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Early Monastic Buddhism v2.c27: Chapter I

Early Monastic Buddhism v2.c27

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Contents

Chapter I

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In the history of Buddhism, the session of the First Buddhist Council coincides with the eighth year of king Ajātasattu’s reign. Ajātasattu extended his father’s dominion beyond Magadha and ruled over Aṅga, Kāsī and the states of the Vajjian confederacies.¹ The Buddhist traditions are unanimous in stating that Ajātasattu in his early days was not very well-disposed towards Buddha and his religion, but later on he changed and became a patron of the religion, and whole-heartedly lent his support to the session of the First Council.

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¹ See *Buddhist India*, ch. I, H C. Raychaudhuri, *Political History of Ancient India*, 3rd ed., p. 140 *Mañjuśrīmūlakalpa*, p 604.

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In the *Mahāvaṃsa*² and the *Mañjuśrī-mūlakalpa*³ (henceforth abbreviated as *Mmk.*), Ajātasattu’s enthusiasm for rendering service to the new religion is referred to but there is no evidence to show that his interest for the propagation of the religion was anything notable.

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² In the *Vaṃsatthappakāsinī*. (p. 145). it is pointed out that Ajātasattu repaired the 18 great monasteries of Rājagaha

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³ *Mmk*, p. 603: शासनार्थं तु बुद्धानां कारयिष्यति धर्मगृही: । महाराजाजातशत्रुतो मागधो नराधिप: ॥

Udāyibhadda

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According to the Buddhist and Jain traditions, though not according to the *Purāṇas*,⁴ Ajātasattu was succeeded by his son Udāyibhadda. He ruled for 16 years.¹ The *Mmk.* says that like his father he was not only enthusiastic about the religion but also had the sayings of Buddha collected.² In the same text³ again, it is stated that the religion would decline after Buddha's death, the kings would be fighting with one another, and the monks would busy themselves with various secular matters, find fault of one another, and lack in self-restraint. The monks and men would be demoralised, indulge in false disputations, and become jealous of one another. The non-Buddhists would gain the upper hand and the people would revert to Brāhmanism and take to animal killing and such other evil practices. If this self-contradictory statement of the *Mmk.* be considered along with the discreet silence of the Ceylonese chronicles about the activities of Udāyibhadda, it seems that the cause of Buddhism found little favour with the king. The text adds that there would be, however, some good men, gods and beings other than human, who would continue to worship the relics, and though the religion would be on the wane, there would be at least eight distinguished monks¹ with Rāhula as the chief to protect the religion.

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⁴ Raychaudhuri, *op. cit.* p 143

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¹ 20 years according to the *Mmk.*, p. 604 Prof. Chattopadhyaya assigns to him a reigning period of 25 years. Recently Prof. K. Chattopadhyaya has re-examined the question of succession of the kings of Magadha and arrived at the conclusion that Darśaka was an alternative name of Udāyi as Śreṇika was of Bimbisāra and Kunika of Ajātaśatru. (See *Proc of the Indian History Congress*, Lahore, 1940, pp. 140-7) Prof. Bhandarkar identifies Darśaka with Nāgadāsaka. Cf *Divyāvadāna*, p. 369.

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² *Mmk.*, p. 604:— तस्यापि सुतो राजा उदाराख्यः प्रकीर्त्तितः । भविष्यति तदा चित्रं शासनार्थं च उद्यतः ॥ तदेतत् प्रवचनं शास्तु लिखायिष्यति विस्तरम् । पूजांश्च महतों कृत्वा दिक् समन्तान् नमिष्यति ॥

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³ *Mmk.*, p. 597-8

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¹ The list of monks given elsewhere is as follows — Mmk, p. 64: Śāriputra, Maudgalyāyana, Mahākāśyapa, Subhūti, Rāhula, Nanda, Bhadrika, Kaphiṇa. Ibid, p. 111: Śāriputra, Maudgalyāyana, Gavāmpati, Piṇḍola-Bharadvāja, Pilindavatsa, Rāhula, Mahākāśyapa, Ānanda

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Buston² writes that the guardianship of the religion was entrusted by the Teacher to (Mahā) Kāśyapa, who in turn entrusted it to Ānanda. Both Kāśyapa and Ānanda passed away during the life-time of Ajātasattu. Ānanda charged his disciple Saṇavāsika to protect the religion after his demise and to ordain, in course of time, Upagupta of Mathurā. He foretold that, according to the prophecy of the Teacher, Upagupta would become a Buddha but not with all the characteristics of a Sambuddha.

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² Obermiller's Translation of Buston's History of Buddhism (henceforth abbreviated as Buston), II, p 88

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Just before his demise, Ānanda also ordained 500 Brāhmanical anchorites with Madhyāntika at their head, and entrusted him with the propagation of the religion in Kashmir. The episode of Madhyāntika and his activities in Kashmir do not find any mention in the Ceylonese chronicles.

Anuruddha's Son Munda

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Udāyibhadda, after a reign of 16 years, was succeeded by his son Anuruddha whose period of reign along with that of his son Muṇḍa was very short, being only 8 years in all. In the Divyāvadāna³ king Muṇḍa is described as the son of Udāyibhadda, and no mention is made of Anuruddha. In the *Aṅguttara Nikāya*,¹ king Muṇḍa is mentioned as approaching bhikkhu Nārada on the death of his queen Bhaddā. He listened to a discourse of bhikkhu Nārada delivered at Pāṭaliputta on the impermanence of worldly things. In the Jaina tradition preserved in the *Pariśiṣṭaparvan* (ch. vi), it is stated that a prince in the guise of a Jaina novice killed Udāyin. Prof. Chattopadhyaya surmises that this novice might be king Muṇḍa.²

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³ Divyāvadāna, p. 369

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¹ *Aṅguttara*, III, pp 57f.

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² K. Chattopadhyaya, *op. cit.*

Nāgadāsaka

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King Muṇḍa was succeeded by his son Nāgadāsaka, who ruled for 24 years. With Nāgadāsaka ended the rule of the line of kings that commenced with Bimbisāra.³ In the Ceylonese chronicles, all the successors of Bimbisāra are described as patricidal (*pitughātakavaṃsa*); how far this statement is reliable remains yet to be examined, but it seems that the Buddhists were not in much favour of these kings, and evidently, as the *Mmk.* says, Buddhism was on the wane all along this period of about half a century. Madhyāntika’s departure to Kashmir and his attempt to propagate Buddhism far away from Magadha is also an indirect hint to the unpopularity of the religion in the province of its origin.

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³ The *Divyāvadāna* (p. 369) says that Muṇḍa’s son was Kākavarṇi. In the *Aśokāvadāna* and *Divyāvadāna* the line of kings is given as follows:— Bimbisāra-Ajātaśatru-Udāyibhadra-Muṇḍa-Kākavarṇi-Sahali-Tu'akuci-Mahāmaṇḍala-Prasenajit-Nanda-Vindusāra-Susima-Aśoka.

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