Early Monastic Buddhism v2.c27.1

v2.c27.1

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.