History and Doctrines of the Ajivikas: A Vanished Indian Religion c12.s6.25

c12.s6.25

Although Hoernle seems to have been unaware of the fact, the story of Kūṇiya’s war with the Licchavis is told elsewhere in Jaina literature. The *Bhagavatī Sūtra*¹ gives an account of the campaign, with significant differences of detail. Here two battles are fought, called *Mahāsilākaṇṭaë* and *Rahamusale* respectively. Kūṇiya is said to have gone out to the *Mahāsilākaṇṭaë* battle only after the engagement had commenced, when he heard that the fortunes of his armies were declining. Ceḍaga, a mighty archer, shot Kūṇiya’s ten brothers on ten successive days, and his success seemed assured until, on the eleventh day, the god Indra presented Kūṇiya with a great war-engine, which struck down the Licchavis with great stones. The second defeat of Ceḍaga, at the *Rahamusala* battle, took place in similar circumstances, after Kūṇiya had received from Camara, the Indra of the Asuras, a wonderful chariot armed with a great club, which worked havoc among the Licchavis.