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TRIBES IN ANCIENT INDIA any rate, the Licchavis were obliged to accept Ajātaśatru's suzerainty and to pay him revenue, but they were in all probability independent in their internal politics. Ajātaśatru is said to have made use of two deadly weapons, the Mahāsilākaņtaga and the Ra(t)hamusala, in his war with the Licchavis. The first seems to have been some engine of war of the nature of a catapult which hurled big stones. The second was a chariot to which a mace was attached and which, when in motion, effected a great slaughter of men. It may be compared to the modern tank.1
Kūņika Ajātasatru is represented throughout Jaina literature as a king of Anga who reigned in Campā. But the fact is that he was only the Uparāja or Viceroy of Anga which formed part of the kingdom of Magadha. While Viceroy of Anga, Kūņika-Ajātaśatru picked a quarrel with the Vrji-Licchavis of Vaiśālī over the possession of a mineral mine on the boundary of the two territories. The Pāli commentatorial tradition indicates that Ajātaśatru was jealous of the Vrji-Licchavis on account of their national solidarity and numerical strength. Accordingly, after he had ascended the throne of Magadha, he became bent upon destroying them and uprooting their power. He deputed his minister Varsakāra to wait upon the Buddha and learn his opinion regarding the future of the Vrjis. On coming to know that the Buddha laid much stress on unity as the source of their national strength, Ajātaśatru employed two of his ministers, Sunidha and Vassakāra, to build a fort at Pāțaligāma with a view to repelling the Vrjis. He also proceeded to weaken them by treacherous means, and eventually succeeded in conquering them.3
The Mahāvamsa 4 assigns a reign of 32 years to Ajātaśatru, while the Vinaya Commentary, Samantapāsādikā, puts his reign at 24 years, and the Puranic tradition indicates that he reigned for 25 years.5 Ajātaśatru suffered the same miserable fate as his father, being put to death by his son Udāyi Bhadda.& According to the genealogical lists given in the Purāṇas, Ajātaśatru was succeeded by Darsaka.? Bhāsa's Svapnavāsavadattā mentions a Magadhan king named Darśaka, but makes no mention of any fact that might lead us to believe that Darśaka was the successor of Ajātasatru.
1 Ray Chaudhuri, Political History of Ancient India, 4th Ed., pp. 172-3. o Su mangalavilasini, II, pp. 5-6-7; Digha Nikaya, II, 87. 3 For a fuller account, see Licchavi chapter.
4 II, v. 29, 31, 32. 5 Pargiter, Purāna Text of the Dynasties of the Kāli Age, pp. 67-9. 6 Mahāvamsa, Chap. IV, v. I.
7 Pargiter, Purāņa Text of the Dynasties of the Kāli Age, pp. 67-9. “Ajātasatru was followed by Darśaka who reigned for 25 or 27 years. After Darśaka, Udāyin became king and made Kusumapura (Pāțaliputra) his capital, situated on the south bank of the Ganges.'
