Political History of Ancient India, from the Accession of Parikshit to the Extinction of the Gupta Dynasty c9.s7.197

c9.s7.197

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,