The Ancient Geography of India. I. The Buddhist Period, including the Campaigns of Alexander, and the Travels of Hwen-Thsang c6.s3.t31.12

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Diodorus* attributes the foundation of the city to Herakles, by whom he may perhaps mean Bala-Râma, the brother of Krishna, but this early origin is not countenanced by the native authorities. According to the Vâyu Purâna† the city of Kusumapura or Pâtaliputra was founded by Raja Udayâswa, the grandson of Ajatasatru, who was the well-known contemporary of Buddha; but the ‘Mahawanso’ makes Udaya the son of Ajatasatru. According to the Buddhist accounts,‡ when Buddha crossed the Ganges, on his last journey from Râjagriha to Vaisâli, the two ministers of Ajatasatru, king of Magadha, were engaged in building a fort at the village of Patali as a check upon the Wajjians, or people of Vriji. Buddha then predicted that it would become a great city. From these concurring authorities I conclude that the building of the city of Pâtaliputra was actually begun in the reign of Ajatasatru, but was not finished until the reign of his son, or grandson, Udaya, about B.C. 450.