Political History of Ancient India, from the Accession of Parikshit to the Extinction of the Gupta Dynasty c9.s7.18

c9.s7.18

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.