Historical Background of Kaushambi

The pre-Shunga history of Kaushambi is known mainly from the Brahmanical, Buddhist and Jaina Texts and the few monuments of Ashoka. We learn that Vatsa was one of the 16 great kingdoms of the northern India during 6th c. B.C.

We find a list of kings who reigned in Kaushambi before Udayana, the contemporary of Buddha. The genealogical list of the early rulers of Kaushambi is as follows:^[1]

Nicaksu → Usna → Citraratha → Suciratha → Brisnimant → Susena → Sunitha → Nrcaksu → Sukhiva → Paripluta → Sunaya → Medhaven → Nrpanjaya → Tigma → Brhadratha → Vasudaman → Satanika II → Udayana

But for the names nothing is known about these. During the 6th c. B.C. Udayana was a powerful king.

Several interesting episodes centre round his personality. Pradyota, hos contemporary king of byanti was jealous of Udayana. Pradyota hit upon a device to capture his hated rival. Knowing Udayana's passion for catching elephants, he had one made of wood with sixty soldiers concealed inside, and set it up in a forest near the boundary of the two kingdoms. Udayana fell into the trap and was taken prisoner. He knew a wonderful secret for taming elephants, and Pradyota: offered him his liberty in exchange for revealing it. But Udayana would teach him the secret only if he received due salutation as a teacher from his pupil. Being unwilling himself to offer salutation, Pradyota made Udayana agree to teach it to someone else on the same condition.

Lest an outsider would learn the precious secret, he engaged his own daughter Vasuladatta (Vasavadatta) for the purpose. He told Udayana that a hunchbacked woman behind a curtain would pay him salutation and learn the secret from him. It was not long, however, before the inevitable took place Udayana fled with the princess and made her his queen.

Udayana is said to have had several other queens, one of whom was a daughter of a Kuru Brahmana (worth citing as an example of a pratiloma marriage) and the other a sister of king Darsaka of Magadha. He is the hero of three dramas, Svapna-vasavadatta of Bhasa and Priyadarsika and Ratnavali of Harsa and we know from Meghaduta of of Kalidasa that even in the time of this poet many stories about Udayana were widely current in Avanti. An account of his conquest or digviiaya is given in the kathasaritrsagara. According to the Priyadarsika he conquered Kalinga and restored his father-in-law Dridhavarman to the throne of Anga. The latter is probably the same as Dadhivahana who according to another legend, was defeated by Udayana's father. Hafar it is difficult to say if these legends contain a kernel of historical truth.

Udayana was at first not favourably inclined towards Buddhiam. But later he became a devotee of the Buddha. Udayana survived the Buddha. He had a son named Bodhi, about whom some details are found in some Buddhist texts: But we do not know anything definitely about the Vatsa after Udayana, not even whether Bodhi ever succeeded his father on the throne. The last Vatsa king was probably Ksemaka.

Kaushambi under the Nanda Rule

After Ksemaka no king of Kaushambi figures in the Puranic lists. This probably means the extinction of the independence of Kaushambi, which was presumably absorbed in the Nanda empire of Magadha. Thus Kaushambi in all probability remained a part of the Nanda empire through the major part of the fifth century B.C. and the first two decades of the fourth century B.C.

Kaushambi under the Mauryan Rule

After the Nandas Kaushambi was under the Mauryan rule. Although we have no clear evidence to connect Kaushambi with the rule of Magadha in the time of Chandragupta Maurya, it is unthinkable that his empire, which stretched from Magadha to Afghanistan and Baluchistan should not have included the Vatsa region. There is epigraphic evidence to show that Kaushambi was a district in the empire of Ashoka ruled by a Mahamatra. The Allahabad stone pillar of Ashoka contains his two inscriptions.^[2] One is knowa as the Queen's edict and the other as the Kaushambi edict. The Kaushambi edict contains a Sasana or order to the Mahamatra of the district of Kaucambí to expel a Bhikshu or Bhikshuni as soon as he or she was detected in the act of creating a schism.

In the time of Ashoka, Kaushambi came to prominence Ashoka seems to have entertained a liking for Kaushambi. This flourishing town was situated on the main trade route joining Patalaputra and Sravasti in the north with Vidisa and Ujjayini in the South. Ashoka erected an inscribed pillar at Kaushambi. The capital and other remains of an Ashokan pillar are reported to have recently been unearthed at Kaushambi.^[3]

Bharhut which was under the dominion of Kaushambi was probably visited by Ashoka. Scholars believe that the original Stupa at Bharhut was built by Ashoka himself. Terracotta figurines, seals and sealings and Þunch-marked coins belonging to the Mauryan period have been found in a large variety and number at Kaushambi, Jhusi and other neighbouring sites.

Footnotes and references:

[1]:

Va. 99,249-277. Mt. 50,56-87, Bh. IX, 22,33-44.

[2]:

Hultzsch, Corpus, Vol.I, p. XIX-XX.

[3]:

Allahabad theragh the ages, p. 20.