History and Doctrines of the Ajivikas: A Vanished Indian Religion c12.s6.46

c12.s6.46

Buddhaghosa completes the story by stating that Ajātasattu, not confident of his ability to overcome the Vajjis by force, sent the unscrupulous Vassakāra, in the guise of a refugee, to sow dissension among the Licchavi clansmen. Three years were spent by Vassakāra in preparing the ground for Ajātasattu’s invasion, at the end of which period the latter crossed the Ganges and occupied Vesālī with little opposition.⁴