Tribes in Ancient India c50.51

c50.51

The *Mahāvaṃsa* (Geiger Ed., p. 15) records some facts regarding King Bimbisāra of Magadha, telling us that he was 15 years old when he was anointed king by his father, and that he reigned for 52 years. The father of Bimbisāra was probably Bhaṭṭiya⁴ who was defeated by Brahmadatta, king of Aṅga. As we shall see, this defeat was later avenged by Bimbisāra.⁵ Dr. Bhandarkar, however, makes Bimbisāra the founder of a dynasty, and says that he was a general who carved out a kingdom for himself at the expense of the Vajjis.⁶