अजातशत्रु: मगध का बागी बेटा

Key dates

मुख्य घटनाएँ

1. जन्मकिंवदंती: पिता बिम्बिसार ने घायल उंगली चूसकर ठीक की — जैन नाम 'कुणिक'
2. c. 492 BCEपिता को कैद कर मगध की गद्दी (दूसरी गणना: c. 405 BCE)
3. शासनकोसल से युद्ध, संधि और वजिरा से विवाह (बौद्ध ग्रंथ)
4. शासनवैशाली से युद्ध — महाशिलाकंटक और रथमूसल (जैन ग्रंथ)
5. शासनपाटलिपुत्र गाँव को किलेबंद नगर बनाया
6. बुद्ध के बादबुद्ध के अवशेषों पर स्तूप, पहली बौद्ध संगीति में हिस्सा

What the sources say

Facts & sources

• Ajatashatru (called Kunika or Kuniya in Jain tradition) was the son of King Bimbisara, one of the most important kings of the Haryanka dynasty of Magadha, and a contemporary of both Mahavira and Gautama Buddha; his reign is dated either c. 492 to 460 BCE or c. 405 to 373 BCE.
• He took the kingdom of Magadha from his father by force and imprisoned him.
• Both traditions tell a similar birth legend. In the Jain version the pregnant queen craved the fried flesh of her husband's heart; in the Buddhist version she wanted to drink blood from Bimbisara's arm. The baby was thrown near a garbage dump, and Bimbisara sucked his wounded little finger until it healed, which gave him the Jain name Kunika, 'Sore Finger'.
• Jain account of the Vaishali war: Queen Padmavati wanted the elephant Sechanaka and the 18-fold divine necklace owned by his brothers Halla and Vihalla. The brothers fled to their maternal grandfather Chetaka of Vaishali. In total 570000 infantrymen fought. Chetaka shot one arrow a day and killed the 10 Kalakumaras. With the help of the Indras, Ajatashatru used Mahasilakantaka (more than 100,000 died) and the self-moving spiked chariot Ratha-Musala. The monk Kulvalaka was tricked into getting the city's protecting chaitya uprooted, and Vaishali fell.
• Buddhist account: the dispute was over a diamond mine on the Ganges whose diamonds the Licchavis mostly carried away. Chief minister Vassakara split the Vajjis, and a scythed chariot with a swinging mace and blades was used to conquer the town.
• The two traditions describe a different Ajatashatru. Jain texts name his mother Chellana (daughter of Chetaka) and give him 8 wives. Buddhist texts name his mother Kosala Devi and give him 500 wives, with Vajira as chief consort. The Buddhist texts also say that after Bimbisara's murder, Prasenajit took back Kashi, the dowry city, and the resulting war ended in a treaty and the marriage to Vajira.
• Magadha under Ajatashatru became the most powerful kingdom in North India, and he turned the village of Pataliputra into a fortified city.
• Buddhist texts say he visited six teachers and finally the Buddha. He realized his mistakes, his association with Devadatta and his plan to kill his father, and took refuge in the Buddha, Dhamma and Sangha. He built a stupa on the Buddha's relics and attended the first Buddhist council. Jain texts say he held Mahavira in the highest esteem.

Source: Ajatashatru (Wikipedia) and the texts it cites. Legends are told as legends.