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ANCIENT KOSALA AND MAGADHA
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chavi (Haihaya) Cedaga, drowning himself as does Vidūdabha's grandfather Mahānāma. Thus the kings ruined by direct attack those tribes whose institutions still retained a dangerous measure of democracy combined with military power. This put the finishing touches upon the process of decay and dissolution which we have already pointed out as affecting all tribes of the sort in U.P. at least.
4. CONFLICT BETWEEN KINGDOMS.
Aggression did not stop with destruction of the tribes, but extended also to other kingdoms. Angā had already been absorbed by its western neighbour Magadha, apparently at the time of Bimbisāra. Käsi fell to Kosala scme generations before the Buddha, for the name is joint, Kāsi-Kosala, as is Angā-Magadhā. There are many scattered references to fighting between Kāsi and Kosala long before Pasenadi (Jat 51, 100, 156, 336, 355, 428, 371, 532). The really interesting conflict, however, is the struggle between Kosala and Magadha, which was inevitable, granted the tendency of the times to powerful, central, absolute monarchies. Kosala is by far the greater kingdom, extending from the lower Nepal to the Ganges. But, as we shall see, Magadha is in many ways strategically better placed. During Pasenadi's lifetime, the conflict is inconclusive (Jat 239, 289, 492; DhA 15.3), victories being reported on both sides, with a marriage alliance at the end. The cause is a village near Kāsi, part of Ajātaśatru's mother's dowry, which Pasenadi wished to rescind. The fact that Magadha conquered ultimately is uncontested, for before the time of the Mauryans, Kosala is already part of the Magadhan cmpire. For the Paila hoard of punch-marked coins, it is of the utmost importance to determine just when Kosala faded out as an independent kingdom. This could not have been later than Mahāpadma Nanda, and I suggest that it was far earlier, either at the time of Ajātasatru or immediately after. In the first place, we hear of no ruler of Kosala after Viļūdabha. The centre of gravity shifted to Magadha, where the first council after the Buddha's death is held at Rājagļha; but Kosala was more important during the Buddha's lifetime. The Buddha himself spent at Săvatthi, no less than 25 “rains" during the period of his ministry, far more than those spent in all other residences put together; 871 suttaş of the four Nikäyas are supposed to be pronounced at Sāvatthi. There were many converts at Săvatthi; the most famous lay follower being the trader. Anāthapiņdika (Sudatta), whose gift of the Jetavana (purchased at a fantastically high price: a very rare case of land being bought outright for cash) is one of the great themes of Buddhist art. King Pasenadi was also a patron, though preoccupied. Vidūdabha's massacre of the Sakyans did not mean persecution of the samgha, any more than Ajātasatru's killing Bimbisāra and smashing the Licchavis prevent the Jains claiming him as one of themselves. Thus the shift to Magadha was part of a general trend, not confined to Buddhism. Finally, Ajātasatru had a claim upon the Kosalan throne which
