Ajatashatru
Ajātashatru (
Sanskrit अजातशत्रु; ruled
491-
461 BCE) was a king of the
Magadha empire that ruled north
India.
There is not a great deal known about Ajatashatru. What is known that he became a
King of Magadha and the adjoining areas by murdering his father,
Bimbisara. Also, he was a contemporary of
Lord Buddha, was a patron of the then-new religion of
Buddhism, and he let the
Sangha function in his Kingdom.
Some details of him are given in the earliest Buddhist scriptures.
According to
Romila Thapar, Ajatashatru was responsible for building
Pataliputra and strengthening the defences of the Magadhan capital,
Rajagriha. The same historian reports that Ajatashatru murdered his father and predecessor
Bimbisara in order to accede to the throne, undertook the annexation of the kingdoms of
Kosala and
Kashi, and pursued a sixteen-year war against the
Vriji confederacy of north
Bihar and
Nepal.
*
Romila Thapar, 1996.
A History of India (Volume One). Oxford University Press.
