Vedic Index of Names and Subjects v1.c3.s16.49

v1.c3.s16.49

It is natural to attempt to date Janaka by his being a contemporary of Ajātaśatru, and by identifying the latter with the Ajātasattu of the Pāli texts¹¹: this would make the end of the sixth century B.C. the approximate date of Janaka.¹² But it is very doubtful whether this identification can be supported: Ajātaśatru was king of Kāśi, whereas Ajātasattu was king of Magadha, and his only connexion with Kāśi was through his marriage with the daughter of Pasenadi of Kosala.¹³ Moreover, the acceptance of this chronology would be difficult to reconcile with the history of the development of thought; for it would make the rise of Buddhism contemporaneous with the Upaniṣads, whereas it is reasonably certain that the older Upaniṣads preceded Buddhism.¹⁴ Nor do the Vedic texts know anything of Bimbisāra or Pasenadi, or any of the other princes famed in Buddhist records.