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in any way. The expulsion of Devadatta from the order has already been announced by the Buddha at Rājagrha. So those men from the palace guards who had suggested that the prince, Devadatta and all the Buddhist monks should be beaten up should be dismissed forthwith; and those who had suggested that the matter should be brought to my notice and that the action should be left to my discretion should be promoted at once to higher positions".
Having given these orders about the palace guards, the king turned to Ajātas'atru and said,
"Prince ! Why did you intend to kill me"?
Ajātasatru - "Deva! I wanted to be the king myself!
At once, Srenika Bimbisāra handed over the kingdom to his son.
Now that Ajātas'atru had become the king, Devadatta came to him and exposed before him his own designs about himself. In the end, he added,
"Oh king! Send your men with necessary orders to kill the Buddha".
Ajātasatru who was already very much impressed by the great ability of Devadatta readily agreed. He ordered his faithful men to act accordingly. Devadatta elaborated on that. Addressing the first man, Devadatta said,
"Abusa! Sřamuna. Gautama is encamped at such and such place at that time. Kill him and come back by this very road".
After he had gone, he placed on the same road two guards and said to them,
"If you see a single man coming by this road, you kill him at once and come back by this very road".
In the same manner, (at a certain distance from the previous party of guards, he placed four guards, and likewise eight and sixteen guards, with a similar instruction.
