Vatsa

This article is about the historical region of Vatsa. For the village in Estonia, see Vatsa, Estonia. For the gotra of Brahmins, see Vats (clan).

Kingdom of Vatsa
c. 700 BCE–c. 300 BCE
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
Preceded by Succeeded by Kuru Kingdom Shaishunaga dynasty
Today part of	Allahabad division of UttarPradesh, India

Vatsa or Vamsa (Pali and Ardhamagadhi: Vaccha, literally "calf") 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.

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). 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

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 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 king , the great-great grandson of Janamejaya, abandoned the city and settled in . This is supported by the and the attributed to . Both of them have described the king Udayana as a scion of the family (). The Puranas provide a list of ’s successors which ends with king . Other Puranas state that the Vatsa kingdom was named after a king, Vatsa. The Ramayana and the Mahabharata attribute the credit of founding its capital to a Chedi prince or .

II, Parantapa

Vatsya coin (400-300 BCE)

The first ruler of the dynasty of Vatsa, about whom some definite information available is II, Parantapa. While the Puranas state his father’s name was , tells it was . II married a princess of Videha, who was the mother of Udayana. He also married , a daughter of the Licchavi chieftain . He attacked , the capital of during the rule of .

Mrigavati

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. 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". 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".

Udayana

Main article: Udayana (king)

Udayana, the son of II by the Videha princess succeeded him. Udayana, the romantic hero of the , the and many other legends was a contemporary of Buddha and of Pradyota, the king of Avanti. The contains a long account of his conquests. The narrates the event of his victory over the ruler of and restoration of to the throne of . The commentary on the Dhammapada describes the story of his marriage with or , the daughter of Pradyota, the king of Avanti. It also mentions about his two other consorts, , daughter of a Kuru Brahmin and , the adopted daughter of the treasurer Ghosaka. The refers to a peasant girl who became his wife. The of mentions about another queen named , a sister of king of Magadha. The tells us about the marriage of Udayana with , the daughter of , the king of . The narrates a story of romance between him and , an attendant of his chief queen, . The name of his son by his chief queen is Bodhi.

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 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 , , Niramitra and . Later, the Vatsa kingdom was annexed by the Avanti kingdom. Maniprabha, the great-grandson of Pradyota ruled at as a prince of Avanti.

Vatsa was ultimately annexed into Magadha by Shishunaga.

See also

• Kingdoms of Ancient India

References

Sources

• Singh, Upinder (2016), A History of Ancient and Early Medieval India: From the Stone Age to the 12th Century, Pearson PLC, ISBN 978-81-317-1677-9