Chandragupta Maurya and His Times c7.110

c7.110

**Pataliputra in Indian Literature: Buddhist Texts.** Pāṭaliputra has figured for a long time in Indian literature both before and after Chandragupta. Its foundation is traced in the Pali texts to the famous emperor of Magadha, Ajātaśatru, *c.* 551-519 B.C. who selected for the city a convenient site on the Ganges and had it constructed under the supervision of his chief ministers named Sunīdha and Vassakāra. The Buddha visited the city on the occasion of its foundation and made the following prophecy about its future greatness: "And among famous places of residence and haunts of busy men, this will become the chief, the city of Pāṭaliputra, a centre for interchange of all kinds of ware." [*Mahāparinibbāna Suttanta*, p. 18, tr. SBE.] The same prophecy is repeated in the *Mahāvagga*, VI. 28, 8: "(At the right place), Ānanda, the Magadha ministers, Sunīdha and Vassakāra, build this town at Pāṭaligrāma in order to repel the Vajjis. As far, Ānanda, as Aryan people dwell, as far as merchants travel, this will become the chief town, the city of Pāṭaliputta.."