Tribes in Ancient India c50.84

c50.84

The Vinaya (II, 490) gives a short account of an attempt made by Ajātaśatru to kill his father with a sword, and in the concluding portion of the Sāmaññaphala Sutta, there is an allusion to the actual murder which he afterwards committed.² The details may or may not be true, but the fact that Bimbisāra was put to death by Ajātaśatru appears to have been a historical truth, the tradition is so strong and persistent with regard to this matter. According to the Ceylonese Chroniclers, this event took place 8 years before the death of Buddha, when Bimbisāra had been on the throne for 52 years.³ According to other accounts, Bimbisāra reigned for 28 or 38 years, and Ajātaśatru for 25 years.⁴