________________
KINGS AND PEOPLES
129 account the four important peoples, e.g., the Kāsīs, thé Kosalas, the Vamsas and the Cedis. The Kāsīs were one of the most ancient peoples of Northern India, who find mention in the Atharvaveda, in which they are associated with the Kosalas and Videhas. They founded a kingdom named Kāsī after them, which was 300 leagues in extent, with its capital at Bārāṇasī which was known by other names in the past ages. The city of Benares which stood on the left bank of the Ganges was encompassed by the walls that were twolve leagues in circuit. In the Mahāgovinda Suttanta Kāsi with Bārāṇasī as its capital is included in the list of seven sub-kingdoms within the empire of Roņu. The administration of the kingdom of Kāsi fell to the share of Dhatarattha represented as a king of the line of Bharata. The Bharata line of the Kasi kings appears to have been supplanted by a new line of Brahmadattas who were probably of the Videhan origin.: Most of the Jātaka stories have been narrated with freference to the reigns of the Brahmadattas of Kāsi. The Mahābhārata speaks of a dynasty consisting of as many as 100 Brahmadattas (ü, 8.23). That Brahmadatta was more a family designation than a personal name of the
1 Vedro Index, ii, 116 f.a. % Jataka, iv, 18, 119-20. 9 Raychaudhuri, op. cit., p. 63.
