Tribes in Ancient India c33.60

c33.60

However that may be, Vatsa was finally absorbed into the Magadhan empire,⁶ probably during the reign of Śiśunāga. We may infer from the inscriptions at Pabhosā that in the second century B.C., Vatsa (Kauśāmbī) and Pañcāla (Ahicchatra) were governed by branches of the same royal family, and that both kingdoms acknowledged the suzerainty of the Śuṅgas.¹ Dhanabhūti, a Śuṅga feudatory, is called Vacchiputa, son of a princess of Vatsa.² It may be that King Dhanabhūti, the donor of Bharhut gateways, his father Āgaraju and grandfather Viśvadeva were all local chiefs of Vatsa under the Śuṅgas.³ However that may be, the stūpa of Bharhut was erected in the Vatsa country not earlier than the second century B.C., the first pillar of its main railing being donated by Chāpādevī, wife of Revatīmitra, of Vidiśā.⁴ Revatīmitra was in all probability a member of the Śuṅga-Mitra family, stationed at Vidiśā. If this is so, we can say that when the Bharhut railing was erected, the Śuṅga dominions extended as far west as Vatsa and Avanti. As clearly proved by the inscriptions, when the Bharhut gateways were erected by King Dhanabhūti not earlier than the first century B.C., the Vatsa country was included in the Śuṅga empire (Sugaṇaṃ raje).⁵