Information About

Ajatashatru




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 .


REFERENCES

  • Romila Thapar , 1996. ''A History of India (Volume One)''. Oxford University Press.