinction between *Kausalyas* and *Aikshvākas* is meant. The two terms need not refer to kings of the same dynasty ruling over exactly the same territory. As a matter of fact Trasadasyu is known to be a king of the Pūrus. An Ikshvākuid styled Vārshṇa, connected with the Vṛishṇis (?), is mentioned in *Jaim. Up. Br.* I. 5. 4.
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The Buddhist works mention a few other sovereigns of Kosala, but their names do not occur in the epic and Purāṇic accounts. Some of these kings had their capital at Ayodhyā, others at Sāketa, and the rest at Śrāvastī. Of the princes of Ayodhyā, the *Ghaṭa Jātaka*¹ mentions Kāḷasena. A Kosalarāja reigning in Sāketa is mentioned in the *Nandiyamiga Jātaka*.² Vaṅka, Mahākosala and many others³ had their capital at Sāvatthī or Śrāvastī. Ayodhyā seems to have been the earliest capital, and Sāketa the next. The last capital was Śrāvastī. Ayodhyā had sunk to the level of an unimportant town in the Buddha's time,⁴ but Sāketa and Śrāvastī were included among the six great cities of India.⁵
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¹ No. 454.
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² No. 385.
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³ *E.g.*, the Kosalarāja of J. 75; Chatta (336); Sabbamitta (512); and Prasenajit.
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⁴ *Buddhist India*, p. 34.
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⁵ *Mahā-parinibbāna Sutta*, S. B. E., XI, p. 99.
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The chronology of ancient Kosala is in a state of utmost confusion. If the *Purāṇas* are to be believed, a prince named Divākara occupied the throne of Ayodhyā in the time of Adhisīma-kṛishṇa, great-great-grandson of Parikshit. But, as has already been pointed out above, the princes who are mentioned as his successors did not form a continuous line of rulers who reigned over the same territory in regular succession. It is, therefore, a hopeless task to measure the distance separating him from the Buddha and his contemporary with the help of the traditional dynastic lists alone. It is also not known when the older capitals were abandoned in favour of Śrāvastī. But it must have been some time before the accession of Prasenajit, the contemporary of the Buddha, of Bimbisāra, and of Udayana of Kauśāmbī, supposed to be a descendant of Adhisīma-Kṛishṇa.
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We learn from the *Mahāvagga*¹ that during the period of the earlier Brahmadattas of Kāsi, Kosala was a poor and tiny state with slender resources: *Dīghīti nāma Kosalarājā ahosi daliddo appadhano appadhogo appabalo appavāhano appavijito aparipuṇṇa-kosa-koṭṭhāgāro*.
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¹ S. B. E., XVII, p. 294.
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In the sixth and fifth centuries B. C., however, Kosala was a mighty kingdom which contended first with Kāsi, and afterwards with Magadha for the mastery of the upper Ganges valley. The history of these struggles is reserved for treatment in later sections. The rivalry with Magadha ended in the absorption of the kingdom into the Magadhan Empire.
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Aṅga was the country to the east of Magadha and west of the chieftains who dwelt in the Rajmahal Hills (*Parvatavāsinaḥ*). It was separated from Magadha (including Modāgiri or Monghyr) by the river Champā, probably the modern Chāndan.² The Aṅga dominions, however, at one time included Magadha and probably extended to the shores of the sea. The *Vidhura Paṇḍita Jātaka*³ describes Rājagṛiha as a city of Aṅga. The *Śāntiparva* of the *Mahābhārata*⁴ refers to an Aṅga king who sacrificed on Mount Vishṇupada (probably at Gayā). The *Sabhāparva*⁵ mentions Aṅga and Vaṅga as forming one Vishaya or kingdom. The *Kathā-sarit-sāgara* says⁶ that Viṭaṅkapur, a city of the Aṅgas, was situated on the shore of the sea. The imperial glory of Aṅga is doubtless reflected in the songs of the *Aitareya Brāhmaṇa*¹ which describe the 'world-conquest' (*Samantaṁ sarvataḥ pṛithivīṁ jayan*) of one of its ancient kings in the course of which girls of aristocratic families (*āḍhya-duhitṛi*) were brought as prizes from different climes.
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² According to Pargiter (JASB, 1897, 95) Aṅga comprised the modern districts of Bhāgalpur and Monghyr, and also extended northwards up the river Kauśikī or Kośī and included the western portion of the district of Purnea. For it was on that river that Kāśyapa Vibhāṇḍaka had his hermitage. His son Ṛishyaśṛiṅga was beguiled by courtesans of Aṅga into a boat and brought down the river to the capital. In Mbh. ii. 30. 20-22, however, Modāgiri (Monghyr) and Kauśikī-Kachchha had rulers who are distinguished from Karṇa whose realm (Aṅga) clearly lay between the Māgadhas and the Rājās styled *Parvatavāsin*.
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³ No. 545.
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⁴ 29, 35, JASB, 1897, 94.
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⁵ 44. 9: *cf.* VI. 18. 28. Aṅgas and Prāchyas.
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⁶ 25, 35; 26, 115; 82. 3-16.
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¹ *Ait. Br.* VIII. 22.
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Champā, the famous capital of Aṅga, stood at the confluence of the river of the same name² and the Ganges.³ Cunningham points out that there still exist near Bhāgalpur two villages, Champānagara and Champāpura, which most probably represent the actual site of the ancient capital. It is stated in the *Mahābhārata*, the *Purāṇas* and the *Harivaṁśa* that the ancient name of Champā was Mālinī :⁴
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² *Jātaka* 506.
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³ Mbh, iii, 84, 163 ; 307, 26 (*Gaṅgāyāḥ Sūtavishayaṁ Champāmanu yayau purīm*) ; Watters, *Yuan Chwang* II. 181 ; *Daśakumāra Charita*, II. 2.
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⁴ *Matsya*, 48. 97 ; *Vāyu*, 99. 105-106 ; *Hariv.*, 31. 49 ; *Mbh.*, XII. 5. 6-7 ; XIII. 42. 16.
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*Champasya tu purī Champā*
*yā Maliny-abhavat purā.*
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In the *Jātaka* stories the city is also called Kāla-Champā. The *Mahā-Janaka Jātaka*⁵ informs us that Champā was sixty leagues from Mithilā. The same *Jātaka* refers to its gate, watch-tower, and walls. Down to the time of Gautama Buddha's death it was considered as one of the six great cities of India, the other five being Rājagṛiha, Śrāvastī, Sāketa, Kauśāmbī, and Benares.⁶ Champā was noted for its wealth and commerce, and traders sailed from it to Suvarṇa-bhūmi in the Trans-Gangetic region for trading purposes.⁷ Hindu emigrants to southern Annam and Cochin China are supposed to have named their settlement after this famous Indian city.¹ Other important cities in Aṅga were Assapura (Aśvapura) and Bhaddiya (Bhadrika).²
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⁵ No. 539.
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⁶ *Mahā-parinibbāna Sutta*.
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⁷ *Jātaka*, 539, Fausboll's Ed., VI, p. 34.
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¹ *Ind. Ant.*, VI. 229, Itsing, 58, Rhys Davids, *Buddhist India*, p. 35. Nundolal Dey, *Notes on Ancient Aṅga*, *JASB*, 1914. For the Hindu colonisation of Champā, see Eliot, *Hinduism and Buddhism*, Vol., III, pp. 137 ff, and R. C. Majumdar, *Champā*. The oldest Sanskrit inscription (that of Vo-can) dates, according to some scholars, from about the third century A. D. The inscription mentions a king of the family of Śrī Māra-rāja.
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² Malalasekera, *DPPN*, 16; *Dhammapada Commentary*, *Harvard Oriental Series*, 29. 59. Cf. Bhaddiya (Bhadrika or Bhadrikā of Jaina writers). It is possibly represented by Bhadariyā, 8 miles south of Bhāgalpur (JASB, 1914, 337).
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The earliest appearance of Aṅga is in the *Atharva Veda*³ in connection with the Gandhāris, Mūjavats, and Magadhas. The *Rāmāyaṇa* tells an absurd story about the origin of this Janapada. It is related in that epic that Madana or Anaṅga, the god of love, having incurred the displeasure of the God Śiva fled from the hermitage of the latter to escape his consuming anger, and the region where "he cast off his body (*aṅga*)" has since been known by the name of Aṅga.⁴ The *Mahābhārata* and the *Purāṇas* attribute the foundation of the kingdom to a prince named Aṅga.⁵ The tradition may claim some antiquity as Aṅga Vairochana is included in the list of anointed kings in the *Aitareya Brāhmaṇa*.⁶ The consecration of this ruler with the Aryan ritual styled the *Aindra mahābhisheka* causes some surprise as the *Bodhāyana Dharma Sūtra* groups the Aṅgas with peoples
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³ V. 22. 14.
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⁴ *JASB*, 1914, p. 317; *Rām.*, I. 23. 14.
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⁵ *Mbh.* I. 104. 53-54; *Matsya P.* 48. 19.
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⁶ VIII. 22; cf. Pargiter, *JASB*, 1897, 97. In connection with the gifts of the Aṅga King mention is made of a place called Avachatnuka:
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*Daśanāgasahasrāṇi dattvātreyo' vachatnuke*
*śrāntaḥ parikuṭān praipṣad dānen-Aṅgasya Brāhmaṇaḥ.*
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The epithet 'Vairochana' given to the Aṅga King reminds one of 'Vairochani' of the *Matsya P.* 48, 59.
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of mixed origin, and the *Mahābhārata* brands an Aṅga prince who, by the way, is distinguished from Karṇa, and is described as skilful in handling elephants, as a *Mlechchha* or outlandish barbarian. In the *Matsya Purāṇa* the father of the eponymous hero of the Aṅgas is styled *Dānavarshabhaḥ* (chief among demons).¹
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¹ *Bodh. Dh. S.* I. 1. 29; *Mbh.* VIII. 22. 18-19; *Mat. P.* 48. 60. Note also the connection of Aṅgas with Nishādas in *Vāyu*, 62, 107-23. The Purāṇa describes the royal family as *Atrivaṁśasamutpanna*. In the *Aitareya Brāhmaṇa*, however, an Ātreya appears as the priest of the Aṅga King. For a discussion of the origin of the Aṅgas and other kindred tribes, see. S. Lévi *pre-Aryen et Pre-Dravidien dans l' Inde*, "J. A. Juillet-septembre, 1923.
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About the dynastic history of Aṅga our information is meagre. The *Mahāgovinda Suttanta* refers to king Dhataraṭṭha of Aṅga.² The Buddhist texts mention a queen named Gaggarā who gave her name to a famous lake in Champā. The *Purāṇas*³ give lists of the early kings of this country. One of these rulers, Dadhivāhana, is known to Jaina tradition. The *Purāṇas* and the *Harivaṁśa*⁴ represent him as the son and immediate successor of Aṅga. Jaina tradition places him in the beginning of the sixth century B. C. His daughter Chandanā or Chandrabālā was the first female who embraced Jainism shortly after Mahāvīra had attained the *Kevaliship*.⁵ Śatānīka, king of the Vatsas of Kauśāmbī, near Allahabad, is said to have attacked Champā, the capital of Dadhivāhana, and in the confusion which ensued, Chandanā fell into the hands of a robber, but all along she maintained the vows of the order.
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² *Dialogues of the Buddha*, II. 270.
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³ *Matsya*, 48. 91.108; *Vāyu*, 99. 100-112.
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⁴ 32. 43.
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⁵ *JASB*, 1914, pp. 320-21. For the story of Chandanabālā see also *Ind. Culture*, II. pp. 682 ff.
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Between the Vatsas and the realm of Aṅga lived the Magadhas, then a comparatively weak people. A great struggle was going on between this kingdom and its great eastern neighbour.¹ The *Vidhura Paṇḍita Jātaka*² describes Rājagṛiha, the Magadhan capital, as a city of Aṅga while the *Mahābhārata* refers to a sacrifice which an Aṅga king probably performed at Gayā. These details may indicate that Aṅga succeeded in annexing Magadha. Its frontier thus approached the Vatsa Kingdom whose monarch's alarm may have been responsible for an attack on Champā. The Aṅga king preferred to have friendly relations with Kauśāmbī, possibly because he was threatened by the reviving power of Magadha. Śrī Harsha speaks of a ruler of Aṅga named Dṛiḍhavarman who gave his daughter in marriage to Udayana, son and successor of Śatānīka³ and secured his help in regaining his throne.
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¹ *Champeyya Jātaka*.
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² Cowell, VI. 133.
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³ *Priyadarśikā*, Act IV.
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The success of Aṅga did not last long. About the middle of the sixth century B. C. Bimbisāra Śreṇika, the Crown Prince of Magadha, is said to have killed Brahmadatta, the last independent ruler of Ancient Aṅga. He took Champā, the capital, and resided there as his father's Viceroy.⁴ Henceforth Aṅga becomes an integral part of the growing empire of Magadha.
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⁴ Hardy, *A Manual of Buddhism*, p. 163n (account based on the Tibetan *Dulva*), *JASB*, 1914, 321.
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**Magadha** corresponds roughly to the present Patna and Gayā districts of South Bihār. It seems to have been bounded on the north and the west by the rivers Ganges and the Son, on the south by spurs of the Vindhyan range, and on the east by the river Champā which emptied itself into the Ganges near the Aṅga capital.⁵ Its earliest capital was Girivraja, the mountain-girt city,¹ or old Rājagṛiha, near Rājgir among the hills in the neighbourhood of Gayā. The *Mahāvagga*² calls it "Giribbaja of the Magadhas" to distinguish it from other cities of the same name, *e.g.*, Girivraja in Kekaya. The *Mahābhārata* refers to it not only as Girivraja, but as Rājagṛiha,³ Bārhadratha-pura⁴ and Māgadha-pura,⁵ and says that it was an almost impregnable city, *puraṁ durādharshaṁ samantataḥ*, being protected by five hills, *viz.* Vaihāra, the grand rock (*Vipūlaḥ śailo*), Varāha, Vṛishabha, Ṛishigiri and Chaityaka⁶ with their compact bodies (*rakshantīvābhisaṁhatya saṁhataṅgā Girivrajam*). From the *Rāmāyaṇa* we learn that the city had another name, Vasumatī.⁷ The *Life of Hiuen Tsang* mentions still another name, Kuśāgra-pura.⁸ Indian Buddhist writers give a seventh name, Bimbasāra-purī.⁹
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⁵ *Mbh*. II. 20. 29; *Mahā-parinibbāna Suttanta* (*Dialogues* ii. 94) and DPPN, I. 331 which show that the Vṛiji frontier commenced from the northern bank of the Ganges as Ukkāvelā or Ukkachelā, was included within the limits of that state; *Champeyya Jātaka* (506); Fleet, *CII*, 227; DPPN, 403. In the epic period the eastern boundary of Magadha proper may not have extended as far as the Champā river as Modāgiri (Monghyr) finds mention as a separate state.
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¹ Broadley in *JASB.* 1872, 299. Girivraja was at one time identified with Giryek on the Pañchana river about 36 miles north-east of Gayā, 6 miles east of Rājgir (Pargiter in *JASB*, 1897, 86).
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² *S. B. E.* XIII. 150.
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³ Mbh. I. 113. 27; 204. 17; II, 21. 31; III. 84, 104.
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⁴ II. 24. 44.
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⁵ *Gorathaṁ girimāsādya dadṛiśur Māgadhaṁ puram*, II, 20. 30; 21, 13.
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⁶ The names given in the Pāli texts (DPPN, II. 721) are Paṇḍava, Gijjhakūṭa, Vebhāra, Isigili and Vepulla (or Vaṅkaka). The Pāli evidence may suggest that *Vipula* in the *Mbh.* verse is a name, and not an epithet. In that case Dr. J. Wenger suggests *Chaityakapañchakāḥ* (five goodly Chaityakas) for *Chaityakapañchamā*, (with Chaityaka as the fifth). For a note by Keith see IHQ, 1939, 163-64.
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⁷ I. 32. 8.
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⁸ P. 113. Apparently named after an early Magadhan prince (*Vāyu*, 99, 224; *AIHT*, 149).
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⁹ Law, *Buddhaghosha*, 87 n.
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In a passage of the *Ṛig-Veda*¹⁰ mention is made of a territory called Kīkaṭa ruled by a chieftain named Pramaganda. Yāska¹¹ declares that Kīkaṭa is the name of a non-Aryan country. In later works Kīkaṭa is given as a synonym of Magadha.¹
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¹⁰ III. 53. 14.
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¹¹ *Nirukta*, VI, 32.
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¹ *Kīkaṭeshu Gayā puṇyā puṇyaṁ Rājagrihaṁ vanam* *Chyāvanasyāśramaṁ puṇyaṁ nadī puṇyā Punaḥpunā.* *Cf.* *Vāyu*, 108. 73; 105. 23. *Bhāgavata Purāṇa*, 1, 3. 24 : *Buddho namnāñjana-sutaḥ Kīkaṭeshu bhavishyati* ; ibid vii 10, 19; Śrīdhara : "Kīkaṭeshu madhye Gayā-pradeśe". *Abhidhāna-chintāmaṇi* : "Kīkaṭā Magadhāhvayāḥ." For an epigraphic reference to Kīkaṭa see *Ep. Ind. II*. 222, where a prince of that name is connected with the Maurya family, See also 'Kekaṭeyaka' (*Monuments of Sānchi*, I. 302)
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Like Yāska the author of the *Bṛihad-dharma Purāṇa* apparently regarded Kīkaṭa as an impure country which however, included a few holy spots :—
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*Kīkaṭe nāma deśe' sti Kāka-karṇākhyako nṛipaḥ*
*prajānāṁ hitakṛinnityaṁ Brahma-dveshakarastathā*
*tatra deśe Gayā nāma puṇyadeśo' sti viśrutaḥ*
*nadī cha Karṇadā nāma pitṝiṇāṁ svargadāyinī*²
*Kīkaṭe cha mṛito' pyesha pāpabhūmau na saṁśayaḥ.*³
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² *Madhya-Khaṇḍam*, XXVI. 20, 22.
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³ XXVI. 47; *cf.* *Vāyu* p. 78. 22, *Pādma Pātālakhaṇḍa*, XI. 45.
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It is clear from these verses that Kīkaṭa included the Gayā district, but the greater part of it was looked upon as an unholy region (*pāpabhūmi*, doubtless corresponding to the *anārya-nivāsa* of Yāska). Kāka-karṇa of line 1, may be the same as Kāka-varṇa of the Śaiśunāga family.
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The name Magadha first appears in the *Atharva-Veda*⁴ where fever as wished away to the Gandhāris, Mūjavats, Aṅgas, and Magadhas. The bards of Magadha are, however, mentioned as early as the *Yajur-Veda*.⁵ They are usually spoken of in the early Vedic literature in terms of contempt. In the Vrātya book of the *Atharva Saṁhitā*,⁶ the Vrātya i.e., the Indian living outside the pale of Brāhmanism, is brought into very special relation to the *puṁśchalī* (harlot) and the *Māgadha*. "In the eastern region (*Prāchyām diśi*)" faith is his harlot, Mitra his *Māgadha* (bard or panegyrist).¹ In the *Śrauta Sūtras* the equipment characteristic of the *Vrātya* is said to be given, when the latter is admitted into the Aryan Brāhmaṇical community, to the so-called Brāhmaṇas living in Magadha, *Brahmabandhu Māgadhadeśīya*.² The Brāhmaṇas of Magadha, are here spoken of in a disparaging tone as *Brahmabandhu*.³ In the *Sāṅkhāyana Āraṇyaka*, however, the views of a *Magadha-vāsī Brāhmaṇa* are quoted with respect. The Vedic dislike of the Magadhas in early times was due, according to Oldenberg⁴, to the fact that the Magadhas were not wholly Brāhmaṇised. Pargiter suggests⁵ that in Magadha the Aryans met and mingled with a body of invaders from the east by sea.
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⁴ V. 22. 14,
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⁵ *Vāj. Saṁ* XXX. 5; *Vedic Index*, II. 116. For the connection of the Māgadhas with Magadha, see *Vāyu* P. 62. 147.
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⁶ XV. ii. 5—*Śraddhā puṁśchalī Mitro Māgadho*...etc; Griffith II. 186,
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¹ *Cf.* Weber, *Hist. Ind. Lit.*, pp. 112.
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² *Vedic Index*, II, 116.
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³ Note also the expression *rājānaḥ kshatra-bandhavaḥ* applied to Magadhan kings in the Purāṇas (Pargiter, *Dynasties of the Kali Age*, p. 22)
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⁴ *Buddha*, 400n.
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⁵ *JASB*, 1897, 111; *J. R. A. S.*, 1908, pp. 851-53. *Bodh. Dh. Sūtra.* I. i. 29 refers to Aṅgas and Magadhas as *saṅkīrṇa-yonayaḥ*, "of mixed origin".
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With the exception of Pramaganda no king of Magadha appears to be mentioned in the Vedic literature. The earliest dynasty of Magadha according to the *Mahābhārata*⁶ and the Purāṇas is that founded by Brihadratha, the son of Vasu Chaidya-Uparichara, and the father of Jarāsandha. *Rāmāyaṇa*⁷ makes Vasu himself the founder of Girivraja or Vasumatī. A Bṛihadratha is mentioned twice in the *Ṛig-Veda*,⁸ but there is nothing to show that he is identical with the father of Jarāsandha. The Purāṇas give lists of the "Bṛihadratha kings" from Jarāsandha's son Sahadeva to Ripuñjaya, and apparently make Senājit, seventh in descent from Sahadeva, the contemporary of Adhisīma-Kṛishṇa of the Pārikshita family and Divākara of the Ikshvāku line. But in the absence of independent external corroboration it is not safe to accept the Purāṇic chronology and order of succession of the princes as authentic.¹ Bṛihadrathas and certain princes of Central India are said to have passed away when Pulika (Puṇika) placed his son Pradyota on the throne of Avanti,² *i.e.*, the Ujjain territory. As Pradyota was a contemporary of Gautama Buddha, and as the Purāṇic passage, “*Bṛihadratheshvatīteshu Vītīhotreshu-Avantīshu*, ‘when the Bṛihadrathas, Vītīhotras and Avantis (or the Vītīhotras in Avanti) passed away’,” suggests that the events alluded to here were synchronous, it is reasonable to conclude that the Bṛihadratha dynasty came to an end in the sixth century B.C.
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⁶ I. 63. 30.
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⁷ I. 32, 7.
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⁸ I. 36. 18; X. 49. 6.
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¹ *Cf.* supra, pp. 80f, 104, discussion about later Vaideha and Kosalan kings. The number of 'the future Bṛihadrathas' is given as 16, 22 or 32, and the period of their rule, 723 or 1000 years (DKA, 17, 68). The last King Ripuñjaya or Ariñjaya (*ibid* 17 n 96) reminds one of Arindama of the Pāli texts (*DPPN*.ii. 402).
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² *Dynasties of the Kali Age*, p. 18: *cf.*, IHQ, 1930, p. 683. There is no reason to believe with the late authors of the Kathā-sarit-sāgara and certain corrupt passages of the Purāṇas, (IHQ. 1930, pp. 679, 691), that there was a Pradyota of Magadha distinct from Mahāsena of Avanti who is called Pradyota by several earlier writers, Buddhist as well as Brāhmaṇical. The use of the expression 'Avantīshu' (*DKA*, 18) in the Purāṇic passage which refers to the dynastic revolution brought about by Pulika, the identity of the names of the Purāṇic family of Pradyota with those of the Avanti line of Mahāsena, and the mention in reference to Pradyota of the Purāṇas, of epithets like 'Pranatasāmanta' and '*nayavarjita*' which remind one irresistibly of Chaṇḍa Pradyota Mahāsena of Avanti as described in Buddhist literature, leave little room for doubt that the Pradyota of the Purāṇas and Pradyota of Avanti cannot be regarded as distinct entities.
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Jaina writers mention two early kings of Rājagṛiha named Samudra-vijaya and his son Gaya.³ Gaya is said to have reached perfection which had been taught by the Jinas. But little reliance can be placed on uncorroborated assertions of this character.
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³ S.B.E. XLV. 86, A king named Gaya is mentioned in *Mbh*., vii. 64. But he is described there as a son of Amūrtarayas.
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The second Magadhan dynasty, according to the less corrupt texts of the Purāṇas, was the Śaiśunāga line which is said to have been founded by a king named Śiśunāga. Bimbisāra, the contemporary of the Buddha, is assigned to this family. Aśvaghosha, an earlier authority,¹ refers however, in his *Buddha-charita*² to Śreṇya *i.e.*, Bimbisāra, as a scion, not of the Śaiśunāga dynasty, but of the **Haryaṅka-kula**, and the *Mahāvaṁśa* makes ‘Susunāga’ *i.e.*, Śiśunāga, the founder of a distinct line of rulers which succeeded that of Bimbisāra. The *Purāṇas* themselves relate that Śiśunāga "will take away the glory of the Pradyotas" whom we know from other sources to be contemporaries of the Bimbisārids:—
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¹ Aśvaghosha was a contemporary of Kanishka (C. 100 A.D.) (Winternitz, *Ind. Lit.* II. 257). On the other hand the Puraṇic chronicles pre-suppose Gupta rule in the Ganges Valley (*DKA*, 53), C. 320 A.D.
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² XI. 2; Raychaudhuri, *IHQ*, I (1925), p. 87.
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*Ashta-triṁśachchhatam bhāvyāḥ*
*Pradyotāḥ pañcha te sutāḥ*
*hatvā teshāṁ yaśaḥ kṛitsnaṁ*
*Śiśunāgō bhavishyati*.³
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³ *Vāyu Purāṇa*, 99; 314.
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If this statement be true, then Śiśunāga must be later than the first Pradyota, namely Chaṇḍa Pradyota Mahāsena, who was, judged by the evidence of the Pāli texts, which is confirmed in important details by the ancient Sanskrit poets and dramatists,⁴ a contemporary of Bimbisāra and his son. It follows that Śiśunāga according to the last-mentioned authorities, must be *later than* those kings. But we have seen above that the Purāṇas make Śiśunāga *an ancestor of* Bimbisāra and the progenitor of *his* family. This part of the Purāṇic account is not corroborated by independent external evidence.¹ The inclusion of Vārāṇasī and Vaiśālī within Śiśunāga’s dominions² proves that he came after Bimbisāra and Ajātaśatru who were the first to establish Magadhan rule in those regions. The *Mālālaṅkāravatthu*, a Pali work of modern date,∗ but following very closely the more ancient books, tells us that Śiśunāga had a royal residence at Vaiśālī which ultimately became his capital.³ “That monarch (Śiśunāga) not unmindful of his mother’s origin⁴ re-established the city of Veśālī (Vaiśālī), and fixed in it the royal residence. From that time Rājagṛiha lost her rank of royal city which she never afterwards recovered. The last statement indicates that Śiśunāga came after the palmy days of Rājagṛiha, *i.e.*, the period of Bimbisāra and Ajātaśatru. It may be argued that the Purāṇas make Girivraja, and not Vaiśālī, the abode of Śiśunāga (*Vārāṇasyāṁ sutaṁ sthāpya śrayishyati Girivrajam*); and as Udāyin, son of Ajātaśatru was the first to transfer the capital from that stronghold to the newly founded city of Pāṭaliputra, Śiśunāga’s residence in the older capital points to a date earlier than that of the founder of the more famous metropolis. But the fact that Kālāśoka, son and successor of Śiśunāga, is known to have ruled in Pāṭaliputra shows that he came after Udāyin,
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⁴ *Indian Culture*, VI, 411.
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¹ We may go even further and characterise certain statements of the Purāṇic bards as self-contradictory. Thus (a) Pradyota is said to have been anointed when the Vitihotras *had passed away*, (b) Śiśunāga destroyed the prestige of the Pradyotas and became king, and yet (c) contemporaneously with these *Śaiśunāga kings* 20 Vitihotras (and other lines) are said to have *endured the same time*.
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² *Dynasties of the Kalī Age*, 21; *S. B. E.*, XI, p. xvi.
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