Kosala (Mahajanapada)

1.1 What was Kosala?

Kosala was a country of the Kosala people. It lay north-west of Magadha and next to Kashi. It is named second in the list of sixteen Mahajanapadas.

1.2 Which cities mattered?

Savatthi (Shravasti) was the capital in the Buddha’s time. It was one of the six great cities of his age. Saketa came next in importance and had sometimes been the capital in ancient days.

Ayojjhā, or Ayodhya, stood on the Sarayu. Judging from the Ramayana, it must once have been the chief city. But by the sixth century BCE it was quite unimportant.

Source: Dictionary of Pali Proper Names (Kosala and Savatthi entries).

1.3 Which rivers cut across it?

The Sarayu divided Kosala into Uttara (north) and Dakkhina (south) Kosala. Savatthi stood on the banks of the Aciravati. The Pali dictionary identifies the old city with Sahet Mahet on the Rapti.

1.4 Why did the Buddha matter to this city?

He spent twenty-five rainy seasons at Savatthi. Nineteen were at Jetavana and six at the Pubbarama. The Pali dictionary, citing Woodward, says 871 suttas are said to have been preached there.

2.1 Who were the neighbours?

Kashi lay next to Kosala. The Jatakas show a long struggle between the two. Sometimes the Kashi king attacked Kosala and ruled it. At other times the Kosala king invaded Kashi and annexed it.

2.2 How did it end?

By the Buddha’s time Kashi was under Kosala. The conquest of Kashi made Kosala much stronger. It also set up a clash with Magadha, which the Pali dictionary calls inevitable.

2.3 Who ruled in the Buddha's time?

Pasenadi ruled Kosala in the Buddha’s time. His son Vidudabha followed him.

3.1 Who was he?

Pasenadi, also written Prasenajit, was a son of Mahakosala. He studied at Takkasila with Mahali, a Licchavi, and Bandhula, a Malla prince. His father was so pleased with his skills that he made him king.

3.2 Is Pasenadi a name or a title?

Rhys Davids thought it was an official title. The Pali dictionary says the evidence is not enough to be sure. World History Encyclopedia spells the name Prasanajita. All of these point to the same king.

3.3 How close was he to the Buddha?

Early in the Buddha’s ministry, Pasenadi became his follower and close friend. His devotion lasted until his death. The two were equals in age, so their talks were frank.

• The third Samyutta, the Kosala Samyutta, has 25 short stories about him.
• He still showed favour to other religious orders.
• He built the Rajakarama monastery opposite Jetavana at Savatthi.

3.4 Who stood beside him?

His chief consort was Mallika, a garland-maker’s daughter. He trusted her judgment in all things. The table shows the other main figures.

Source: Dictionary of Pali Proper Names. Spellings follow the Pali; exams may use Sanskrit forms.

4.1 How did the two kingdoms first link up?

Pasenadi’s sister Kosaladevi married Bimbisara of Magadha. A village in Kashi came as her dowry. This marriage ended the old hostility, says New World Encyclopedia.

4.2 What broke the peace?

Ajatasattu killed his father Bimbisara. Kosaladevi died of grief. Pasenadi took the Kashi village back. He said no patricide should own it.

4.3 Who won the war?

At first Ajatasattu won. In the fourth campaign, the Pali tradition says, Pasenadi took Ajatasattu prisoner. He freed him once he gave up his claim. Then he gave him his daughter Vajira and the disputed village.

4.4 Do all sources agree?

Not fully. World History Encyclopedia also speaks of a see-saw of fortunes. It says Prasenajit spared the captured Ajatashatru and returned Kashi. New World Encyclopedia says a peace treaty ended the war, sealed by a marriage.

• Peace and a marriage: the Pali dictionary and New World Encyclopedia agree on this.
• Kosala did not fall in this war: sources place its loss later.

4.5 What is the exam trap?

Some notes say Magadha simply won this war. Treat that with care. The older accounts above describe a captured Ajatasattu, a peace and a marriage.

5.1 Why did he ask for a Sakya bride?

He wanted a closer tie with the Buddha’s family. The Sakyas were his vassals. So he asked them for a daughter.

5.2 What did the Sakyas do?

They did not want to give a daughter. But they feared their overlord’s anger. So they sent Vasabhakhattiya, the daughter of Mahanama by a slave woman.

5.3 How did the trick work?

Mahanama pretended to eat with her. As he took the first mouthful, a messenger arrived with a letter. He left the food and asked her to finish. He did this to ease Pasenadi’s suspicions.

5.4 What happened when the truth came out?

Pasenadi withdrew the royal honours from her and her son. The Buddha told him the Katthaharika Jataka. The king then restored the honours.

6.1 What was the Bandhula affair?

Bandhula, a Malla, fled to Pasenadi at Savatthi. He had been the king’s classmate. Pasenadi listened to corrupt ministers. He had Bandhula and his sons killed.

6.2 Who planned the coup?

Dighakarayana, Bandhula’s nephew and the commander in chief, never forgave the king. Pasenadi once visited the Buddha at Medatalumpa. He left the royal insignia with Dighakarayana. The commander took the bodyguard away, left one horse and one maid, and crowned Vidudabha.

6.3 How did Pasenadi die?

He hurried to Rajagaha to ask Ajatasattu for help. It was late and the gates were closed. He lay down in a hall outside the city and died in the night. Ajatasattu held the funeral rites with great pomp.

6.4 What did Vidudabha do?

At sixteen he visited Kapilavatthu and overheard a slave woman’s remark. He learned of the deceit and vowed vengeance.

After he became king he marched on the Sakyas. The tradition says he turned back three times when he saw the Buddha under a tree. The fourth time the Buddha stayed away.

He ordered the Sakyas slain, except Mahanama’s followers. The commentary then says a flood at the Aciravati swept him away.

7.1 When did Magadha take Kosala?

Sources differ. The Pali dictionary says Ajatasattu seems to have gained sway in Kosala after he conquered the Licchavis. World History Encyclopedia says he annexed it after Prasenajit’s fall. It also lists Mahapadma Nanda’s conquests, which included Kosala.

Read these as three views. None says Kosala simply faded away.

7.2 Where does this fit?

Kosala is one of several Mahajanapadas that Magadha absorbed. See The Mahajanapadas and the Rise of Magadha for the full story, and Kashi for its neighbour.

8.1 Which question types come up?

Two UPSC questions show the pattern. Newest first.

8.2 What traps repeat?

• The river: the Sarayu goes with Kosala.
• The wrong region: Avanti was not part of the Buddha’s activity.
• Two capitals: Savatthi in the Buddha’s day, Ayodhya in the epic memory.
• The war ending: the older accounts describe peace and a marriage.