Pasenadi

6th-century BCE ruler of Indian state of Kosala

Pasenadi
Raja
Pasenadi
Prasenajit of Kosala pays a visit to Buddha
King of Kosala
ReignBCE 534
PredecessorSanjaya Mahākosala
SuccessorViḍūḍabha
QueenMallika of Kosala
IssueJeta, Virudhaka, Princess Vajira
DynastyIkshvaku
FatherSanjaya Mahākosala
Procession of Prasenajit of Kosala leaving Sravasti to meet the Buddha. Sanchi[1]

Pasenadi (Pali: पसेनदि, romanized: Pasenadi; Sanskrit: प्रसेनजित्, romanized: Prasenajit; c. 6th century BCE) was an Aikṣvāka ruler of Kosala. Sāvatthī was his capital. He succeeded after Sanjaya Mahākosala.[2] He was a prominent Upāsaka (lay follower) of Gautama Buddha, and built many Buddhist monasteries for the Buddha.

Life

Pasenadi studied in Taxila in his early life. He was the king of Kosala (modern Oudh or Awadh).[3] His first queen was a Magadhan princess, a sister of king Bimbisara. His second and chief queen was Vāsavakhattiyā, a Sākya girl, daughter of the chief of garland-makers for Mahānāma. From this marriage, he had a son, Viḍūḍabha and a daughter, Princess Vajira, who was later married to Ajatashatru (Pali: Ajātasattu).[4][3] He married his sister Kosala Devi to Bimbisara.[5]

Reign

By the time of Pasenadi, Kosala had become the suzerain of the Kālāma tribal republic,[6] and Pasenadi's realm maintained friendly relations with the powerful Licchavi tribe which lived to the east of his kingdom.[7]

During Pasenadi's reign, a Mallaka named Bandhula who had received education in Takṣaśilā, had offered his services as a general to the Kauśalya king so as to maintain the good relations between the Mallakas and Kosala. Later, Bandhula, along with his wife Mallikā, violated the Abhiseka-Pokkharaṇī sacred tank of the Licchavikas, which resulted in armed hostilities between the Kauśalya and the Licchavikas. Bandhula was later treacherously murdered along with his sons by Pasenadi. In retaliation, some Mallakas helped Pasenadi's son Viḍūḍabha usurp the throne of Kosala to avenge the death of Bandhula, after which Pasenadi fled from Kosala and died in front of the gates of the Māgadhī capital of Rājagaha.[8]

The Puranas instead of Viḍūḍabha mention the name of Kṣudraka as his successor.[9]

References

Citations

  1. ^ Marshall p.59
  2. ^ Raychaudhuri H. (1972). Political History of Ancient India, Calcutta: University of Calcutta, pp.90,176
  3. ^ a b Sastri 1988, p. 17.
  4. ^ Pasenadi. PaliKanon.com
  5. ^ Upinder Singh 2016, p. 271.
  6. ^ Sharma 1968, p. 231-236.
  7. ^ Sharma 1968, p. 121.
  8. ^ Sharma 1968, p. 178-180.
  9. ^ Misra, V. S. (2007). Ancient Indian Dynasties, Mumbai: Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan, ISBN 81-7276-413-8, pp.287-8

Sources

  • Sastri, K. A. Nilakanta, ed. (1988) [1967], Age of the Nandas and Mauryas (Second ed.), Delhi: Motilal Banarsidass, ISBN 81-208-0465-1
  • Sen, Sailendra Nath (1999) [1988], Ancient Indian History and Civilization (Second ed.), New Age International Publishers, ISBN 81-224-1198-3
  • Sharma, J. P. (1968). Republics in Ancient India, C. 1500 B.C.-500 B.C. Leiden, Netherlands: E. J. Brill. ISBN 978-9-004-02015-3.
  • Singh, Upinder (2016), A History of Ancient and Early Medieval India: From the Stone Age to the 12th Century, Pearson, ISBN 978-81-317-1677-9
Preceded by
Mahākosala
 King of Kosala
BCE 534 		Succeeded by
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