Tribes in Ancient India c33.31

c33.31

with the neighbouring kings, particularly with King Caṇḍa Pradyota of Avanti. Stories of Udayana and his queens abound in Sanskrit and Pāli literature, and provide the themes for no less than four dramas.¹ The Pāli legends tell us that Udayana ascended the throne of Vatsa by the assertion and establishment of his rightful claim as the son and successor of his father Parantapa.² In the *Udenavatthu*, Vatsa is described as a *paveṇirajja*, i.e. a kingdom in which succession to the throne was determined by the law of primogeniture.³ In most of the other references, whether Brahmanical, Jaina, or Buddhist, Śatānīka (better, Śatānīka II) is represented as Udayana’s father.⁴ In the *Skandapurāṇa* alone, Sahasrānīka is represented as the father and Śatānīka as the grandfather of Udayana.⁵ The *Skandapurāṇa* speaks of Śatānīka as a king of Kauśāmbī who belonged to the family of Arjuna, was powerful and intelligent, beloved by his subjects, and who was killed in a war between the Devas and the Asuras.⁶ According to the Jaina tradition, Udayana’s father Śatānīka II invaded Campā, the capital of Aṅga, during the reign of King Dadhivāhana.⁷ According to the *Skandapurāṇa* and *Vividhatīrthakalpa*, Udayana’s mother was Queen Mṛgāvatī, granddaughter of Kṛtavarmā, king of Ayodhyā.⁸ In the plays of Bhāsa, Udayana is described as Vaidehīputra, which indicates that his mother was princess of Videha.⁹