Procession of Prasenajit of Kosala leaving Sravasti to meet the Buddha

Pasenadi ( pi, पसेनदि ; sa, प्रसेनजित् ; c. 6th century BCE) was an ruler of

Kosala The Kingdom of Kosala (Sanskrit: ) was an ancient Indian kingdom with a rich culture, corresponding to the area within the region of Awadh in present-day Uttar Pradesh to Western Odisha. It emerged as a janapada, small state during the late Ve ...

. Sāvatthī was his capital. He succeeded after . He was a prominent (lay follower) of

Gautama Buddha Siddhartha Gautama, most commonly referred to as the Buddha, was a wandering ascetic and religious teacher who lived in South Asia during the 6th or 5th century BCE and founded Buddhism. According to Buddhist tradition, he was born in Lu ...

, and built many Buddhist monasteries for the Buddha.

Life

Pasenadi studied in

Taxila Taxila or Takshashila (; sa, तक्षशिला; pi, ; , ; , ) is a city in Punjab, Pakistan. Located in the Taxila Tehsil of Rawalpindi District, it lies approximately northwest of the Islamabad–Rawalpindi metropolitan area and ...

in his early life. He was the king of

(modern Oudh or Awadh). His first queen was a Magadhan princess, a sister of king Bimbisara. 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 Viḍūḍabha ( pi, विडूडभ ; sa, विरूढक ) was a king of Kosala during the lifetime of the Buddha. Life Early life He was the son of Prasenajit and , the daughter of a Shakyan chief named by a slave girl .K ...

and a daughter,

Princess Vajira Vajira (also called Vajirakumari) was Empress of the Haryanka dynasty, Magadha Empire as the principal consort of Emperor Ajatashatru. She was the mother of her husband's successor, Emperor Udayibhadra. Vajira was born a princess of the Monarc ...

, who was later married to Ajatashatru ( pi, link=no , Ajātasattu). He married his sister

Kosala Devi Kosala Devī was Empress consort of the Magadha Empire as the first wife of Emperor Bimbisara (558–491 BC). She was born a princess of Kashi and was the sister of King Prasenajit. Her first name is Bhadra-śrī. Life Kosala Devī was born ...

to Bimbisara.

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

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 Rajgir, meaning "The City of Kings," is a historic town in the district of Nalanda in Bihar, India. As the ancient seat and capital of the Haryanka dynasty, the Pradyota dynasty, the Brihadratha dynasty and the Mauryan Empire, as well as the d ...

. The

Puranas Purana (; sa, , '; literally meaning "ancient, old"Merriam-Webster's Encyclopedia of Literature (1995 Edition), Article on Puranas, , page 915) is a vast genre of Indian literature about a wide range of topics, particularly about legends an ...

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

* * * * {{Authority control Bodhisattvas Disciples of Gautama Buddha People from Kosala People from Shravasti district Solar dynasty 6th-century BC Indian monarchs Indian Buddhist monarchs