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Vatsa
Kingdom of Vatsa | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| c. 700 BCE–c. 300 BCE | |||||||||
.png) Vatsa and other Mahajanapadas in the Post Vedic period. | |||||||||
| Capital | Kauśāmbī (Allahabad) | ||||||||
| Common languages | Sanskrit | ||||||||
| Religion | Hinduism Buddhism Jainism | ||||||||
| Government | Monarchy | ||||||||
| Maharaja | |||||||||
| Historical era | Bronze Age, Iron Age | ||||||||
• Established | c. 700 BCE | ||||||||
• Disestablished | c. 300 BCE | ||||||||
| |||||||||
| Today part of | Allahabad division of UttarPradesh, India | ||||||||
Vatsa or Vamsa (Pali and Ardhamagadhi: Vaccha, literally "calf"[1]) was one of the sixteen Mahajanapadas (great kingdoms) of Uttarapatha of ancient India mentioned in the Anguttara Nikaya. Vatsa or Vamsa country corresponded with the territory of modern Prayagraj in Uttar Pradesh, at the confluence of the Ganges and Yamuna rivers.[2]
It had a monarchical form of government with its capital at Kaushambi (whose ruins are located at the modern village of Kosam, 38 miles from Allahabad).[2] Udayana was the ruler of Vatsa in the 6th-5th century BCE, the time of the Buddha. His mother, Mrigavati, is notable for being one of the earliest known female rulers in Indian history.
The early period[edit | edit source]
The Vatsas were a branch of the Kuru dynasty. During the Rig Vedic period, the Kuru Kingdom comprised the area of Haryana/ Delhi and the Ganga-Jamuna Doab, till Prayag/ Kaushambi, with its capital at Hastinapur. During the late-Vedic period, Hastinapur was destroyed by floods, and the Kuru King IAST (IAST: IAST)
shifted his capital with the entire subjects to a newly constructed capital that was called Kosambi or Kaushambi. In the post Vedic period, when Arya Varta consisted of several Mahajanpads, the Kuru Dynasty was split between Kurus and Vatsas. The Kurus controlled the Haryana/ Delhi/ Upper Doab, while the Vatsas controlled the Lower Doab. Later, The Vatsas were further divided into two branches—One at Mathura, and the other at Kaushambi.
The Puranas state that after the washing away of Hastinapura by the Ganges, the IAST (IAST: IAST)
king
IAST (IAST: IAST)
, the great-great grandson of Janamejaya, abandoned the city and settled in
IAST (IAST: IAST)
. This is supported by the
IAST (IAST: IAST)
and the
IAST (IAST: IAST)
attributed to
IAST (IAST: IAST)
. Both of them have described the king Udayana as a scion of the
IAST (IAST: IAST)
family (
IAST (IAST: IAST)
). The Puranas provide a list of
IAST (IAST: IAST)
’s successors which ends with king
IAST (IAST: IAST)
.[3]:p.117–8
Other Puranas state that the Vatsa kingdom was named after a IAST (IAST: IAST)
king, Vatsa.[4] The Ramayana and the Mahabharata attribute the credit of founding its capital
IAST (IAST: IAST)
to a Chedi prince
IAST (IAST: IAST)
or
IAST (IAST: IAST)
.
== IAST (IAST: IAST)
II, Parantapa==
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The first ruler of the IAST (IAST: IAST)
dynasty of Vatsa, about whom some definite information available is
IAST (IAST: IAST)
II, Parantapa. While the Puranas state his father’s name was
IAST (IAST: IAST)
,
IAST (IAST: IAST)
tells it was
IAST (IAST: IAST)
.
IAST (IAST: IAST)
II married a princess of Videha, who was the mother of Udayana. He also married
IAST (IAST: IAST)
, a daughter of the Licchavi chieftain
IAST (IAST: IAST)
.[5] He attacked
IAST (IAST: IAST)
, the capital of
IAST (IAST: IAST)
during the rule of
IAST (IAST: IAST)
.[3]:p.119
Mrigavati[edit | edit source]
The wife of Śatānīka and the mother of Udayana was Queen Mṛgāvatī (in Sanskrit) or Migāvatī (in Prakrit). She was the daughter of Chetaka, the leader of Vaishali.[6] It is recorded that she ruled as a regent for her son for some period of time, although sources differ about the specific circumstances. According to the Jain canonical texts, Udayana was still a minor when Śatānīka died, so "the responsibility of governing the kingdom fell on the shoulders of queen Migāvatī ... till her son grew old enough".[7] On the other hand, Bhāsa's Pratijñāyaugandharāyaṇa says that she took "full charge of the administration" while Udayana was held as a prisoner by King Pradyota of Avanti, and "the way in which she discharged her duties excited the admiration of even experienced ministers".[8]
Udayana[edit | edit source]
Udayana, the son of IAST (IAST: IAST)
II by the Videha princess succeeded him. Udayana, the romantic hero of the
IAST (IAST: IAST)
, the
IAST (IAST: IAST)
and many other legends was a contemporary of Buddha and of Pradyota, the king of Avanti.[3]:p.119 The
IAST (IAST: IAST)
contains a long account of his conquests. The
IAST (IAST: IAST)
narrates the event of his victory over the ruler of
IAST (IAST: IAST)
and restoration of
IAST (IAST: IAST)
to the throne of
IAST (IAST: IAST)
. The commentary on the Dhammapada describes the story of his marriage with
IAST (IAST: IAST)
or
IAST (IAST: IAST)
, the daughter of Pradyota, the king of Avanti. It also mentions about his two other consorts,
IAST (IAST: IAST)
, daughter of a Kuru Brahmin and
IAST (IAST: IAST)
, the adopted daughter of the treasurer Ghosaka. The
IAST (IAST: IAST)
refers to a peasant girl
IAST (IAST: IAST)
who became his wife. The
IAST (IAST: IAST)
of
IAST (IAST: IAST)
mentions about another queen named
IAST (IAST: IAST)
, a sister of king
IAST (IAST: IAST)
of Magadha. The
IAST (IAST: IAST)
tells us about the marriage of Udayana with
IAST (IAST: IAST)
, the daughter of
IAST (IAST: IAST)
, the king of
IAST (IAST: IAST)
. The
IAST (IAST: IAST)
narrates a story of romance between him and
IAST (IAST: IAST)
, an attendant of his chief queen,
IAST (IAST: IAST)
. The name of his son by his chief queen is Bodhi.[3]:pp.179–80
The Buddha visited Kauśāmbī 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 IAST (IAST: IAST)
states that the first image of Buddha, curved out of sandalwood was made under the instruction of Udayana.
Later developments[edit | edit source]
According to the Puranas, the 4 successors of Udayana were IAST (IAST: IAST)
,
IAST (IAST: IAST)
, Niramitra and
IAST (IAST: IAST)
. Later, the Vatsa kingdom was annexed by the Avanti kingdom. Maniprabha, the great-grandson of Pradyota ruled at
IAST (IAST: IAST)
as a prince of Avanti.[3]:pp.180, 180n, facing 565
Vatsa was ultimately annexed into Magadha by Shishunaga.[9]
See also[edit | edit source]
References[edit | edit source]
Citations[edit | edit source]
- ↑ Louis Herbert Gray (1902). Indo-Iranian Phonology with Special Reference to the Middle and New Indo-Iranian Languages. Columbia University Press. pp. 169–170.
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 Rohan L. Jayetilleke (5 December 2007). "The Ghositarama of Kaushambi". Daily News. Archived from the original on 4 June 2011. Retrieved 29 October 2008.
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 3.3 3.4 Raychaudhuri, Hemchandra (1972). Political History of Ancient India. Calcutta, India: University of Calcutta.
- ↑ Pargiter, F.E. (1972) Ancient Indian Historical Tradition, Chaunan, Delhi, pp.269-70
- ↑ Mahajan V.D. (1960, reprint 2007). Ancient India, S.Chand & Company, New Delhi, ISBN 81-219-0887-6, pp.171-2
- ↑ Jain, K.C. (1991). Lord Mahāvīra and His Times. Lala Sunder Lal Jain research series (in latviešu). Motilal Banarsidass. p. 67. ISBN 978-81-208-0805-8. Retrieved 16 July 2018.
- ↑ Jain, J.C. (1984). Life in Ancient India: As Depicted in the Jain Canon and Commentaries, 6th Century BC to 17th Century AD. Munshiram Manoharlal. p. 470. Retrieved 16 July 2018.
- ↑ Altekar, A.S. (1956). The Position of Women in Hindu Civilization, from Prehistoric Times to the Present Day. Motilal Banarsidass. p. 187. ISBN 978-81-208-0324-4. Retrieved 16 July 2018.
- ↑ Upinder Singh 2016, p. 272.