Tribes in Ancient India c31.124

c31.124

At Benares there was a rich banker named Mahādhanaseṭṭhi. His parents taught him dancing and music, and he married the daughter of another rich banker, and of similar education. Mahādhana became addicted to drink and gambling, with the result that he lost his own wealth as well as his wife’s, being finally reduced to begging for alms.¹² In general, however, the merchants of Benares must have been highly respected, for we read in the Divyāvadāna (p. 100) that after the death of Priyasena, the chief merchant, Brahmadatta, king of Kāśī, appointed Supriya chief merchant of the royal court; and after Brahmadatta’s death, the ministers anointed Supriya king (p. 121).