Early Monastic Buddhism v2.c30.1

v2.c30.1

The Bimbisāra (or Haryaṅka) line of kings ended with the reign of king Nāgadāsaka.¹ The throne was taken by his minister Susunāga, who according to the traditions preserved in the *Uttaravihāra Aṭṭhakathā*, was the son of a Licchavi prince of Vesālī by a courtezan.² As he was adopted by a minister, he came to be known as a minister's son. According to a late tradition preserved in the *Mālālaṅkāravatthu*, Susunāga had his royal residence at Vesālī, to which place he later on transferred the capital from Rājagaha. He ruled for 18 years and is said to have humbled the Pradyota dynasty of Avantī.³ As far as the testimony of the Buddhist texts is concerned, no incident of note happened during his reign in the history of Buddhism.