Vatsa
Vatsa (also known as Vamsa, Batsa, or Bansa) was one of the solasa (sixteen) Mahajanapadas (great kingdoms) of Uttarapatha of ancient India mentioned in the Anguttara Nikaya.
Vatsa's geographical location was near the confluence of the Ganges and Yamuna rivers. Its capital was Kauśāmbī[1][2] (present day Kosam, 35 miles southwest of Allahabad).
The early period
The Puranas state that the Vatsa kingdom was named after a Kaśī king, Vatsa.[3] The Ramayana and the Mahabharata attribute the credit of founding its capital Kauśāmbī to a Chedi prince Kuśa or Kuśāmba. The Puranas state that after the washing away of Hastinapura by the Ganga, the Bhārata king Nicakṣu, the great-great grandson of Janamejaya, abandoned the city and settled in Kauśāmbī. This is supported by the Svapnavāsavadattā and the Pratijñā-Yaugandharāyaṇa attributed to Bhāsa. Both of them have described the king Udayana as a scion of the Bhārata family (Bhārata-kula). The Puranas provide a list of Nicakṣu’s successors which ends with king Kṣemaka.[4]
Śatānīka II, Parantapa
The first ruler of the Bhārata dynasty of Vatsa, about whom some definite information available is Śatānīka II, Parantapa. While the Puranas state his father’s name was Vasudāna, Bhāsa tells it was Sahasrānīka. Śatānīka II married a princess of Videha, who was the mother of Udayana. He also married Mṛgavatī, a daughter of the Licchavi chieftain Ceṭaka[5]. He attacked Campā, the capital of Aṅga during the rule of Dadhivāhana.[6]
Udayana
Udayana, the son of Śatānīka II by the Videha princess succeeded him. Udayana, the romantic hero of the Svapnavāsavadattā, the Pratijñā-Yaugandharāyaṇa and many other legends was contemporary of Buddha and of Pradyota, the king of Avanti.[7] The Kathāsaritsāgara contains a long account of his conquests. The Priyadarśikā narrates the event of his victory over the ruler of Kaliṅga and restoration of Dṛḍhavarman to the throne of Aṅga. The commentary on the Dhammapada describes the story of his marriage with Vāsavadattā or Vāsuladattā, the daughter of Pradyota, the king of Avanti. It also mentions about his two other consorts, Māgandiyā, daughter of a Kuru Brahmin and Sāmāvatī, the adopted daughter of the treasurer Ghosaka. The Milindapañho refers to a peasant girl Gopāla-mātā who became his wife. The Svapnavāsavadattā of Bhāsa mentions about another queen named Padmāvatī, a sister of king Darśaka of Magadha. The Priyadarśikā tells us about the marriage of Udayana with Āraṇyakā, the daughter of Dṛḍhavarman, the king of Aṅga. The Ratnāvalī narrates a story of romance between him and Sāgarikā, an attendant of his chief queen, Vāsavadattā. The name of his son by his chief queen is Bodhi.[8]
The Buddha visited Koushambi several times during the reign of Udayana on his effort to spread the dharma, the Eightfold Path and the Four Noble Truths. Udayana was an Upasaka (lay follower) of Buddha. The Chinese translation of the Buddhist canonical text Ekottara Āgama states that the first image of Buddha, curved out of sandalwood was made under the instruction of Udayana.
Later developments
According to the Puranas, the 4 successors of Udayana were Vahināra, DanḍapāṇI, Niramitra and Kṣemaka. Later, the Vatsa kingdom was annexed by the Avanti kingdom. Maniprabha, the great-grandson of Pradyota ruled at Kauśāmbī as a prince of Avanti.[9]
Notes
- ^ Geographical Review of India. Original from the University of Michigan: Geographical Society of India. 1951. pp. page 27.
{{cite book}}:|pages=has extra text (help) - ^ Hermann Kulke, Dietmar Rothermund (2004). A History of India. Routledge. pp. page 52. ISBN 0415329205.
{{cite book}}:|pages=has extra text (help) - ^ Pargiter, F.E. (1972) Ancient Indian Historical Tradition, Motilal Banarasidass, Delhi, pp.269-70
- ^ Raychaudhuri, Hemchandra (1972) Political History of Ancient India, University of Calcutta, Calcutta, p.117-8
- ^ Mahajan V.D. (1960, reprint 2007). Ancient India, S.Chand & Company, New Delhi, ISBN 81 219 0887 6, pp.171-2
- ^ Raychaudhuri, Hemchandra (1972) Political History of Ancient India, University of Calcutta, Calcutta, p.119
- ^ Raychaudhuri, Hemchandra (1972) Political History of Ancient India, University of Calcutta, Calcutta, p.119
- ^ Raychaudhuri, Hemchandra (1972) Political History of Ancient India, University of Calcutta, Calcutta, pp.179-80
- ^ Raychaudhuri, Hemchandra (1972) Political History of Ancient India, University of Calcutta, Calcutta, pp.180, 180n, facing 565