Kashi (Mahajanapada)

Kashi was a rich kingdom on the Ganga. Its capital was Varanasi, also called Banaras and Benares.

1. Which Mahajanapada was Kashi?

Kashi is one of the sixteen Mahajanapadas, the great countries of the Buddha’s time. The Pali books call it Kasi or Kasika. Its capital was Baranasi, the Pali form of Varanasi.

Kashi lay in the Middle Country, called Majjhimadesa. The Pali list puts Kasi first.

2. Where does the name Varanasi come from?

A Sanskrit word study says Varanasi comes from two rivers. They are the Varana and the Asi. These streams mark the southern and northern edges of modern Banaras.

The Puranic encyclopaedia tells a temple story. It says the place was first called Prayaga. Later it got the name Varanasi, and then Kashi.

The first account is a word study. The second is a tradition. Do not treat them as one proven fact.

3. How big was Kashi, and did it have other capitals?

The Jatakas give the size of Kasi as three hundred leagues. This is story size, not a surveyed measure.

Varanasi is the usual capital. The Jatakas also name Potali as the seat of one king, a Kashi king named Asoka. They name Surundha as the seat of another, Udayabhadda.

The Pali dictionary thinks these cities may not have been part of the usual kingdom. They were perhaps added in the reigns of stronger kings.

4. What do diggings at Rajghat show?

The old site of Banaras is identified with the ruins of Rajghat. Diggings there found six periods of human life. They run from the 6th or 5th century BCE to the 17th century CE.

Burnt-brick buildings come from a layer of the Kushan and early Gupta times. Kushan pottery, coins and seals with 1st-century letters were also found.

So the digs show a town that lived for over two thousand years. They do not name the kings of Kashi.

Kashi grew rich on trade and fine cloth. Its kings are remembered by one family name.

5. Why was Kashi a trading country?

The Pali dictionary calls Kasi a great centre of trade. It was a most populous and prosperous country. Caravans often left Kasi to travel for trade.

One highway ran through Kasi to Rajagaha. Another ran to Savatthi. So Kashi sat between two other great kingdoms.

6. What was Kashi famous for making?

Kasi was famed for its silks. Kasi robes were the most highly valued gifts. Each robe was worth one hundred thousand.

The Pali dictionary gives that sum without naming the coin. Do not read it as a yearly tax figure.

7. Who were the kings of Kashi?

The traditional name of the king of Kasi was Brahmadatta. Many Jataka stories name a Brahmadatta. Sometimes the king is called just Kasi raja.

Other Kashi kings are named too. They include Kiki and Kalabu. A still older story says Kasi was once ruled by the Bharatas. One of them, Dhatarattha, was its king in the time of Renu.

So Brahmadatta is a family or title name in the stories. It is not one king with one reign.

Kashi fought Kosala for a long time. In the Buddha’s age it was part of Kosala.

8. What were the wars between Kashi and Kosala?

The Pali dictionary says wars between Kasi and Kosala were frequent. Victory belonged now to one, now to the other.

In one war the Kosala king Dighati lost to the Kasi king. His son Dighavu later won the kingdom back. In another war the Kasi king Mahasilava was taken captive by Kosala. His kingdom was later restored to him.

Both stories come from Pali books. They show a see-saw rivalry, not a single war.

9. Whose kingdom was Kashi in the Buddha's time?

By the Buddha’s time Kasi had been absorbed into Kosala. Pasenadi was king of both countries.

The Vinaya names a Kasika raja who sent a robe to Jivaka. Buddhaghosa says he was a brother of Pasenadi. The dictionary thinks he was a sub king under Pasenadi.

Still, the memory of Kasi as an independent kingdom stayed fresh. The Jatakas often show it as one.

10. What was Kosala Devi's bath money?

Mahakosala, Pasenadi’s father, gave his daughter Kosala Devi in marriage to Bimbisara. He gave her a village of Kasi as bath money. This was part of her dowry.

So the dowry was one village of Kasi, not the whole kingdom. The Pali dictionary does not give a yearly sum for it.

Kosala Devi became the mother of Ajatasattu. After Bimbisara died, she died of grief. Pasenadi then made war on Ajatasattu.

Sarnath lies about six miles from Varanasi. It is where the Buddha gave his first sermon.

11. What is Isipatana?

Isipatana was an open space near Benares. It held the famous Deer Park, called Migadaya. This is Sarnath, six miles from Benares.

The Buddha preached his first sermon there. It is the Dhammacakkappavattana Sutta. He gave it on the full moon day of Asalha. He also spent his first rainy season there.

The Buddha named Isipatana as one of four places of pilgrimage for his followers.

12. What is the quick comparison for exams?

• List: one of the sixteen Mahajanapadas. First on the Pali list.
• Capital: Varanasi, Baranasi in Pali.
• Kings: the traditional name was Brahmadatta.
• Wealth: trade, caravans and silk. A Kasi robe was worth one hundred thousand.
• Rival: Kosala. Wars swung both ways.
• Buddha’s age: part of Kosala under Pasenadi.
• Bath money: one village of Kasi for Kosala Devi.
• Nearby: Isipatana, where the first sermon was given.