Tribes in Ancient India c50.262

c50.262

During the reigns of Bimbisāra and Ajātaśatru, the city of Rājagṛha was at the height of its prosperity. Aṅga formed an integral part of the kingdom of Magadha, which comprised an area covered by the districts of Gayā and Bhāgalpur. The Jaina texts describe Rājagṛha as a city which was rich, happy and thriving²; but some two centuries after the death of Mahāvīra a terrible famine visited Magadha.³ Rājagṛha must have lost its glory with the removal of the capital to Pāṭaliputra or Kusumapura by UdāyibHadda, some 28 years after the Buddha's demise. But the Hathigumpha Inscription lifts the veil for a moment, and shows that when Bṛhaspatimitra was king of Magadha (second century B.C.), King Khāravela of Kaliṅga marched towards Magadha after having stormed Gorathagiri, and brought pressure to bear upon Rājagṛha (Rājagaham upapīḍāpayati).⁴ Rājagṛha must have been used by the then king of Magadha, if not as a capital, at least as a strong fortress against foreign inroads. As was the case with most if not all ancient cities, Rājagṛha was walled; we read in the *Vinaya Piṭaka* (IV, pp. 116-7) that the city-gate of Rājagṛha was closed in the evening, and then nobody, not even the king, was allowed to enter the city. The same inscription refers to Aṅga and Magadha as united into one kingdom.