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Political Conditions and Institutions
to serve as a base of operations against the distant Lichchhavis on the other side of the Ganga. Therefore he selected a convenient site directly on the Ganga for the construction of a fort and laid the foundation of Paṭaliputra, his new capital. He also made secret weapons of war which may be compared to modern tanks.
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The construction of the fort was followed by his expedition against Vaisali. The war between Ajātaśatru on the one hand and these various republics under the leadership of Chetana of Vaiśālī on the other was a long-drawn-out and arduous affair. It must have lasted for at least sixteen years. Ajätaśatru came out successful on account of his manifold and well-designed preparations.
These conquests of Ajätaśatru by which he became the paramount power of Eastern India provoked feelings of hostility in his equally ambitious rival king Chaṇḍa Pradyota of Avanti. He was planning an attack upon his capital at Rājagriha. Ajataśatru applied himself to the task of strengthening its fortifications. But the king of Avanti could do nothing against him. He thus extended the boundaries of his kingdom and laid the foundations of the Magadhan empire on solid grounds.
KURU
Kuru is identified with modern Kurukshetra or Thaneshwar. As is apparent from the Maha-sutasoma Jātaka,1 it was three hundred leagues in extent. The capital of the Kurus was Indraprastha near modern Delhi, which extended over seven leagues. Another important town was Hastinapura. Besides other small towns and villages known to us, were Thullakotthita, Kammāssadamma, Kandi, and Varaṇāvata.
The Jatakas mention the names of some Kuru kings and princes such as Dhanañjaya, Koravya, and Sutasoma, but we are not sure of their historicity in the absence of further evidence. The Jaina Uttaradhyayana Sutra mentions a king named Ishukāra ruling at a town, Ishukara, in the Kuru country. It seems that the Kuru realm was divided into small
1. Ja, No. 537.
2. Ja, Nos. 276, 413, 515 and 545.
2. SBE, XLV, 62.
