Prasenjit
Raja Prasenjit (प्रसेनजित) or King Pasenadi of Kosala ruled during the 6th century BC. He was notable for being a prominent lay follower of Gautama Buddha, building many Buddhist monasteries.
History
Virudhaka (विरूढक) (IAST: Virūḍhaka, Pali: Viḍūḍabha) was son of Raja Prasenjit and king of Kashi. This king is probably related with Burdak gotra of Jats. Soon after usurping the prosperous kingdom built up by his father Bimbisara (558 BC—491 BC)[1][2], who was a king of the Magadha empire from 543 BC to his death and belonged to the Hariyanka dynasty.[3], the parricide Ajatashatru went to war with his aged uncle Prasenjit, and gained complete control of Kashi. Just after this Prasenjit, like Bimbisara, was deposed by his son Virudhaka, and died. The new king, Virūḍhaka (in Pali Viḍūḍabha), then attacked and virtually annihilated the little autonomous tribe of Shakyas, in Himalayan foothills, and we hear no more of the people which produced the greatest of Indians, the Buddha. [4]
Probably Virudhaka, like Ajatashatru of Magadha, had ambitions of empire, and wished to embark on a career of conquest after bringing the outlying peoples, who had paid loose homage to his father, more directly under the control of the centre; but his intentions were unfulfilled, for we hear no more of him except an unreliable legend that he was destroyed by a miracle soon after his massacre of Shakyas. A little later, his kingdom was incorporated in Magadha. [5]
Alexander Cunningham found a sculpture of Virudhaka at Bharhut stupa in Satna district in Madhya Pradesh. [6]
In Jaina records
History
We find mention of King Vijaysena of Palashapura from North India in Jaina records which is mentioned after Shravasti:
(2) As a result of Mahavira's visit to the Kingdom of Shravasti in the Southern Himalayan region, the influence of Ajivika sect there began to decline. King of Shravasti viz. Prasenajita (alias Agnidatta) showed his regard to Tirthanakara Mahavira and his Queen Mallika built an audience hall for holding religious discussions among Jainas, Brahmins and others. [7]
(3): King Vijaysena of Palashapura from North India respectfully welcomed Tirthankara Mahavira to his country and his son, Prince Aimatta, adopted asceticism at the hands of Tirthankara Mahavira.[8]
External Links
References
- ↑ Rawlinson, Hugh George. (1950) A Concise History of the Indian People, Oxford University Press. p. 46.
- ↑ Muller, F. Max. (2001) The Dhammapada And Sutta-nipata, Routledge (UK). p. xlvii. ISBN 0-7007-1548-7.
- ↑ Stearns, Peter N. (2001) The Encyclopedia of World History, Houghton Mifflin. pp. 76-78. ISBN 0-395-65237-5.
- ↑ A.L. Basham, The Wonders that was India, 1967, p. 47
- ↑ A.L. Basham, The Wonders that was India, 1967, p. 47
- ↑ Alexander Cunningham, The Stupa of Bharhut : A Buddhist Monument Ornamented with Numerous Sculptures Illustrative of Buddhist Legend and History in the Third Century B.C. Reprint. First published in 1879, London. 1998
- ↑ https://religiondocbox.com/Buddhism/76683609-1-his-first-sermon-and-ganadhara.html
- ↑ https://religiondocbox.com/Buddhism/76683609-1-his-first-sermon-and-ganadhara.html
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