Bimbisara
Bimbisara (
558 BCEâ€"
491 BCE)
[Rawlinson, Hugh George. (1950) A Concise History of the Indian People, Oxford University Press. p. 46.][Muller, F. Max. (2001) The Dhammapada And Sutta-nipata, Routledge (UK). p. xlvii. ISBN 0700715487.] was a king of the
Magadha empire from
543 BCE to his death and belonged to the
Shishunaga dynasty.
[Stearns, Peter N. (2001) The Encyclopedia of World History, Houghton Mifflin. pp. 76-78. ISBN 0395652375.]There are many accounts of Bimbisara in the
Buddhist Jatakas, since he was a contemporary of Gautama
Buddha. He acquired
Anga and placed it under the viceroyalty of his son
Ajatashatru, with its capital at Champa.
Bimbisara used marriage alliances to strengthen his position. His first wife was the daughter of the king of
Kosala and a sister of
Prasenajit. His bride brought him
Kashi, which was then a mere village, as dowry.
[Eck, Diana. (1998) Banaras, Columbia University Press. p. 45. ISBN 0231114478.] This marriage also ended the hostility between Magadha and Kosala and gave him a free hand in dealing with the other states. Bimbisara's second wife, Chellana, was a
Lachchhavi princess from
Vaishali.
[Luniya, Bhanwarlal Nathuram. (1967) Evolution of Indian Culture, Lakshmi Narain Agarwal. p. 114.] His third wife was a daughter of the chief of the
Madra clan of Punjab.
[Krishna, Narendra. (1944) History of India, A. Mukherjee & bros. p. 90.]Tradition tells us that Bimbisara was imprisoned by his son
Ajatashatru who is said to have starved him to death. This is reported to have taken place around 491 BC.
