Pre-Buddhist India: A Political, Administrative, Economic, Social and Geographical Survey of Ancient India Based Mainly on the Jataka Stories c3.s3.t2.27

c3.s3.t2.27

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