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Lord Mahavira
failure, and the starting of the war all these must have taken not less than four to five years. As Kunika was in Campa for the purpose of the war in 484 B.C. it can safely be assumed that king Srenika must have died about 490 B.C.
(c) In 483 B.C. Mahâvîra had serious illness and had also a quarrel with Jamali. This led to the rumour of the Mahâvîra death and the consequent split in the Jaina church, which was heard by Buddha, when he was in Samagama.“ Buddha died one year after this incident. Hence his death falls in 482 B.C. As his death had taken place in eighth year of the reign of King Ajatasatru (Kunika)5. Kunika's accession to the throne falls in 490 B.C. which tallies with the vear arrived at in the previous para from other considerations.
The Puranas give the reign of 25 years to Ajatasatru (Kunika) and also of 25 years to his successor Darsaka. Hence we get the following chronological order497 B.C. Death of King Satanika and accession of the minor King
Udayana at Kausambi. 491 B.C. Accession of King Pradyota at Avanti. 490 B.C. Death of King Srenika (Bimbasara) and accession of
King Kunika (Ajatasatru) Rajagrha. 482. B.C. Nirvana of Buddha. 468. B.C. Death of King Pradyota and accession of King Palaka
at Avanti. 465 B.C. Death of King Kunika and accession of King Darsaka at
Rajagrha. It is also known that King Udayana had married in his youth Vasavadatta, the daughter of King Pradyota and had also married at a slightly advanced age Padmavati," the sister of King Darsaka. Besides it is known that Srenika had married the sister of King Prasenajit of Kosala and Kunika had married his daughter, Vajiri. After the untimely death of Vidudabha, the son and successor of king Prasenajit it appears that Kunika took hold of Kosala and annexed it to Magadha. It is thus clear that Satanika, Srenika and Prasenajit belonged to the same generation, Kunika, Vidudabha and Pradyota to the next generation, while Udayana, Palaka and Darsaka belonged to the third generation. By generation I mean here the same order of age.
