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Lord Mahavira and His Times
group of Aryan peoples. Arga seems to have comprised the districts of Bhagalpur and Monghyr. Dadhivāhana is known to Jaina tradition: as having ruled over this region in the time of Lord Mahāvīra. His daughter Chandanā or Chandrabālā was the first female who embraced Jainism shortly after Mahāvīra had attained the Kevaliship. There is another tradition that when Śreņika (Bimbisāra) conquered Anga, he posted his son Kūņika (Ajātaśatru) as its Governor.
The capital of Anga was Champā which stood at the confluence of the river of the same name. A. CUNNINGHAM points out that there still exist near Bhāgalpur two villages Champānagara and Champāpura, which most probably represent the actual site of the ancient capital. At the time of Mahāvīra, the capital was a beautiful and prosperous city, a detailed description of which is given in the Ovõiya.4 It was one of the ten important capitals, a big centre of trade, from where merchants travelled as far as Mithilā, Ahichchhatrā, Pihunda, and other places with their merchandise.
The Digha Nikaya also refers to Champā as one of the six principal cities of India. It was noted for its wealth and commerce, and traders sailed from it to Suvarņa-bhūmi in the Trans-Gangetic region for trading purposes. Other important cities in Anga were Assapura (Aśvapura) and Bhaddiya (Bhadrika).6
KĀŚi
That Kāść was more powerful than most of the contemporary Janapadas, including Kosala, is clear from the combined testimony of many Jatakas and the Mahāvagga. The kingdom of Kāśī, whose extent is given in the Jalakas as three hundred leagues, was wealthy and prosperous. The twentythird Jaina Tirthankara Pārsvanātha, who died 250 years before Mahāvīra, i.e. in or about 777 B.C., was the son of
1. Ara, chū, p. 203 ff; Urtarā Ți, 9, p. 132. 2. Bhag, 300; Digha, 1, 111. 3. B.C. La, Geography of Early Buddhism, p. 6. 4. 0:2, 1, 9, 10. 5. Ja, No 530, VI, p. 31. 6. DPP.X, p. 16.
