Pre-Buddhist India: A Political, Administrative, Economic, Social and Geographical Survey of Ancient India Based Mainly on the Jataka Stories c3.s3.t2: Sivi-Madda-Malla-Gandhāra-Kamboja

Pre-Buddhist India: A Political, Administrative, Economic, Social and Geographical Survey of Ancient India Based Mainly on the Jātaka Stories c3.s3.t2

Language: English

Sivi-Madda-Malla-Gandhāra-Kamboja

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Somewhat less in importance, from the view point of the *Jātakas* of course, were the kingdoms of Sivi, Madda, Malla, Gandhāra and Kamboja, which must have flourished during this period (i.e., 1200-800 B.C.), and should therefore be noticed here.

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The kingdom of Sivi appears to have been very ancient. The Śiva people of the *Ṛgveda*⁵ perhaps occupied this kingdom. During the time of Alexander the Great, there were the Siboi people. “It is probable,” says Raychaudhury, “that Śiva, Sivi and Siboi were one and the same people, . . . . inhabitants of the Shorkot region in Jhang.”⁶

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⁵ See *Vedic Index*, II, pp 381-2.

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⁶ P. H. A. I., p. 170.

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The earliest kings of Sivi known to the *Jātakas* are Usīnara and his son Sivi, the two famous traditional kings of the *Ancient Period* discussed before.

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The *Jātakas* mention Ariṭṭhapura¹ and Jetuttara² as the two capita-cities of the Sivi country. Ariṭṭhapura is, most probably, identical with Aristobothra of Ptolemy, in the north of the Punjab.³ And Jetuttara is evidently Jattaraur of Alberuni, the capital of Mewār.⁴ This perhaps indicates the spread of the Sivi people from the North to the South, and their migration to other places is also known.⁵

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¹ J., IV, p. 401; V, pp. 210, 212; VI, p. 419.

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² J., VI, pp. 480, 484-G. 1698 etc.

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³ De, G. D., p. 11.

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⁴ De, op. cit., p. 81.

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⁵ See Raychaudhury, op. cit., pp. 170-1. "We find them also in Sind, in Mādhyamikā in Rājputānā, and, in the *Daśakumāracarita*, on the banks of the Kāverī." Before the end of the 2nd century B.C., the Sivis of Jetuttara or Mādhyamikā had already established a republic, for we read on their coins '*Majjhamikāya Sivi Janapadassa*': Majumdar, *Corporate Life in Ancient India*, pp. 280-2.

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Ariṭṭhapura, if the *Jātakas* can be relied upon, was the earlier of the two capital cities, since Sivi, the Ideal king, about whom we have already spoken before, is associated with this city, whereas the later Sivi kings, like Vessantara, are said to have had their capital at Jetuttara and not at Ariṭṭhapura.

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From the *Vessantara Jātaka*,⁶ we get the following genealogical table which, we should note, remains uncorroborated by further evidence:—

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⁶ J., VI, pp. 480 ff. GG. 1698-1700, 1881.

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From the above table, it will be seen that, even if the individuals mentioned therein may not all have existed at all, the fact that the two houses of Sivi and Madda were intimately connected by matrimonial ties has some appearance of reality. The fact that they were closely situated geographically renders it more probable.

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The nucleus of the story, as related in this charming balladic *Jātaka*, centres round Vessantara. He was a great donator. He was banished from the kingdom by the Sivi people for having given away a highly-prized elephant to the Brāhmaṇas of Kaliṅga. He, with his wife Maddī and the two children, Jāli and Kaṇhā, went to a forest and lived as a hermit. Afterwards he was reinstated on the throne of Sivi.

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It is not possible to identify precisely the kings mentioned in this *Jātaka*. Dr. Pradhan,⁷ let us note however, makes mention of a Sivi-Sañjaya, as an ancestor of Śākya of Devadaha. The identity does not seem to be possible.

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⁷ op. cit., p. 252.

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Vessantara, i.e., Viśvantara,¹ again reminds us of a Vedic prince named Viśvantara Sauṣadmana (descendant of Susadman),² whose conflict with his priests may well lead one to establish a connection between the two. But this too is hazardous.³

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¹ A gāthā, however, derives the name from 'Vessavithi' the Vessa or Vaiśya street, where he is said to have been born: J. VI, p. 482 G. 1700. But this seems to be only a pun on the word. The real form, as is clear philologically, should be Viśvantara which we find in the Tibetan version: *Tibetan Tales*, pp. 257 ff.

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² *Aitareya Brāhmaṇa*, VII, 27, 3-4; 34; 7-8; *Vedic Index*, II, p. 309.

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³ The story of Viśvantara is delineated in a fresco-painting at Ajaṇṭā caves, where the scene of Banishment is so touching and the face of the Brāhmaṇa Jujaka with all its greediness is so faithfully represented.

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The Kingdom of Madda, with its capital Sāgala (modern Sialkot), is often mentioned in the *Jātakas*. As a tribe, the Maddas appear in the *Aitareya Brāhmaṇa* and the *Bṛhadāraṇyaka Upaniṣad*.⁴ Madda, in the *Brāhmaṇic* Period, appears as a centre of learning and noted for refinement in manners.⁵

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⁴ *Vedic Index*, II, p. 123.

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⁵ Raychaudhury, P. H. A. I., p. 43; Law, *Some Kṣatriya Tribes*, pp. 214 ff.

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The *Jātakas*, in common with the great Epic, represent the Maddas as living under a monarchical constitution. They do not unfortunately supply us with the names of any of the Madda kings. Nor do they give us any information about the manners and customs of the Maddas. The only prominent feature referred to about the Madda kings is, that they quite often enter into matrimonial alliances with the neighbouring, and often far-off, royal families. Thus the Madda house, as we have seen, was united with that of the Sivis through the marriages of Phussatī and Maddī with Sañjaya and Vessantara respectively. Princess Pabhāvatī, the eldest daughter of a Madda king, was married to the ugly prince Kusa, son and heir of a Malla king, Okkāka.⁶ Then Candāvatī, the chief queen of the far-off king Kāsirāja of Benares, was a daughter of a Madda king.⁷ So was also Subhaddā, the queen of another Benares king.⁸ And lastly, a Madda princess was given to a Kalinga prince.⁹ Whether these alliances are historically true or not, we have nothing to prove. But what signicant fact the *Jātakas* do perceive is, that the Madda princesses, owing to their exquisite beauty and virtuous demeanour, were in great demand in other royal families of India.¹⁰

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⁶ J., V, pp. 285 ff.

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⁷ J., VI, p. 1.

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⁸ J., V, p. 39.

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⁹ J., IV, p. 231.

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¹⁰ Cf. the descriptions of Pabhāvatī, J. V. pp. 283 ff. GG. 3-4, 37-44. The Madda women are characterised as white (gaurī) in the *Mahābhārata*, VIII, 44, 16 ff. So Bimbisāra is said to have married a Madda princess. C. H. I., I. p. 183; Mādrī, wife of Pāṇḍu, is a well known personality in the Great Epic.

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It is interesting to note in this connection, that far from being a bliss, the beauty of their daughters was, not infrequently, a source of danger of invasions upon these Madda kings by other kings. And we twice¹¹ hear the threatening sound of the kings who had beseiged the capital of Madda for the hand of the princess.

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¹¹ J., V, pp. 300 ff; IV, pp. 230-1.

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Madda has no place in the traditional list of the *Solasamahājanapadas*, which flourished a little before the time of the Buddha. The reason is not far to seek. It is because of the fact, as Mr. H. C. Ray¹ points out, that in the period represented by the *Nikāya* and the *Bhagavatī Sūtra*, it was annexed to one of the neighbouring ‘Great Countries,’ probably Gandhāra. Thus it seems that Madda, an independent kingdom, flourished in a period prior to the 7th century B. C.²

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¹ J. A. S. B., (N. S.), 1922, pp. 257 ff.

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² For detailed accounts of the Madras see H. C. Ray, J. A. S. B. (N. S.) 1922, pp. 257, ff; Mr. H. K. Deb, has tried to identify the Madras with the Medes of ancient Persia. The proposed identification is not without its value. See. J. A. S. B. (N. S.) 1925, pp. 265 ff.

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The kingdom of Malla, with its capital Kusāvatī, is mentioned in at least three *Jātakas*.³ The *Mahāsudassana Jātaka* mentions a king named Mahāsudassana whose queen was Subhaddā. In his reign the capital Kusāvatī was a very prosperous city.⁴

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³ J., 1, p. 392; IV, p. 327; V, pp. 278 ff.

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⁴ Cf. Mahāsudassana Suttanta, Dialogues of the Buddha, II. pp. 161-2.

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The *Kusa Jātaka*⁵ mentions a Malla king named Okkāka (Ikṣvāku) with his queen Silavatī. For a long time, says the story, he had no son, and the people became anxious lest the kingdom should be seized and destroyed by a foreigner. At last the queen gave birth to two sons who were named Kusa and Jayampati.

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⁵ J., V, pp. 278 ff.

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This Okkāka is surely not a personal name, and cannot therefore be identified. But, as Dr. Raychaudhury⁶ rightly infers, the name probably indicates that like the Śākyas the Malla kings also belonged to the Ikṣvāku family.

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⁶ P. H. A. I., p. p. 89.

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King Kusa, of all the Malla kings, bears a remarkable appearance of a historical character. Though we have no positive evidence to prove this, the long ballad-like *gāthās* of the *Kusa Jātaka* speak of him in such a fervent and sympathetic manner as to make us feel confident and certain about his real existence. He is there said to have been ugly.⁷ His marriage with Pabhāvatī, the Madda princess, is however accomplished with much dexterity.⁸ Pabhāvatī, after a short time, recognizes the ugly face, and out of sheer disgust flies away to her parents. Kusa, an ardent and sincere lover of hers, goes after her and, bent upon getting her back, he lives disguised in the Madda palace, employing various ingenuous means to have a sight of his beloved. And at last, when the city is besieged by a host of kings who wanted the fair lady's hand, he comes out to the help of his father-in-law, and defeating the enemies by his valour, obtains back Pabhāvatī, now completely reconciled.

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⁷ J., V, p. 282.

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⁸ Ibid., p. 285. It is related that the pair met only at night in the darkness, so that the ugly person of the King might not be recognised. The secret however was disclosed. Dr. Rabindranath Tagore has, apparently from this theme, worked out a beautiful lyrical drama entitled Sāpamocana, the Redemption.

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Kusa is styled as the ‘Chief ruler of all India.’ In one place¹ he is said to be the grandfather of a Videha king.

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¹ J., VI, p. 388 G. (†).

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We know from the Buddhist works, that before the time of the Buddha, the Malla monarchy had already been replaced by a republic, and once the prosperous metropolis of the kingdom, Kusāvatī, had sunk to the level of a little wattle and daub town, a branch township surrounded by jungles, and it had changed its name to Kusinārā (modern Kāsiā, in the east of the Gorakhpur Dist.).²

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² See Rhys Davids, B. I. pp. 19, 26, 29; Majumdar, Corporate Life in Ancient India, pp. 224, 250; Raychaudhury, P. H. A. I., pp. 88-90; Cf. Kauṭilya's Arthaśāstra, XI, 1.

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The kingdom of Gandhāra with its capital Takkasilā, is mentioned not infrequently.³ No names of Gandhāra kings are specified, except that of Naggaji who figures, as we saw before, as a contemporary of Nimi, Dummukha and Karaṇḍu. The kingdom included Kasmīra.⁴

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³ J., I, pp. 191, 273, 285, 317, 395; II, p. 217. III, pp. 364, 377. Gandhāra corresponds to the modern Rāwalpindi (Punjab) and Peshāwar (N. W. F. P.) districts. The name survives in Kandahār. The ruins of the great capital city are unearthed near Saraikalā. See for its detailed description, Marshall, A Guide to Taxila, pp. 1, 4.

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⁴ J., III, pp. 365, 378. This is confirmed by the evidence of Hekataios of Miletos, (B. C. 549-486) who refers to Kaspapyros (Kāśyapapura, i.e., Kāśmīra) as a Gandharie city: P. H. A. I., p. 103.

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The fame of Gandhāra, during this period, rested on its capital Takkasilā which was a great centre of learning and a resort of students from all parts of India⁵. Uddālaka and his son Śvetaketu, the two great celebrities of the Upaniṣads, are represented in the Uddālaka Jātaka⁶ and the Setaketu Jātaka⁷ respectively, as having studied at Takkasilā under a world-renowned teacher.⁸

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⁵ Takkasilā maintained its reputation during the later Mahājanapada period as the innumerable references in the Jātakas show.

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⁶ J., IV, p. 298.

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⁷ J., III, p. 235.

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⁸ Cf. Vedic Index, I, pp. 87-9; II, pp. 409-10; Raychaudhury, P. H. A. I. pp. 39-41.

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In the 6th century B. C. Gandhāra was subject to the Achaemenidan Empire.⁹

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⁹ P. H. A. I., p. 102; C. H. I., I, pp. 336-7.

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Kamboja, constantly associated with Gandhāra in later literature, finds mention in a solitary gāthā of the Bhūridatta Jātaka which says:—

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“Those men are counted pure who only kill
Frogs, worms, bees, snakes or insects as they will—
These are your savage, customs which I hate
Such as Kamboja hordes might amulate”,¹⁰

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¹⁰ J., VI, p. 208—G. 903.

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This indictment of barbarity must have been a product of a period later than that of the *Brāhmaṇas* which seem to speak of Kamboja in favourable terms.¹ As pointed out by Raychaudhury,² "already in the time of Yāska (8th century B.C.) the Kambojas had come to be regarded as a people distinct from the Āryas of the interior of India, speaking a different dialect".³ Kamboja horses are praised in a *gāthā* of the *Campeyya Jātaka*.⁴

Linked texts (8)

Jātaka — Pāli
Kauṭilīya Arthaśāstra — Kauṭilya, Sanskrit
Aitareyabrāhmaṇa — Mahidāsa Aitareya, Sanskrit
Mahābhārata — Vyāsa, Sanskrit
Bṛhadāraṇyakopaniṣad — Sanskrit
Dīghanikāya — Pāli
Ṛgvedasaṃhitā — Sanskrit
Viyāhapannatti — Sudharman, Ardhamāgadhī Prakrit