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Geography of Early Buddhism c7: Chapter I

Geography of Early Buddhism c7

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Chapter I

c7.1

The boundaries of Majjhimadesa (Madhyadeśa) or the Middle country have been referred to and explained in both Brahmanical and Buddhist literature of an early date. Thus as early as the age of the Sūtras, we find, in the Dharmasūtra of Baudhāyana, Āryāvarta or the country of the Aryans (which is practically identical with the country later on known as Madhyadeśa) described as lying to the east of the region where the river Saraswatī disappears, to the west of the Kālakavana or Black Forest (identified with a tract somewhere near Prayāga)¹, to the north of Pāripātra and to the south of the Himalayas.² The eastern boundary thus excluded not only the country now known as Bengal but also Bihar which in ancient days included the entire Magadha country, the land par excellence of the Buddha and Buddhism. The Dharmaśāstra of Manu, however, calls the Āryāvarta of the Sūtras to be the Madhyadeśa or Middle country. Thus, he defines it as extending from the Himalayas in the north to the Vindhyas in the South, and from Vinasana (the place where the Saraswatī disappears) in the west to Prayāga in the east (Himavad-Vindhyayor-madhyam yat prāk vinasanād api pratyag-eva Prayāgāścha Madhyadeśaḥ......). The Kāvyamīmānsā, as we have already seen, however, designates the Āryāvarta of the Sūtras and Madhyadeśa of Manu as Antarvedi (Vinasana Prayāgayoh Gaṅgā-Yamunayośca antaram Antarvedi)³ which extends upto Benares in the east. The Kurma-bhivāga section of the Purāṇas, however, follows Manu in its description of the middle country. It is thus obvious that the eastern boundary of the Madhyadeśa gradually expanded itself with the progress of time so as to include places that had lately acquired a sacredness within the Brahmanical fold.

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¹ CAGI., Intro., pp. XLI, and xli f n. 1.

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² Baudhāyana—I, 1, 2, 9, etc. Also see Vasiṣṭha, I, 8.

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³ Kāvya-Mīmāṁsā, p. 93.

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It has already been hinted at that the ancient Magadhan country including Benares and Bodh-gayā was the land par excellence of Buddhism and the Buddha. It was, therefore, quite in the logic of circumstances that Buddhist writers would extend the eastern boundary of the Madhyadeśa (Majjhimadesa) farther towards the east so as to include the Buddhist holy land. The boundaries of the Buddhist Majjhimadesa as given in the Mahāvagga (Vol. V, pp. 12-13) may be described as having extended in the east to the town of Kajangala¹ beyond which was the city of Mahāsāla; in the south-east to the river Salalavatī (Sarāvatī) in the south to the town of Saṭakaṇṇika; in the west to the Brāhmana district of Thūna²; in the north to the Usīradhaja mountain.³ The Divyāvadāna (pp. 21-22) however, extends the eastern boundary of Majjhimadesa still farther to the east so as to include Pundavardhana which in ancient times included Varendra—roughly identical with North Bengal. The other boundaries as given in the Divyāvadāna are identical with those as in the Mahāvagga. The Majjhimadesa was 300 yojanas in length, 250 yojanas in breadth, and 900 yojanas in circuit.⁴ It is interesting to place side by side the extent of the entire Jambudipa of which Majjhimadesa was only a part. The Jambudipa according to the Sumangalavilāsinī (II, p. 623) was 10,000 yojanas in extent, whereas Aparagoyāna was 7,000 yojanas (Dasa-sahassa-yojanappamānam Jambudipam, satta-yojana-sahassappamānam Aparagoyānam).

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¹ Kajangala is identical with Ka-chu-wen-ki-lo of Yuan Chwang which lay at a distance of above 400 li east from Champā (Bhāgalpur). That Kajangala formed the eastern boundary of the Madhyadesa is also attested by the Sumangalavilāsinī (II, p. 429).

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² Thūna has not been identified by any scholar. As Yuan Chwang's account makes Thaneswar the western-most country of the Buddhist Middle country, I propose to identify Thūna (or Sthūna of Divyāvadāna) with Sthānvisvara (CAGI., Intro., p. xlvi, f.n. 2).

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³ Usīradhaja may be said to be identical with Usīragiri, a mountain to the north of Kankhal (Hardwar). IA., 1905, p. 179.

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⁴ Commentary on Jātaka and Sumangalavilāsinī (Rhys Davids in J.R.A.S., 1904, p. 86).

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Of the sixteen Mahājanapadas⁵ that existed in India during the days of the Buddha, as many as fourteen may be said to have been included in the Majjhimadesa. They are: (1) Kāsī, (2) Kosala, (3) Anga, (4) Magadha, (5) Vajji, (6) Malla, (7) Cetiya (Cedi),

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⁵ The sixteen Mahājanapadas are referred to in the AN. (Vol. I, p. 213; IV, pp. 252, 256, 260). The Jaina Bhagavatī Sūtra, however, gives a slightly different list of them. They are: Anga, Banga, Magaha (Magadha), Malaya, Mālava, Accha, Vaccha, Kocchaha, Pādha, (Pandya ?) Lādha (Rādha), Bajji (Vajji), Moli, Kāsī, Kosala, Avaha, and Sambhuttara (Suhmottara ?). It will be seen that Anga, Magadha, Vatsa, Vajji, Kāsī and Kosala are common to both the lists. Malava of the Bhagavatī is probably identical with Avanti of the Anguttara. Moli 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 Anguttara. (PHAI., p. 60.)

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Countries, towns, cities, etc. of Majjhimadesa—1. Mahājanapadas.

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There is, however, also an epic account of the Majjhimadesa. An interesting account of the tribal characteristics of the peoples of different janapadas is given in the Karnaparva of the Mahābhārata. There the following tribes are mentioned to have been inhabitants of their respective janapadas named after them: the Kauravas, the Pañchālas, the (8) Vamsa (Vatsa), (9) Kuru, (10) Pañchāla, (11) Maccha (Matsya), (12) Sūrasena, (13) Assaka and (14) Avanti.¹ Gandhara and Kamboj, the two remaining countries, may be said to have been located in Uttarāpatha or the Northern division.

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¹ Strictly speaking Assaka at least, if not Avanti, as referred to in the early Buddhist texts, should be considered as situated in the Dakshiṇāpatha or the Deccan for both the settlements that are found mentioned in Buddhist sources lay outside the borders of the Madhyadeśa.

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In the Aṅguttara Nikāya Kāsī is included in the list of sixteen Mahājanapadas (AN., I, p. 213; IV, pp. 252, 256, 260). Its capital was Bārāṇasi (mod. Benares) which had other names as well, viz. Surundhana, Sudassana, Brahmavaddhana, Pupphavatī, Ramma (Jāt., IV, pp. 119-120) and Molinī (Jāt., IV, p. 15). The extent of the city is mentioned as 12 yojanas (Jāt., VI, p. 160) whereas Mithilā and Indapatta were each only seven leagues in extent.

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Before the time of the Buddha, Kāsī² was a great political power. Its kings from time to time fought with the Kosalan kings. Sometimes Kāsī extended its suzerain power over Kosala and sometimes Kosala conquered Kāsī. But on the whole it appears that before the Buddha’s time Kāsī was the most powerful kingdom in the whole of northern India (Jāt., III, pp. 115 ff.; VT., pt. II, pp. 30 ff.; Jāt., I, pp. 262 ff.). But in the time of the Buddha, Kāsī lost its political power. It was incorporated sometime into the Kosalan kingdom and sometime into the Magadhan kingdom. There were fierce fights between Pasenadi, king of Kosala, and Ajātasattu, King of Magadha, regarding the possession of Kāsī. Kāsī was finally conquered and incorporated into the Magadha kingdom when Ajātasattu defeated the Kosalans and became the most powerful king of Northern India. (SN., I, pp. 82-85.)

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² The earliest mention of the Kāsīs as a tribe seems to be met with in the Paippalāda recension of the Atharva Veda. The city of Kāsī is stated in the Brāhmaṇas to have been situated on the Varaṇāvatī river (CHI., p. 117). According to the Rāmāyaṇa, Kāsī was a kingdom while Prayāga with the country around was still a forest (Ādikāṇḍa, XII, 20). In the Vāyu Purāṇa, the kingdom of Kāsī is stated to have extended up to the river Gomati.

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In the Buddhist world, Kapilavatthu, Bārāṇasi and Kusinārā were the four places of pilgrimage (Dīgha, Vol. II, Mahāparinibbāna Suttanta). It was at Benares that the Buddha gave his first discourse on the Dhammacakka or the wheel of Law (MN., Vol. I, pp. 170 ff.; Cf. SN., V, pp. 420 ff.; KV., pp. 97, 559).

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Sālvas, the Matsyas, the Naimishas, the Chedis, the Sūrasenas, the Magadhas, the Kosalas, the Aṅgas, the Gandharvas and the Madrakas

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The Janavasabha Suttanta (DN, II) refers to the following janapadas: Kāsī-Kosala, Vajji-Malla, Ceti-Vamsa, Kuru-Pañchāla and Maccha-Sūrasena. The Indriya Jātaka (Jāt, III, p. 463) refers to the following janapadas :-Surattha (Surat), Lambacūlaka, Avanti, Dakshiṇāpatha, Daṇḍaka forest, Kumbhavatinagara, and the hill tract of Arañjara in the Majjhimadesa.

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The Buddha met an Ājīvika named Upaka on his way to Benares to preach the wheel of Law at Isipatana Migadāya (Therī GC., p. 220). He reached Benares after crossing the Ganges at Prayāga direct from Verañjā¹. The Buddha spent a great part of his life at Benares. Here he delivered some of the most important discourses and converted many people (AN., Vol. I, pp. 110 ff., pp. 279-280; Ibid., III, pp. 320-322, pp. 392 ff., pp. 399 ff.; SN., I, pp. 105-106; VT., I, pp. 102-103, pp. 110-112).

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¹ Samantapāsādikā, I, p. 201.

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Benares was a great centre of industry, trade, etc. There existed trade relations between Benares and Sāvatthi (Dh. C., III, p. 429) and between Benares and Taxila (Ibid., I, p. 123). The people of Benares used to go to Taxila. We read in the Susīma Jātaka that a certain youth of Benares went to Taxila, two thousand leagues away from the former, to learn the ‘hatthi-sutta’ (Jāt., II, p. 47). We know from the Bhojājānīya Jātaka (No. 23) that ‘all the kings round coveted the kingdom of Benares.’

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Kosala is mentioned in the Aṅguttara Nikāya as one of the sixteen Mahājanapadas. The Dīgha Nikāya (I, p. 103) and the Sumaṅgalavilāsinī (I, pp. 244-45) tell us that Pokkharasādi, a famous brāhmaṇa teacher of Kosala, lived at Ukkaṭṭhanagara which had been given to him by King Pasenadi.

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The Saṃyutta Nikāya (I, pp. 70-97) gives us much information about Kosala and its king Pasenadi. We are told that Pasenadi fought many battles with the Magadhan King, Ajātasattu. In the end, however, there was a conciliation between the two kings.

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The Buddha spent much of his time at Sāvatthī, the capital of Kosala, and most of his sermons were delivered there. The story of the conversion of the Kosalans to the Buddhist faith is related in some detail. In course of his journey over northern India, Buddha reached Kosala and went to Sālā, a brāhmana village of Kosala. There the Buddha delivered a series of sermons and the brahmin householders were converted to the new faith (MN., I, pp. 285 ff.). The Buddha also converted the brahmins of Nagaravinda, a brāhmana village of Kosala (Ibid., III, pp. 290 ff.). He went to the Mallas, Vajjis, Kāsīs and Magadhas from Kosala (SN., V, p. 349). Once he went to Veṇāgapura, a brāhmans village of Kosala, and converted the brāhmana householders of the village (AN., I, pp. 180 ff.). In the Pārāyaṇavagga of the Sutta Nipāta (pp. 190-192), we are told that a teacher of Kosala named Bāvari went from Kosala to Dakkhiṇāpatha. There in the kingdom of Assaka, near the lake, he built a hermitage on the bank of the river Godāvarī. We are further told that Bāvari and a certain brāhmaṇa went to the Buddha who was then in Kosala in order to have their dispute settled by the Blessed One.

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Kosala had matrimonial alliances with neighbouring powers. In Jātaka (III, pp. 211-213) we are told that Dīghāvu or Dīghāyu, a prince of Kosala, married a daughter of the king of Benares. In Jātaka (II, p. 237 and IV, pp. 342 ff.) we find that Mahākosala, father of King Pasenadi of Kosala, gave his daughter in marriage to King Bimbisāra of Magadha. The pin-money was the village of Kāsi yielding a revenue of a hundred thousand for bath and perfume. The Kosala Saṃyutta (SN., I, pp. 82-85) and a Jātaka story (Jāt., IV, pp. 342 ff.) tell us that there took place many a fierce fight between the sons of Mahākosala and Bimbisāra, Pasenadi and Ajātasattu respectively. But the two kings came into a sort of agreement. Ajātasattu married Vajirā, daughter of Pasenadi, and got possession of Kāsi.

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In the north, the Kosala country included the region occupied by the Sākyas of Kapilavastu. Mutual jealousies sometimes led to war between the two countries. Thus we are told that the Sākyas became the vassals of King Pasenadi of Kosala (DB., pt. III, p. 80).¹

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¹ The Sutta Nipāta, however, definitely includes the territory of the Sākyas of Kapilavastu within the kingdom of Kosala. There-in (S.B.E., X, Part II, 67-68) Buddha says, ‘just beside Himavanta there lives a people endowed with the power of wealth, the inhabitants of Kosala. They are Ādicchas (belonging to Aditya family) by family, Sākyas by birth......’ The Majjhima Nikāya (II, 124) too is definite on this point. There-in Pasenadi is recorded to have said, ‘Bhagavā pi Khattiyo, ahaṃ pi Khattiyo, Bhagavā pi Kosalako, ahaṃ pi Kosalako’.

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The capital cities of Kosala were Sāvatthi and Sāketa. But from the Epics and some Buddhist works Ayodhyā seems to have been the earliest capital, and Sāketa the next. In Buddha’s time, Ayodhyā had sunk to the level of an unimportant town (Buddhist India, p. 34), but Sāketa and Sāvatthi (Srāvastī)² were two of the six great cities of India (Mahāparinibbāna Sutta, S.B.E., XI, p. 99). Ayodhyā or Oudh was a town on the river Sarajū. Some think that Sāketa and Ayodhyā were identical, but Prof. Rhys Davids has been successful to point out that both cities were existing in the Buddha’s time. Besides Sāketa and Sāvatthi, there were other minor towns like Setavya (Pāyāsi Suttanta) and Ukkaṭṭha (Ambaṭṭha Sutta) included in Kosala proper. Some hold that Sāvatthi was so called because it was resided in by the sage Sāvatthi. But in the Papañca-sūdani (I, p. 59), we find a different explanation. The city is said to have contained everything required by human beings. Hence the city is called Sāvatthi (sabbam + atthi).

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² Sāvatthi is identical with the great ruined city on the south bank of the Rāpti called Saheth-Maheth.

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bable that emigrants from this city were responsible for naming and establishing the great settlement of the same name in Cochin-China in South-East Asia.¹

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¹ IA., VI, 229; It-sing, 58; Nundolal Dey, Notes on Anc. Anga, J.A.S B., 1914.

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In the Aṅguttara Nikāya, Aṅga is mentioned as one of the sixteen Mahājanapadas. The Vinayapiṭaka (Vol. I, p. 179) tells us that there were 80,000 villages in the kingdom of Aṅga, and Campā was one of them. In the Saṃyutta Nikāya (pt. V, p. 225) we find mention of the town of Apaṇa in Aṅga. The Mahāgovinda Suttanta (DN., II, p. 235) we find that Mahāgovinda built the city of Campā.² The same Suttanta also tells us that India was then divided into seven political divisions. The seven kingdoms with their capitals are named below:—

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² The Mahābhārata, however, tells us that Anga was so called after its king Anga (Adiparva, CIV., 4179 ff) who seems to be identical with Anga Vairocani mentioned in the Aitareya Brāhmaṇa (VIII, 4, 22) The Rāmāyaṇa says that anga or body of the love-god Kāma was consumed here and the country was, therefore, called Aṅga (cf. CAGI., Notes, p. 722).

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| (1) Kaliṅga | .. | capital | Dantapura |
| (2) Assaka | .. | " | Potana |
| (3) Avanti | .. | " | Māhissatī |
| (4) Sovīra | .. | " | Roruka |
| (5) Videha | .. | " | Mithilā |
| (6) Aṅga | .. | " | Campā |
| (7) Kāsī | .. | " | Bārāṇasī |

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Before the time of the Buddha, Aṅga was a powerful kingdom. We are told in one of the Jātakas (Jāt., VI, p. 272) that Magadha was once under the sway of Aṅgarāja. We are informed by the Jātaka book that there was a river between Aṅga and Magadha which was inhabited by a Nāga-rāja who helped the Magadhan king to defeat and kill the Aṅga-rāja and to bring Aṅga under his sway. In one of the Jātakas (Jāt., V, pp. 312-316), it is stated that King Manoja of Brahmavaddhana (another name of Benares) conquered Aṅga and Magadha. In Buddha's time Aṅga lost her political power for ever. During this period Aṅga and Magadha were constantly at war (Jāt., IV, pp. 454-55). The Aṅga country became subject to Seniya Bimbisāra. This is clearly proved by the fact that a certain brahmin named Sonadaṇḍa with whom the Buddha had a discussion on the subject of caste, lived at Campā on the grant made by King Bimbisāra and used to enjoy the revenues of the town which was given to him by the King (DN., Vol. I, p. 111).

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In the Sumaṅgalavilāsinī (pt. I, p. 279) we find mention of a tank called Gaggarapokkharanī dug by the queen Gaggarā of Campā. From the Sonadaṇḍa Suttanta (DN., Vol. I) we calls it Giribbaja of the Magadhas in order to distinguish it from other cities of the same name (Cf. Girivraja in Kekaya)¹. Giribbaja seems to have other and perhaps older names. The Rāmāyaṇa tells us that the city was known by the name of Vasumati (I, 32.7). The Mahābhārata seems to record that Girivraja was also called Bārhadrathapura (II, 24-44) as well as Māgadhapura (II, 20, 30) and that Māgadhapura was a well-fortified city being protected by five hills (puram durādharsham samantataḥ). Other names recorded in the Mahābhārata are Varāha, Vrishabha, Rishigiri, and Caityaka.² There is, however, another name, Bimbisārapurī, by which Indian Buddhist writers designated the city.³ The Life of Yuan Chwang (p. 113) mentions still another name, Kusāgārapura.⁴ The statement of the Mahābhārata that Girivraja was protected by five hills is strikingly confirmed by the Vimāna-vatthu commentary (p. 82) in which we read that the city of Giribbaja was encircled by the mountains Isigili, Vepulla, Vebhāra, Paṇḍava and Gijjhakūṭa. The Vinaya Piṭaka (Vol. I, p. 29) tells us that Magadha comprised eighty thousand villages all of which were under the sway of King Bimbisāra. The same work informs us that the river Tapodā flowed by this ancient city (VP., IV, pp. 116-117). In the Majjhima Nikāya (Vol. I, pp. 166-67) we find that Senānigāma, one of the villages of Magadha, was a very nice place having a beautiful forest and a river with transparent water. The Saṃyutta Nikāya (Vol. I, pp. 172-73) tells us of the brāhmaṇa village of Ekanālā where a brāhmaṇa named Bharadvāja lived. The Brāhmaṇa was converted by the Buddha. The same Nikāya tells us of Nālakagāma in Magadha where Sāriputta delivered a discourse on nibbāna to a wandering ascetic named Jambukhādaka (Sam. IV, pp. 251-260). In the Digha Nikāya (I, pp. 127 ff.) we find mention of a brahmin village of Khānumata in the territory of Magadha. In the Dhammapadaṭṭhakathā (Vol. III, pp. 439-40) it is related that once the Buddha while staying at Rājagaha informed King Bimbisāra of Magadha that he would pay a visit to Vesālī. Bimbisāra prepared a road for the Buddha, and caused the ground from Rājagaha to the Ganges, a distance of 5 leagues to be made smooth, and erected a rest house at the end of each league. From the The tribe of the Vajjis included, according to Cunningham and Prof. Rhys Davids, *atthakulas* or eight confederate clans among whom the Videhans, the Vajjis themselves, and the Licchavis were the most important.¹

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¹ PHAI, p. 70.

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² PHAI, p. 70

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³ B. C. Law, The Life and Work of Buddhaghosa, p. 87 n.

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⁴ Rg Veda mentions a territory called Kīkaṭa ruled by a chieftain named Pramaganda. In later works Kīkaṭa has been alluded to as identical with Magadha (Cf. Abhidhāna-Chintāmaṇi, ‘Kīkaṭā Magadhāhvayaḥ’ also Bhāgavata Purāṇa, I, 3, 24; and Śrīdhara, ‘Kīkaṭaḥ Gayā-pradeśaḥ’). In Vedic, Brāhmaṇa and Sūtra periods, Magadha was considered to have been outside the pale of Aryan and Brahmanical culture and was, therefore, looked down upon by Brahmanical writers. But Magadha was the Buddhist holy land, and has always been included in the Madhyadeśa.

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¹ Other confederate clans were probably Jñātrikas, Ugras, Bhogas, and Aikṣvākas To the Jñātrika clan belonged Mahavira, the Jina; they had their seats at Kundapura or Kundagrāma and Kollāga. But they were called 'Vesalie,' i e. inhabitants of Vesālī (Hœrnle, Uvasagadasāo, II, p. 4, note).

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The Videha clan had its seat at Mithilā which is recorded in the Brāhmaṇas and the Purāṇas to have originally a monarchical constitution.²

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² Mithilā is, however, identified by some scholars with the small town of Janakpur just within the Nepal border. 'But a section of them may have settled in Vaiśālī. To this section probably belonged the princess Triśalā, also called Videhadattā, mother of Mahāvīra'. PHAI., p. 74.

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The Vajji or Vriji clan is mentioned by Pāṇini (IV, 2. 131) and Kauṭilya (Mysore Ed., 1919, p. 378) who however, distinguishes the Vrijikas or Vajjis from the Licchavikas. Yuan Chwang (Watters, II, 81) also distinguishes the Fu-li-chih (Vriji) country from Fei-she-li (Vaiśālī). It seems that Vrijika or Vajji was not only the name of the confederacy, but also of one of the constituent clans. But the Vajjis, like the Licchavis, are often associated with the city of Vesālī which was not only the capital of the Licchavi clan, but also the metropolis of the entire confederacy. A Buddhist tradition quoted by Rockhill (Life of the Buddha, p. 62) mentions the city of Vesālī as consisting of three districts. These districts were probably at one time the seats of three different clans.³

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³ PHAI., pp. 74-75.

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The Licchavis had their capital at Vesālī identical with Besārh in the Muzaffarpur district of Bihar. In the Paramatthajotikā on the Khuddakapāṭha and the Pujāvaliya, a Ceylonese Buddhist work, we find an account of the mythical origin of the Licchavis, the Vajji country and the capital Vesālī. Buddhaghosa's fanciful story of the origin of the town of Vesālī is also supported by the Jātakatthakathā to the Ekapanna Jātaka (Jāt., I, p. 504). It is said in the commentary that at the time of the Buddha the city of Vesālī was encompassed by three walls at a distance of a gāvuta from one another and that at three places there were gates with watchtowers and buildings. From the Mahāvastu (Le Mahāvastu, Ed. by Senart, Vol. I, pp. 253 ff.) we know that the Buddha once visited Vesālī invited by the Licchavis. Vesālī, at the time of the Buddha, was an opulent, prosperous and populous town. It had 7,707 storied buildings, 7,707 pinnacled buildings, 7,707 ārāmas or pleasure grounds, and 7,707 lotus ponds (Vinaya Texts, S.B.E., II, p. 171). A similar account of Vesālī is also found in the Lalitavistara (Ed. by Lefmann, Chapter III, p. 21).¹ Vesālī was well provided with food, the harvest was good, alms were easy to obtain and one could very well earn his living by gleaning or through favour (VT., II, p. 117). There at Vesālī was the Gotamaka shrine. There lay a road from Vesālī to Rājagaha (Ibid., II, pp. 210-11) and another from Vesālī to Kapilavatthu whence a number of Sākya ladies came to receive ordination from the Master who at that time was staying at Kūṭāgāra hall in the Mahāvana (Ibid., III, pp. 321 foll.). In the 12th Khandhaka of the Cullavagga there is an important reference to the Buddhist Council of Vesālī (VT., III, pp. 386 ff.).

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¹ Vesālī is so called because it is extensive, i.e. Visālībhūtatāya Vesālīti saṅkhaṃ gatam (Papañcasudanī, II, p. 19). Yuan Chwang while visiting Vesālī saw two huge groups of ruins which even in the last century came down to be known as Rājā Visāl Kā garh. This is, however, an ingenuous way of explaining the name Vesālī.

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The Buddha's missionary activities were confined not to Magadha and Kosala alone, but were spread over to Vesālī as well. Many discourses were delivered here either at the mango-grove of Ambapālī, in the outskirt of the city or at Kūṭāgārasālā in the Mahāvana, the great forest stretching upto the Himalayas.

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The Mahāparibbāna Suttanta of the Digha Nikāya speaks of the existence of concord and amity among the Licchavis.² In the Saṃyutta Nikāya (P.T.S., pt. II, pp. 267-68), we find the Buddha saying that the Licchavis were strenuous and diligent, zealous and active. The Blessed One further said that if the Licchavis would be given to luxury and indolence, they were sure to be conquered by the Magadhan King Ajātasattu.

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² Cf. BS., pp. 3-4.

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The Majjhima Nikāya (Vol. I, p. 231) tells us of the Vajjis and the Mallas as forming saṃghas and ganas, that is, clans governed by organised corporations. The Mahāvastu states that there were twice 84,000 Licchavirājās residing within the city of Vesālī. The commentaries on the Cullakāliṅga Jātaka (Jāt., III, p. 1), and the Ekapaṇna Jātaka (Jāt., I, p. 504) speak of 7,707 rājās of Vesālī.

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The political relation between Magadha and Vesālī was friendly. The fact that Ajātasattu is called Vedehiputto or Vaidehiputra (SN., II, p. 268; Commy. on Digha I, p. 47; Commy. on Majjhima I, p. 125; Commy. on Saṃyutta II, p. 215, Dvd., p. 55) goes to show that King Bimbisāra established matrimonial alliance with the Licchavis by marrying a Licchavi princess. In the Majjhima Nikāya (Vol. II, pp. 100-101) we find that the Licchavis were on friendly terms with King Pasenadi of Kosala.

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From the Mahāparinibbāna Suttanta (DN., II, pp. 72 ff.) it is clear that Ajātasattu was determined to destroy the Vajjian power. In the Sumaṅgalavilāsinī we are told of the immediate cause which led to the outbreak of the war. It is said that there was a port near the Ganges extending over a Yojana, half of which belonged to Ajātasattu and half to the Licchavis. There was a mountain not far from it, and at the foot of the mountain there was a mine of precious substance. Ajātasattu found the Licchavis too powerful to crush. Accordingly he sent Sunidha and Vassakāra, his ministers to sow the seed of dissensions among the Licchavis. Vassakāra succeeded in bringing about disunion among the Licchavi princes. Ajātasattu then succeeded in destroying the Licchavis. Buddhist tradition has, however, preserved the names of eminent Licchavis as Mahānāma, general Siha, Dummukha and Sunakkhatta. (AN., III, 74; Mahāli Sutta of the Dīgha Nikāya DB., I, p. 198; VT., II, 108; MN., I, 234; GS; II, 252; The Book of the Kindred Sayings, pt. I, 295.)

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The Mallaraṭṭha or Mallāraṣṭra has been mentioned in the Aṅguttara Nikāya as one of the sixteen Mahājanapadas. The kingdom was divided into two parts which had for their capitals the cities of Kusāvatī or Kusīnārā and Pāvā identical probably with Kasia (on the smaller Gandak and in the east of the Gorakhpur district) and a village named Padaraona (12 miles to the north-east of Kasia) respectively.¹ The Mahāparinibbāna Suttanta states that the Sāla grove of the Mallas where the Buddha lay in his Mahāparinibbāna was situated near the river Hiraṇyavatī identical probably, as Smith indicates, with the Gaṇḍak (Early Hist. of India, p. 167 n.).

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¹ The exact site of Kusīnārā is not known, but the discovery in the large stūpa behind the Nirvāna temple near Kasia of an inscribed copper-plate with the words '(parini) rvāna-chaitye tāmrapatta iti' seems to support the view that Kasia is probably the ancient Kusīnārā. With regard to the identification of Pāvā, we are still less certain. Carlleyle disagrees with Cunningham and seems to identify Pāvā with Fazilpur, 10 miles south-east of Kasia (CAGI., p. 714).

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The Mallas had at first a monarchical constitution (Kusa Jātaka; Mahāparinibbāna Suttanta, Mahāsudassana Suttanta, etc.) when their capital city had been known as Kusāvatī. But later on, in the time of the Buddha, when the monarchy came to be replaced by a republican constitution, the name of the city was changed to Kusīnārā. Besides Kusīnārā, the Mallas had other important cities namely, Bhoganagara, Anupiyā and Uruvelakappa² in the neighbourhood of which there existed a wide forest called Mahāvana.

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² B. C. Law—Some Ksatrya Tribes of Ancient India, p. 149; cf. SN., V, p. 228; AN., IV, p. 438.

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In the Mahāparinibbāna Suttanta of the Dīgha Nikāya it is stated that Ānanda requested the Buddha not to attain Mahāparinibbāna in a small town like Kusinārā. He suggested the names of great cities like Campā, Rājagaha, Sāvatthi, Sāketa, Kosambī, and Bārānasi. But the Blessed One selected Kusinārā as the place of his Mahāparinibbāna and silenced Ānanda by narrating the former glories of Kusāvatī. The ancient city of Kusāvatī had seven ramparts, four gates, and seven avenues of palm trees. The Buddha himself says that Kusinārā is ancient Kusāvatī. It was a capital city, and was 12 yojanas in length from east to west, and 7 yojanas in width north to south (DN., II, pp. 146-147).

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In the Mahāparinibbāna Suttanta (DN., II, pp. 72-168) we find an account of the Buddha's journey from Rājagaha to Kusinārā. We are also told of halting places, the list of which is given in order with important events:—

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1. Rājagaha—the Buddha consulted by Ajātasattu about an expedition against the Vajjis.
2. Ambalaṭṭhikā.
3. Nālandā.
4. Pāṭaligāma where he crossed the Ganges.
5. Koṭigāma.
6. Nādikā.¹
7. Vesāli: while staying here at the Cāpāla Cetiya, the Buddha resolved to die in three months.
8. Bhaṇḍagāma.
9. Hatthigāma, Ambagāma, Jambugāma, Bhoganagara.
10. Pāvā: the Buddha here visited Cunda and fell ill by eating sūkaramaddava. He recovered and started for Kusinārā; on his way he crossed the Kakuttha river, reached Ambavana, proceeded to the Sāla grove of the Mallas near Kusinārā and died there.

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¹ According to the Papañcasudani, there is a tank by the name of Nādikā (II, p. 235).

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From a passage in the Majjhima Nikāya (Vol. I, p. 231) it is apparent that the Mallas were a typical example of a Saṃgharājya. In the Mahāparinibbāna Suttanta, mention is made of a set of officers called purisas about whose duties and functions very little is known.

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Buddhism appears to have attracted many followers among the Mallas in Dabba (VT., III, pp. 4 ff.), Khaṇḍasumana (Pss. B., p. 90), Roja (VT., II, S.B.E., Vol. XVII, p. 139) and Siha (Pss. B., p. 80).

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The political relation between the Mallas and the Licchavis was on the whole friendly. But there were occasional rivalries between the two (cf. the story of Bandhula—Dhammapada, Fausboll, old Edition, pp. 218-220).

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According to the Sumaṅgalavilāsinī, Kusinārā was 25 yojanas from Rājagaha (II, p. 609).

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The ancient Cedi country lay near the Jumna and was contiguous to that of the Kurus. It corresponds roughly to modern Bundelkhand and the adjoining region. We are told by the Cetiya Jātaka (No. 422) that the capital city of the Cedi country was Sotthivati-nagara which is most probably identical with the city of Suktimati or Suktisāhvaya of the Mahābhārata (III., 20. 50 and XIV., 83. 2).¹ Other important towns of the Cedi kingdom include Sahajāti (AN., III, p. 355) and Tripuri, the mediæval capital of Tripurivishaya or Cedi.

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¹ GD, p. vii. In the mediæval period the southern frontiers of Cedi extended to the banks of the Narmadā (Mekalasutā). ‘Nadīnām Mekalasutā nṛpānām Ranavigrahaḥ | Kavināmcha Surānandaś Cedi-maṇḍala maṇḍanam’ || (Karpuramañjarī, p. 182). The great epic mentions a river called Suktimatī which flowed by the capital of Rājā Uparicara of Cedi-Vishaya—PHAI., p. 81.

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The Vedabbha Jātaka (No. 48) states that the road from Kāsī to Cedi was full of thieves and was, therefore, unsafe. The Vessantara Jātaka (Jāt., VI, pp. 514-515) tells us that Cetaraṭṭha was 30 yojanas distant from Jetuttara-nagara, the birth place of King Vessantara. Cetaraṭṭha was an important centre of Buddhism. In the Aṅguttara Nikāya (Vol. III, pp. 355-356; V, pp. 41 ff.; pp. 157-61) we find that Mahācuṇḍa while dwelling in the town of Sahajāti among the Cedis delivered many discourses. The same Nikāya (Vol. IV, pp. 228 ff.) also tells us that Anuruddha while dwelling among the Cedis in the Deer Park of Pācīnavaṃsa won Arahatship. From the Dīgha Nikāya (Vol. II, pp. 200, 201, 203) we learn that the Buddha went to the Cedis and other tribes while out in preaching. In the Saṃyutta Nikāya (Vol. V, 436-37) a discussion on the four aryan truths is recorded to have taken place among the bhikkhus who dwelt among the Cedis in the Sahañcanika.

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The kingdom of the Vaṃsas or Vatsas is mentioned in the Aṅguttara Nikāya as one of the sixteen great countries of India. The capital of the country was Kausāmbi identical with modern Kosam near Allahabad. The Bhagga (i.e. Bharga) state of Sumsumāragiri was a dependency of the Vatsa kingdom (Jātaka No. 353; Bhandarkar, Carmichael lectures, p. 63). This is confirmed by the Mahābhārata (II, 30, 10-11) and the Harivaṃśa (29, 73) which testify to the close association of these two realms.² In the Dīgha Nikāya (Vol. II, pp. 146, 169) we find that Kosambi was suggested as one of the great cities where the Blessed one should attain Mahāparinibbāna. In the Sutta Nipāta Commentary (Vol. II, p. 584) we are told that the city of Kosambi was visited by the followers of Bāvarī, a leader of the Jaṭilas. Piṇḍola Bhāradvāja dwelt at Ghositārāma at Kosambi. From the Psalms of the Brethren (pp. 110-111) we know that he was the son of the Chaplain to King Udena of Kosambi. He went to Rājagaha, entered the Order and in due time attained the sixfold abhiññā (supernatural knowledge). In the Saṃyutta (Vol. IV, pp. 110-112) a conversation on religious subjects which took place between King Udena of Kosambi and Piṇḍola Bhāradvāja is related. While the Buddha was staying at Ghositārāma at Kosambi, he held discourses on Dhamma, Vinaya, etc. (VT., pt. III, p. 233).

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² PHAI., p. 84. Dr. Ray Chaudhuri points out that epic tradition attributes the foundation of the city of Kausāmbi to a Cedi prince (Ram. I, 32, 3-6; Mbh. I, 63, 31). The origin of the Vatsa people, however, is traced to a King of Kāsī (Hv., 29, 73; Mbh. XII, 49, 80; PHAI., p. 83).

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In the ancient literature mention is made of two Kuru countries, Uttarakuru and Dakkhiṇakuru.

Kuru

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The Kuru country mentioned in the Ṛgveda is probably the Uttarakuru of later times which is alluded to in Pāli literature as a mythical region. Its extent is, however, given as 8,000 yojanas (Smv., II, p. 623). References to the southern Kuru country are frequent in Buddhist literature. The Papañcasūdanī says (Vol. I, p. 225) that there was a janapada named Kuru and its kings used to be called Kurus. In the Aṅguttara Nikāya (Vol. I, p. 213; IV, pp. 252, 256, 260) Kuru is mentioned as one of the sixteen mahājanapadas. At Kammāsadhamma, one of the Kuru towns, the Buddha delivered some profound discourses to the Kurus: the Mahānidāna and the Mahāsatipaṭṭhāna Suttantas of the Dīgha Nikāya (Vol. II). The thera Raṭṭhapāla, whose verses are still preserved in the Therīgāthā, was a Kuru noble and was born in the town of Thullakoṭṭhika in the town of the Kurus (Pss. B., pp. 302-307). He is also mentioned in the Majjhima Nikāya (II, pp. 65 foll.) as holding a religious discussion with King Koravya. From the Dhammapada Commentary (III, pp. 241-47) we learn that Aggidatta, a chaplain of the King Mahākosala of Kosala, after renouncing the world, lived in a place between the eastern dominion of Aṅga-Magadha and the Kuru country. Of smaller towns mention is made in the Pāli texts of Thullakoṭṭhika and Kammāsadhamma.

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The Papañcasūdanī (Vol. I, pp. 225-226) gives us a story of the origin of the Kurus. It is stated that King Mandhātā, a Cakkavatti king of Jambudīpa, conquered Pubbavideha, Aparagoyāna, and Uttarakuru besides the devalokas. While returning from Uttarakuru a large number of the inhabitants of that country followed Mandhātā to Jambudīpa, and the place in Jambudīpa where they settled became known as Kururaṭṭham including provinces, villages, towns, etc. This explains the word ‘Kurusu’ occurring in Pāli Buddhist literature. The Buddha is said to have delivered a number of religious discourses in the Kuru country and a large number of people times between the Kurus and the Pañcālas for the possession of Uttara Pañcāla. Sometimes Uttara Pañcāla was included in Kururaṭṭha (Somanassa Jātaka, No. 505; Mbh. I, 138) and had its capital at Hastināpura (Dvd., p. 435), at other times it formed a part of Kampillaraṭṭha (Brahmadatta Jātaka, No. 323; Jayaddisa Jātaka, No. 513; and Gaṇḍatiṇḍu Jātaka, No. 520). Sometimes Kings of Kampillaraṭṭha held court at Uttara Pañcālanagara; at other times Kings of Uttara Pañcālaraṭṭha held court at Kampilla (Kumbhakāra Jātaka, No. 408)'.¹ This is the reason why King Dummukha of Uttara Pañcāla had his capital not at Ahicchatra but at Kampilianagara.

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¹ PHAI., p. 85.

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The Saṃyutta Nikāya tells us of Visākha of the Pañcālas who inspired the Bhikkhus with pious discourse delivered nicely in the meeting hall (Book of the Kindred Sayings, Vol. II, p. 190). From the Psalms of the Brethren (pp. 152-153) we learn that Visākha was the son of the daughter of the King of the Pañcālas. On the death of his father, he succeeded to his title. But when he heard the Buddha preaching the Norm, he left the world. He followed the Blessed One to Sāvatthī and won insight and sixfold abhiññā. Another Pañcāla King named Cūḷani Brahmadatta is mentioned in the Mahā-Ummagga Jātaka (No. 546) as well as in the Uttarādhyayana sūtra (S.B.E., XLV, 57-61), the Svapnavāsavadatta (Act V) and the Rāmāyaṇa (I, 32).

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Pañcāla was originally the country north and west of Delhi from the foot of the Himalaya to the river Chambal, but it was divided into North and South Pañcāla, separated by the Ganges. It roughly corresponds to modern Budaon, Furrukhabad and the adjoining districts of the United Provinces.

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The Matsya country comprises the modern territory of Jaipur; it included the whole of the present territory of Alwar with a portion of Bharatpur. From the Aṅguttara Nikāya (Vol. I, p. 213; IV, pp. 252, 256, 260) we know that the Matsya country was included in the traditional list of the sixteen Mahājanapadas. The Janavasabha Suttanta (DN., II, p. 200) tells us of the Matsyas or Macchas in connection with the account of the Buddha’s stay at Nādika. In the Vidhura Paṇḍita Jātaka (Cowell’s Jātaka, VI, p. 137) we read that the Macchas witnessed the dice-play of the King of the Kurus with the Yakkha Puṇṇaka.

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The country of the Matsyas (RV., VII, 18, 6; Gopatha Br., I, 2, 9, Bibliotheca Indica Series) lay to the south or south-west of Indraprastha and to the south of Sūrasena. The capital of the Matsya country was Virāṭanagara or Vairāṭ, so called because it was the capital of Virāṭa, King of the Matsyas.

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In the Aṅguttara Nikāya, the Sūrasena country is mentioned as one of the sixteen Mahājanapadas. In one of the Jātakas (Cowell’s Jāt., Vol. VI, p. 137) we are told that the Sūrasenas along with the Pañcālas, Matsyas and Maddas witnessed a dice-play between Dhanañjaya Korabba and Punnaka Yakkha. The country had its capital at Madhurā or Mathurā, which like Kauśāmbi stood on the river Yamunā. The ancient Greek writers refer to the Sūrasena country¹ as Sourasenoi and its capital as Methora. From Saṅkissa, the place of the Buddha’s descent from heaven, to Mathurā it was a distance of 4 yojanas (Kaccāyana’s Pāli Grammar, S. C. Vidyābhūṣaṇ’s Ed., Book III, Chap. I, p. 157).

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¹ Madhu, King of the Daityas, and his son Lavana are said to have reigned at Mathurā. Satrughna, the brother of Rāma, killed Lavana and built Madhurā or Mathurā. A son of Satrughna was Sūrasena after whom the country is so called (Vāyu Purāṇa)—CAGI., p. 706.

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Buddhism was predominant in Mathurā for several centuries. The Vimānavatthu commentary (pp. 118-119) tells us of a woman of Uttara Madhurā who by offering alms to the Buddha was reborn in the Tāvatimsa heaven. One of the most important suttas on the subject of caste was delivered by Mahākaccāyana in Madhurā (MN., Vol. II, pp. 83 ff.). From the Aṅguttara Nikāya (Vol. II, p. 57) we know that when the Buddha was once proceeding from Mathurā to Verañji, he halted under a tree and there he was worshipped by many householders of either sex. In the Ghata Jātaka (Cowell’s Jātaka, Vol. IV, pp. 50-52) we read that Mahāsāgara was the King of Upper Madhurā and that he had two sons whose accounts are recorded there as well as in the Petavatthu Commentary (pp. 111 ff.).

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The epic and pauranic story of Kamsa’s attempt to make himself a tyrant at Mathurā by overpowering the Yādavas, and his consequent death at the hands of Krishna is not only referred to by Patañjali but also by the Ghata Jātaka (No. 454). The Ghata Jātaka also confirms the brahmanical tradition about the association of Krishna Vāsudeva’s family with Mathurā (PHAI., p. 89). ‘The Buddhist texts refer to Avantiputta, King of the Sūrasenas, in the time of Mahākaccāna who was the first among the chief disciples of Śākyamuni through whose agency Buddhism gained ground in the Mathura region’ (Ibid., p. 90).

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When Megasthenes wrote about the Sūrasenas, Mathurā must have formed a part of the Maurya Empire. During the Kushāna supremacy, Mathurā again became important as a centre of Buddhist religion and culture. Numerous dated and undated images of Buddhas and Bodhisattwas as well as inscriptions have been unearthed here.

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Mathurā or Madhurā is generally identified with Maholi, 5 miles to the south-west of the present town of Mathurā or Muttra.

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There was a second Mathurā or Madhurā in ancient India. It was the second capital of the Pāṇḍya kingdom on the river Vaigi, in the province of Madras. It was called Dakshiṇa-Mathurā to distinguish it from Mathurā of the north.

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In the Aṅguttara Nikāya Assaka is mentioned as one of the sixteen Mahājanapadas of Jambudīpa (AN., I, p. 213; IV, pp. 252, 256, 260). From the Mahāgovinda Suttanta of the Dīgha Nikāya (Vol. II, p. 235) we learn that Potana was the capital city of the Assakas. In the Sutta-nipāta (verse 977) we find, however, mention of another Assaka country in the Dakkhiṇāpatha. We are told that the brahmin Bāvari lived on the banks of the Godāvarī in the Assaka territory in close proximity to Aḷaka or Muḷaka (the district round Paithan). In a Jātaka story (Jāt., III, 3-5) we find that the relationship between King Kāliṅga of Dantapura and King Assaka of Potana, was at first hostile. But afterwards the two kings lived amicably. In the Vimānavatthu Commentary (pp. 259 ff.) we find the story of an Assaka king who was ordained by Mahākaccāyana. In the Commentary the capital city is named Potanagara.

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It should be noticed that the name of the capital city of the Assaka country is given both as Potali and Potana. It may seriously be asked if the two names are identical though their identity has always been accepted without doubt. At one time the city of Potali was included in the kingdom of Kāsī, for in the Assaka Jātaka (Jāt., II, p. 155) we are told that there was once a King named Assaka who reigned in Potali which is stated to be a city in the kingdom of Kāsī. The Cullakāliṅga Jātaka (Jāt., III, p. 3) mentions another King of Assaka named Aruna and refers to a victory which he won over the King of Kaliṅga. In the Hāthigumphā inscription of King Khāravela, it is stated that King Khāravela, without taking into account King Sātakarṇi, caused a large army to move towards the western quarter (Pachima disam) and strike terror into Asaka (or Asika) nagara. The Assaka of the Cullakāliṅga Jātaka and the Asikanagara of the Hāthigumphā inscription are probably identical with the Assaka of the Suttanipāta which is stated to be located on the Godāvarī.

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Assaka represents the Sanskrit Aśmaka (or Aśvaka) which has been mentioned by Asaṅga in his Sūtrālaṅkāra as a country in the basis of the Indus. Asaṅga’s Aśmaka seems, therefore, to be identical with the Kingdom of Assakenus of the Greek writers which lay to the east of the Saraswatī at a distance of about 25 miles from the sea on the Swat Valley. The Aśmakas are also mentioned by Pāṇini (IV, I, 173). They are placed in the north-west by the authors of the Mārkaṇḍeya Purāṇa and the Brihat-saṃhitā. It was a branch of this people of the north-west that probably settled in the territory known in the Aṅguttara Nikāya as Assaka Mahājanapada whose capital was Potana or Potali, the Paudanya of the Mahābhārata (1, 77, 47). In early Pāli literature Assaka has been distinguished from Muḷaka which lay to its north, but has always been associated with Avanti which lay immediately to the north-east. At the time of the Buddha, the Assakas had another settlement on the Godāvarī (S. Nip., V, 977) as already mentioned. This is probably referred to in the Cullakāliṅga Jātaka and in the Hāthigumphā inscription. Bhaṭṭaswāmi, the commentator of Kauṭilya’s Arthaśāstra identifies Aśmaka, the contiguous territory of Avanti, with Mahārāṣṭra. Practically speaking, therefore, the Assaka country of the Buddhists, whether it be identical with Mahārāṣṭra or located on the Godāvarī, lay outside the pale of the Madhyadeśa.

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Avanti is mentioned in the Aṅguttara Nikāya as one of the sixteen great janapadas. From the Dipavaṃsa (Oldenberg’s ed., p. 57) we know that Ujjeni, the capital of Avanti, was built by Accutagāmi. Ujjeni is also referred to in Minor Rock Edict No. 2 of Asoka. A kumāra was in charge of a province with his headquarters at Ujjeni.

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Avanti roughly corresponds to modern Mālwa Nimār and adjoining parts of the Central Provinces. Prof. Bhandarkar has rightly pointed out that ancient Avanti was divided into two parts; the northern part had its capital at Ujjeni and the southern part called Avanti Dakṣiṇāpatha had its capital at Māhissatī or Māhiṣmatī (CL., p. 54). The Mahāgovinda suttanta of the Dīgha Nikāya states that Māhissatī was the capital of the Avantis whose King was Vessabhu. This apparently refers to the Avanti country in the Dakṣiṇāpatha. The distinction is however noticed in the Mahābhārata where Avanti and Māhiṣmatī are said to be two different countries (II, 31, 10). Among other cities of Avanti referred to in Buddhist and Jain works, mention may be made of Kuraraghara and Sudarsanapura (B. C. Law, Ancient Mid-Indian Kṣatriya Tribes, p. 148; Kathākoṣa, 18).

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Avanti was an important centre of Buddhism. Some of the leading theras and theris were either born or resided there, e.g., Abhayakumāra (Th. G.C., 39), Isidāsī (Therī G.C., 261-64), Isidatta (Th. G., 120), Soṇakuṭikaṇṇa (VT., pt. II, p. 32; Th. G., 369; Udāna, V, 6), and Mahākaccāna (SN., III, p. 9; Ibid., IV, p. 117; AN., I, p. 23, Vol. V, 46; MN., III, pp. 194, 223). From the Psalms of the Brethren (pp. 238-239) we learn that Kaccāyana the Great was born at Ujjeni in the family of the Chaplain of King Caṇḍapajjota. It is expressly stated that Mahākaccāna converted the King to the Buddhist faith. The Dhammapada commentary (Vol. V, p. 101) tells us that when Mahākaccāna was living at the city of Kuraraghara in Avanti, he ordained an upāsaka named Sonakuṭikaṇṇa. The Psalms of the Brethren (p. 107) tells us that the Thera Isidatta was one of the converts of Mahākaccāyana. He was born in the kingdom of Avanti at Veḷugāma.

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The commentary on verses 21-23 of the Dhammapada gives a romantic story of the way in which a matrimonial alliance was established between the royal families of Kosambi and Avanti. At the time of the Buddha, India was divided into small independent kingdoms. Of these kingdoms Magadha under Bimbisāra and Ajātasattu, Kosala under Pasenadi, Avanti under Pajjota, and Kosambi under Udena, played important rôles in the political drama of India in the sixth and fifth centuries B.C. There was rivalry among these powers, each trying to extend its supremacy at the cost of another. Accordingly we find Pajjota trying to extend his supremacy over Udena. Pajjota, however, could not achieve his object. In the end Pajjota gave his daughter Vāsavadattā in marriage to Udena. This matrimonial alliance saved Kosambi from being conquered by Pajjota. Udena also established a matrimonial alliance with the King of Magadha. These two royal marriages were essentially necessary for the maintenance of the political independence of Kosambi which, however, served as a buffer state between Avanti and Magadha. Had not Udena contracted these alliances, Kosambi would have fallen an easy prey to the overgrowing powers of Magadha and Avanti.

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Janapadas, Nigamas, Nagaras, Gāmas, etc.— Apara-Gayā. In the Mahāvastu (A Study of the Mahāvastu, pp. 156-57) we read that the Buddha, desirous of preaching the Dhamma to the Pañcavaggiya bhikkhus who were then in Benares, set out from Uruvilva. From Uruvilva the Buddha came to Gayā, from Gayā to Apara-Gayā where he was invited by Sudarsana, King of Snakes. He then came to Vesālī whence he went to a city named Cundadvīla, where he announced to the Ājivika named Upaka that without a master he had become ‘Buddha’.

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Ambasanda. To the east of Rājagaha was the brahmin village of Ambasanda (DN., II, p. 263).

c7.s1.24

Once the Buddha dwelt at Andhakavinda. It is said that the Brahmā Sahampati saw the Blessed One there and uttered some verses in his presence (SN., I, p. 154). Andhakavinda.

c7.s1.25

There are references to Ayojjhā in Pāli literature. In the Saṃyutta (Vol. III, p. 140) we are told that the Buddha once dwelt in Ayojjhā on the bank of the Ganges. During the Buddhist period, Ayojjhā on the Sarayū was the capital of Dakshina Kosala, while that of Uttara Kosala was Sāvatthi on the Rāpti. Ayojjhā represents Sanskrit Ayodhyā of the Rāmāyaṇa and Ayojjhā.

c7.s1.26

A-yu-te of Yuan Chwang who places it 600 li to the south-east of the neighbourhood of Navadevakula city identified with Newal in Unao district, U.P. Ayodhyā is only a mile from Fyzabad. The janapada roughly corresponds to modern Oudh.

c7.s1.27

Andhapura is mentioned in the Serivāṇija Jātaka (Jāt., Vol. I, p. 111). It is said that two dealers in pots and pans, who were inhabitants of the kingdom of Seri, came across the river Teḷavāha and entered the city of Andhapura and set about hawking the wares round the streets.

c7.s1.28

In the Tipallatthamiga Jātaka (Jāt., Vol. I, p. 160) it is said that hard by the town of Āḷavī was the Aggāḷava Cetiya. The Buddha while dwelling in Aggāḷava shrine near Āḷavī told a story concerning the regulation to be observed in the building of cells. Āḷavī has been identified by General Cunningham and Dr. Hoernle with Newal or Nawal in Unao district in U.P. According to Mr. Nandalal Dey, Āḷavī is Aviwa, 27 miles north-east of Etwah.

c7.s1.29

Near the town of Anūpiya was the Anūpiya mango grove. While dwelling once in this grove, the Blessed One told a story about the Elder Bhaddiya who joined the ‘Brotherhood’ in the company of the six young nobles with whom was Upāli (Sukhavihārī Jātaka, Jāt., Vol. I, p. 140).

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