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SECTION V. MAGADHA MILITANT
KŪNIKA-AJĀTAŚATRU.
Whatever may have been the mode by which he acquired the throne, Kūņika-Ajātasatru proved to be an energetic ruler. The defences of the realm were strengthened by fortifications at Rajagriha and the foundation of a new stronghold at Pāțaligrama near the junction of the Son and the Ganges. Like Frederick II of Prussia he carried out the policy of a father with whom his relations were by no means cordial. His reign was the highwater mark of the power of the Haryanka dynasty. He not only humbled Kosala and permanently annexed Kāsi, or a part of it, but also absorbed the state of Vaiśāli. The traditional account of his duel with Kosala is given in Buddhist texts. It is said that when Ajātaśatru murdered Bimbisāra, his father, the queen Kosalā Devi died of love for him. Even after her death the Magadhan King continued to enjoy the revenues of the Kāsi village which had been given to the lady for bath money. But Prasenajit, the sovereign of Kosala, determined that no parricide should have a village which was his by right of inheritance. War followed, sometimes the Kosalan monarch got the best of it, and sometimes the rival king. On one occasion Prasenajit fled away in defeat to his capital Srāvasti ; on another occasion he took Ajātasatru prisoner but spared his life as he was his nephew. He confiscated the army of the captive prince but sought to appease him by the offer of the hands of his daughter Vajirā. The princess was dismissed with the
1: The Book of the Kindred Sayings, I. pp. 109.-110. The Samyutta Nikāya and the Haritamāta, Vaddhaki-Sukara, Kummā Sapinda, Tachchha Sükara and the Bhaddasāla Jātakas,
