
Pasenadi or Prasenajit (; ;) was a 6th or 5th century BCE
ruler of
Kosala
Kosala, sometimes referred to as Uttara Kosala () was one of the Mahajanapadas of ancient India. It emerged as a small state during the Late Vedic period and became (along with Magadha) one of the earliest states to transition from a lineage ...
, where
Shravasti
Shravasti (, ; ) is a town in Shravasti district in Indian state of Uttar Pradesh. It was the capital of the ancient Indian kingdom of Kosala which was ruled by Lava and the place where the Buddha lived most after his enlightenment. It is n ...
was his capital. He succeeded after . As a king, he was a prominent or lay follower of
Gautama Buddha
Siddhartha Gautama, most commonly referred to as the Buddha (),*
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was a śramaṇa, wandering ascetic and religious teacher who lived in South Asia during the 6th or 5th century BCE and founded Buddhism. According to Buddhist lege ...
, and built many Buddhist monasteries for the Buddha.
Life
Pasenadi studied in
Taxila
Taxila or Takshashila () is a city in the Pothohar region of Punjab, Pakistan. Located in the Taxila Tehsil of Rawalpindi District, it lies approximately northwest of the Islamabad–Rawalpindi metropolitan area and is just south of the ...
in his early life. He was the king of
Kosala
Kosala, sometimes referred to as Uttara Kosala () was one of the Mahajanapadas of ancient India. It emerged as a small state during the Late Vedic period and became (along with Magadha) one of the earliest states to transition from a lineage ...
(modern Oudh or
Awadh
Awadh (), known in British Raj historical texts as Avadh or Oudh, is a historical region in northern India and southern Nepal, now constituting the North-central portion of Uttar Pradesh. It is roughly synonymous with the ancient Kosala Regio ...
). His first queen was a Magadhan princess, a sister of king
Bimbisara
Bimbisāra (in Buddhist tradition) or Shrenika () and Seniya () in the Jain histories ( or ) was
the King of Magadha (V. K. Agnihotri (ed.), ''Indian History''. Allied Publishers, New Delhi 262010p. 166f. or ) and belonged to the Haryanka d ...
. His second and chief queen was Vāsavakhattiyā, a girl, daughter of the chief of garland-makers for
Mahānāma. From this marriage, he had a son,
Viḍūḍabha and a daughter,
Princess Vajira, who was later married to
Ajatashatru
Ajatasattu (Pāli: ) or Ajatashatru (Sanskrit: ) in the Buddhist tradition, or Kunika () and Kuniya () in the Jain tradition (reigned c. 492 to 460 BCE, or c. 405 to 373 BCE), was one of the most important kings of the Haryanka dynasty of Mag ...
(). He married his sister
Kosala Devi to
Bimbisara
Bimbisāra (in Buddhist tradition) or Shrenika () and Seniya () in the Jain histories ( or ) was
the King of Magadha (V. K. Agnihotri (ed.), ''Indian History''. Allied Publishers, New Delhi 262010p. 166f. or ) and belonged to the Haryanka d ...
.
Reign
By the time of Pasenadi, Kosala had become the suzerain of the
Kālāma tribal republic, and Pasenadi's realm maintained friendly relations with the powerful
Licchavi tribe which lived to the east of his kingdom.
During Pasenadi's reign, a
Mallaka named Bandhula who had received education in Takṣaśilā, had offered his services as a general to the Kauśalya king so as to maintain the good relations between the Mallakas and Kosala. Later, Bandhula, along with his wife Mallikā, violated the sacred tank of the
Licchavikas, which resulted in armed hostilities between the Kauśalya and the Licchavikas. Bandhula was later treacherously murdered along with his sons by Pasenadi. In retaliation, some Mallakas helped Pasenadi's son
Viḍūḍabha usurp the throne of Kosala to avenge the death of Bandhula, after which Pasenadi fled from Kosala and died in front of the gates of the
Māgadhī capital of
Rājagaha.
The
instead of mention the name of Kṣudraka as his successor.
[Misra, V. S. (2007). ''Ancient Indian Dynasties'', Mumbai: Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan, , pp.287-8]
References
Citations
Sources
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{{Authority control
Bodhisattvas
Disciples of Gautama Buddha
Kings of Kosala
People from Shravasti district
Solar dynasty
6th-century BC Indian monarchs
Indian Buddhist monarchs