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Bimbisara

April 12, 2024

Not to be confused with Bindusara.
For the Telugu-language film, see Bimbisara (film).

Bimbisāra (in Buddhist tradition) or རྒྱལ་པོ་གཟུགས་ཅན་སྙིང་པོ་ (Tibetan) or Shrenika (Śreṇika) and Seniya (Seṇiya) in the Jain histories[2][3] (c. 558 – c. 491 BCE[4][5] or c. 472 – c. 405 BCE[6][7]) was the King of Magadha (r. 543 – 492 BCE[8] or r. 457 – 405 BCE[6][9]) and belonged to the Haryanka dynasty.[10] He was the son of Bhattiya.[11] His expansion of the kingdom, especially his annexation of the kingdom of Anga to the east, is considered to have laid the foundations for the later expansion of the Mauryan Empire.[12]

Bimbisara
Bimbisara with his royal cortege issuing from the city of Rajagriha to visit the Buddha.
Founder of Haryanka dynasty
Reignc. 544 – c. 491 BCE or c. 457 – c. 405 BCE (52 years)
PredecessorBhattiya
SuccessorAjatashatru
Clan and noble familyHaryanka
Born558 BCE or 472 BCE
Died491 BC or 405 BCE
SpouseKosala Devī
Chellanā
Dharini
Kṣemā / Khemā
Nandā[1]
Padmāvatī / Padumavatī
Ambapālī
IssueAjatashatru
DynastyHaryanka
FatherBhattiya
ReligionJainism, Buddhism

According to Jain Tradition, he is said to be the first Tirthankara (will be named as Padmanabha / Mahapadma) out of 24th Tirthankara of the future cosmic age.[13] He frequently visited Samavasarana of Lord Mahavira seeking answers to his queries.[14]

According to Buddhist Tradition, he is also known for his cultural achievements and was a great friend and protector of the Buddha. According to the 7th century Chinese monk Xuanzang, Bimbisara built the city of Rajgir (Rajagriha).[8] He was succeeded on the throne by his son Ajatashatru.[12]

Life edit

 
Map of the eastern Gangetic plain before Bimbisāra's conquests
(Licchavi's dependencies, in green, and Malla shown separately)
 
King Bimbisara visits the Bamboo Garden (Venuvana) in Rajagriha; artwork from Sanchi

Bimbisara was the son of Bhattiya, a chieftain. He ascended to throne at the age of 15 in 543 BCE.[15] He established the Haryanka dynasty and laid the foundations of Magadha with the fortification of a village, which later became the city of Pataliputra.[16] Bimbisara's first capital was at Girivraja (identified with Rajagriha). He led a military campaign against Anga, perhaps to avenge his father's earlier defeat at the hands of its king, Brahmadatta. The campaign was successful, Anga was annexed, and prince Kunika (Ajatashatru) was appointed governor at Champa.[17] His conquest of Anga gave Magadha control over the routes to the Ganges Delta, which had important ports that gave access to the eastern coast of India.[18][19] Pukkusati, the king of Gandhara, sent Bimbisara an embassy.[15]

His court is said to have included Sona Kolivisa, Sumana (flower gatherer), Koliya (minister), Kumbhaghosaka (treasurer) and Jivaka (physician).[20]

Marriage alliances edit

Bimbisara used marriage alliances to strengthen his position. His first wife was Kosala Devi, the daughter of Mahā Kosala, the king of Kosala, and a sister of Prasenajit.[21] His bride brought him Kashi as dowry.[22] This marriage also ended the hostility between Magadha and Kosala and gave him a free hand in dealing with the other states. His second wife, Chellana, was a Licchavi princess from Vaishali and daughter of the Jain[23] king Chetaka.[24] His third wife, Kshema, was a daughter of the chief of the Madra clan of Punjab.[25] Mahavagga depicts him having 500 wives.[15]

Imprisoned edit

 
Bimbisara's jail, where King Bimbisāra was imprisoned, in Rajgir

As per Buddhism, due to influence by Dustabandu Divadatt (a Buddhist monk), Bimbisāra was assassinated by his son Ajatashatru in c. 493 BCE, who then succeeded him to the throne. However, as per Jainism, Bimbisāra committed suicide.[18]

Traditional accounts edit

Jainism edit

Bimbisara is referred to as Shrenika[26][3] of Rajgir in Jain literature who became a devotee of Jainism impressed by the calmness of Jain Muni Yamadhar.[27][23] He frequently visited Samavasarana of Lord Mahavira seeking answers to his queries. He asked about the jain Ramayana[14] and an illuminating sage (King Prasana).[28] He is said to be a Balabhadra in one of his previous lives.[29]

Per Jain scripture, Bimbisara killed himself in a fit of passion, after his son had imprisoned him. Consequently, he was reborn in hell, where he is currently residing, until the karma which led to his birth there comes to an end.[30][31] It is further written, that he will be reborn as Mahapadma (sometimes called Padmanabha), the first in the chain of future tirthankaras who are to rise at the beginning of the upward motion (Utsarpini) of the next era of time.[32]

Buddhism edit

 
Bimbisara welcomes the Buddha

According to Buddhist scriptures, King Bimbisara met the Buddha for the first time prior to the Buddha's enlightenment, and later became an important disciple that featured prominently in certain Buddhist suttas. He is recorded to have attained sotapannahood, a degree of enlightenment in Buddhist teachings.[33] Although Bimbisara let the women in his palace visit Buddha in his monastery in the evenings; the women wanted a hair-and-nail stupa they could use to venerate the Buddha any time. Bimbisara spoke with Buddha who complied with their request.[34]

Others edit

According to Puranas, Bimbisara ruled Magadha for a period of 28 or 38 years. Sinhalese chronicles date his reign to be of 52 years.[35] A fictionalised version of Bimbisara appears in the 2023 Telugu-language film Bimbisara.

References edit

Citations edit

  1. ^ Chandra, Jnan (1958). "SOME UNKNOWN FACTS ABOUT BIMBISĀRA". Proceedings of the Indian History Congress Proceedings of the Indian History Congress. 21. Indian History Congress: 215–217.
  2. ^ von Glasenapp 1999, p. 40-41.
  3. ^ a b Jain & Upadhye 2000, p. 59.
  4. ^ Hugh George Rawlinson (1950), A Concise History of the Indian People. Oxford University Press, p. 46.
  5. ^ F. Max Muller (2001): The Dhammapada And Sutta-nipata. Routledge (UK), p. xlvii. ISBN 0-7007-1548-7.
  6. ^ a b Sarao, K. T. S. (2003), "The Ācariyaparamparā and Date of the Buddha.", Indian Historical Review, 30 (1–2): 1–12, doi:10.1177/037698360303000201
  7. ^ Keay, John: India: A History. Revised and Updated: "The date [of Buddha's meeting with Bimbisara] (given the Buddhist 'short chronology') must have been around 400 BC."
  8. ^ a b V. K. Agnihotri (ed.), Indian History. Allied Publishers, New Delhi 262010, p. 166 f.
  9. ^ Keay, India: A History
  10. ^ Peter N. Stearns (2001), The Encyclopedia of World History. Houghton Mifflin, p. 76 ff. ISBN 0-395-65237-5.
  11. ^ Raychaudhuri 1923, p. 97.
  12. ^ a b "Bimbisara". Encyclopædia Britannica Online. Retrieved 25 January 2013.
  13. ^ Dundas, Paul (2 September 2003). The Jains. Routledge. ISBN 978-1-134-50165-6.
  14. ^ a b Dalal, Roshen (2010), Hinduism: An Alphabetical Guide, India: Penguin Books, p. 338, ISBN 9780143414216
  15. ^ a b c Sen 1999, p. 112.
  16. ^ Sastri 1988, p. 11.
  17. ^ Upinder Singh 2016, p. 269.
  18. ^ a b Thapar, Romila (2002). Early India: From the Origins to AD 1300. University of California Press. pp. 152–154. ISBN 0-520-24225-4.
  19. ^ Kailash Chand Jain 1972, p. 99.
  20. ^ Upinder Singh 2016, p. 270.
  21. ^ Upinder Singh 2016, p. 271.
  22. ^ Eck, Diana. (1998) Banaras, Columbia University Press. p. 45. ISBN 0-231-11447-8.
  23. ^ a b Datta, Amaresh (1988). Encyclopaedia of Indian Literature: Devraj to Jyoti. Sahitya Akademi. ISBN 978-81-260-1194-0.
  24. ^ Luniya, Bhanwarlal Nathuram. (1967) Evolution of Indian Culture, Lakshmi Narain Agarwal. p. 114.
  25. ^ Krishna, Narendra. (1944) History of India, A. Mukherjee & bros. p. 90.
  26. ^ Dundas 2002, p. 36.
  27. ^ , archived from the original on 13 April 2019, retrieved 21 September 2015
  28. ^ Leshyas
  29. ^ Choksi, Mansi; Chhapia, Hemali (10 February 2011), "Now, meet Ravan the saint", The Times of India
  30. ^ Jaini 1998, p. 228.
  31. ^ Dundas 2002, p. 41.
  32. ^ Dundas 2002, p. 40-41.
  33. ^ KTS Sarai, Jeffrey D Long, ed. (2017), "Sotāpanna", Buddhism and Jainism, Encyclopedia of Indian Religions, Springer, pp. 1126–1129, doi:10.1007/978-94-024-0852-2_94, ISBN 9789402408522
  34. ^ John S. Strong (2007), Relics of the Buddha, Princeton University Press, p. 72, ISBN 978-0691117645
  35. ^ Kailash Chand Jain 1991, p. 88.

Sources edit

See also edit

Regnal titles
Preceded by
Bhattiya
 King of Magadha
543–491 BC 		Succeeded by

April 12, 2024
bimbisara, confused, with, bindusara, telugu, language, film, film, bimbisāra, buddhist, tradition, གཟ, གས, ཅན, tibetan, shrenika, Śreṇika, seniya, seṇiya, jain, histories, king, magadha, belonged, haryanka, dynasty, bhattiya, expansion, kingdom, especially, a. Not to be confused with Bindusara For the Telugu language film see Bimbisara film Bimbisara in Buddhist tradition or ར ལ པ གཟ གས ཅན ས ང པ Tibetan or Shrenika Sreṇika and Seniya Seṇiya in the Jain histories 2 3 c 558 c 491 BCE 4 5 or c 472 c 405 BCE 6 7 was the King of Magadha r 543 492 BCE 8 or r 457 405 BCE 6 9 and belonged to the Haryanka dynasty 10 He was the son of Bhattiya 11 His expansion of the kingdom especially his annexation of the kingdom of Anga to the east is considered to have laid the foundations for the later expansion of the Mauryan Empire 12 BimbisaraBimbisara with his royal cortege issuing from the city of Rajagriha to visit the Buddha Founder of Haryanka dynastyReignc 544 c 491 BCE or c 457 c 405 BCE 52 years PredecessorBhattiyaSuccessorAjatashatruClan and noble familyHaryankaBorn558 BCE or 472 BCEDied491 BC or 405 BCESpouseKosala DeviChellanaDhariniKṣema KhemaNanda 1 Padmavati PadumavatiAmbapaliIssueAjatashatruDynastyHaryankaFatherBhattiyaReligionJainism BuddhismAccording to Jain Tradition he is said to be the first Tirthankara will be named as Padmanabha Mahapadma out of 24th Tirthankara of the future cosmic age 13 He frequently visited Samavasarana of Lord Mahavira seeking answers to his queries 14 According to Buddhist Tradition he is also known for his cultural achievements and was a great friend and protector of the Buddha According to the 7th century Chinese monk Xuanzang Bimbisara built the city of Rajgir Rajagriha 8 He was succeeded on the throne by his son Ajatashatru 12 Contents 1 Life 1 1 Marriage alliances 1 2 Imprisoned 2 Traditional accounts 2 1 Jainism 2 2 Buddhism 2 3 Others 3 References 3 1 Citations 3 2 Sources 4 See alsoLife edit nbsp Map of the eastern Gangetic plain before Bimbisara s conquests Licchavi s dependencies in green and Malla shown separately nbsp King Bimbisara visits the Bamboo Garden Venuvana in Rajagriha artwork from SanchiBimbisara was the son of Bhattiya a chieftain He ascended to throne at the age of 15 in 543 BCE 15 He established the Haryanka dynasty and laid the foundations of Magadha with the fortification of a village which later became the city of Pataliputra 16 Bimbisara s first capital was at Girivraja identified with Rajagriha He led a military campaign against Anga perhaps to avenge his father s earlier defeat at the hands of its king Brahmadatta The campaign was successful Anga was annexed and prince Kunika Ajatashatru was appointed governor at Champa 17 His conquest of Anga gave Magadha control over the routes to the Ganges Delta which had important ports that gave access to the eastern coast of India 18 19 Pukkusati the king of Gandhara sent Bimbisara an embassy 15 His court is said to have included Sona Kolivisa Sumana flower gatherer Koliya minister Kumbhaghosaka treasurer and Jivaka physician 20 Marriage alliances edit Bimbisara used marriage alliances to strengthen his position His first wife was Kosala Devi the daughter of Maha Kosala the king of Kosala and a sister of Prasenajit 21 His bride brought him Kashi as dowry 22 This marriage also ended the hostility between Magadha and Kosala and gave him a free hand in dealing with the other states His second wife Chellana was a Licchavi princess from Vaishali and daughter of the Jain 23 king Chetaka 24 His third wife Kshema was a daughter of the chief of the Madra clan of Punjab 25 Mahavagga depicts him having 500 wives 15 Imprisoned edit nbsp Bimbisara s jail where King Bimbisara was imprisoned in RajgirAs per Buddhism due to influence by Dustabandu Divadatt a Buddhist monk Bimbisara was assassinated by his son Ajatashatru in c 493 BCE who then succeeded him to the throne However as per Jainism Bimbisara committed suicide 18 Traditional accounts editJainism edit Bimbisara is referred to as Shrenika 26 3 of Rajgir in Jain literature who became a devotee of Jainism impressed by the calmness of Jain Muni Yamadhar 27 23 He frequently visited Samavasarana of Lord Mahavira seeking answers to his queries He asked about the jain Ramayana 14 and an illuminating sage King Prasana 28 He is said to be a Balabhadra in one of his previous lives 29 Per Jain scripture Bimbisara killed himself in a fit of passion after his son had imprisoned him Consequently he was reborn in hell where he is currently residing until the karma which led to his birth there comes to an end 30 31 It is further written that he will be reborn as Mahapadma sometimes called Padmanabha the first in the chain of future tirthankaras who are to rise at the beginning of the upward motion Utsarpini of the next era of time 32 Buddhism edit nbsp Bimbisara welcomes the BuddhaAccording to Buddhist scriptures King Bimbisara met the Buddha for the first time prior to the Buddha s enlightenment and later became an important disciple that featured prominently in certain Buddhist suttas He is recorded to have attained sotapannahood a degree of enlightenment in Buddhist teachings 33 Although Bimbisara let the women in his palace visit Buddha in his monastery in the evenings the women wanted a hair and nail stupa they could use to venerate the Buddha any time Bimbisara spoke with Buddha who complied with their request 34 Others edit According to Puranas Bimbisara ruled Magadha for a period of 28 or 38 years Sinhalese chronicles date his reign to be of 52 years 35 A fictionalised version of Bimbisara appears in the 2023 Telugu language film Bimbisara References editCitations edit Chandra Jnan 1958 SOME UNKNOWN FACTS ABOUT BIMBISARA Proceedings of the Indian History Congress Proceedings of the Indian History Congress 21 Indian History Congress 215 217 von Glasenapp 1999 p 40 41 a b Jain amp Upadhye 2000 p 59 Hugh George Rawlinson 1950 A Concise History of the Indian People Oxford University Press p 46 F Max Muller 2001 The Dhammapada And Sutta nipata Routledge UK p xlvii ISBN 0 7007 1548 7 a b Sarao K T S 2003 The Acariyaparampara and Date of the Buddha Indian Historical Review 30 1 2 1 12 doi 10 1177 037698360303000201 Keay John India A History Revised and Updated The date of Buddha s meeting with Bimbisara given the Buddhist short chronology must have been around 400 BC a b V K Agnihotri ed Indian History Allied Publishers New Delhi 262010 p 166 f Keay India A History Peter N Stearns 2001 The Encyclopedia of World History Houghton Mifflin p 76 ff ISBN 0 395 65237 5 Raychaudhuri 1923 p 97 a b Bimbisara Encyclopaedia Britannica Online Retrieved 25 January 2013 Dundas Paul 2 September 2003 The Jains Routledge ISBN 978 1 134 50165 6 a b Dalal Roshen 2010 Hinduism An Alphabetical Guide India Penguin Books p 338 ISBN 9780143414216 a b c Sen 1999 p 112 Sastri 1988 p 11 Upinder Singh 2016 p 269 a b Thapar Romila 2002 Early India From the Origins to AD 1300 University of California Press pp 152 154 ISBN 0 520 24225 4 Kailash Chand Jain 1972 p 99 Upinder Singh 2016 p 270 Upinder Singh 2016 p 271 Eck Diana 1998 Banaras Columbia University Press p 45 ISBN 0 231 11447 8 a b Datta Amaresh 1988 Encyclopaedia of Indian Literature Devraj to Jyoti Sahitya Akademi ISBN 978 81 260 1194 0 Luniya Bhanwarlal Nathuram 1967 Evolution of Indian Culture Lakshmi Narain Agarwal p 114 Krishna Narendra 1944 History of India A Mukherjee amp bros p 90 Dundas 2002 p 36 Queen Chelna and King Shrenik archived from the original on 13 April 2019 retrieved 21 September 2015 Leshyas Choksi Mansi Chhapia Hemali 10 February 2011 Now meet Ravan the saint The Times of India Jaini 1998 p 228 Dundas 2002 p 41 Dundas 2002 p 40 41 KTS Sarai Jeffrey D Long ed 2017 Sotapanna Buddhism and Jainism Encyclopedia of Indian Religions Springer pp 1126 1129 doi 10 1007 978 94 024 0852 2 94 ISBN 9789402408522 John S Strong 2007 Relics of the Buddha Princeton University Press p 72 ISBN 978 0691117645 Kailash Chand Jain 1991 p 88 Sources edit Dundas Paul 2002 1992 The Jains Second ed Routledge ISBN 0 415 26605 X Jain Hiralal Upadhye Dr Adinath Neminath 2000 Mahavira his Times and his Philosophy of Life Bharatiya Jnanpith Jain Kailash Chand 1972 Malwa Through the Ages First ed Motilal Banarsidass ISBN 978 81 208 0805 8 Jain Kailash Chand 1991 Lord Mahavira and His Times Motilal Banarsidass ISBN 978 81 208 0805 8 Jaini Padmanabh S 1998 1979 The Jaina Path of Purification Delhi Motilal Banarsidass ISBN 81 208 1578 5 Raychaudhuri Hemchandra 1923 Political History of Ancient India University of Calcutta Sastri Kallidaikurichi Aiyah Nilakanta ed 1988 1967 Age of the Nandas and Mauryas Second ed Delhi Motilal Banarsidass ISBN 81 208 0465 1 Sen Sailendra Nath 1999 1988 Ancient Indian History and Civilization Second ed New Age International Publishers ISBN 81 224 1198 3 Singh G P Early Indian Historical Tradition and Archaeology p 164 Singh Upinder 2016 A History of Ancient and Early Medieval India From the Stone Age to the 12th Century Pearson Education ISBN 978 93 325 6996 6 von Glasenapp Helmuth 1999 Jainism An Indian Religion of Salvation Der Jainismus Eine Indische Erlosungsreligion Shridhar B Shrotri trans Delhi Motilal Banarsidass ISBN 81 208 1376 6See also editAvanti Magadhan WarsRegnal titlesPreceded byBhattiya King of Magadha543 491 BC Succeeded byAjatashatru Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Bimbisara amp oldid 1215660814, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,

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