Bimbisara, the Best King of the Harayanka Dynasty

Bimbisara is said to be the best king of the Haryanka dynasty of Magadha . His father’s name was Bhattiya or Mahapadma. It is known from the Buddhist scripture Mahawangsa that Bimbisara was crowned king at the age of 15. According to the Sinhalese tradition, the reign of Bimbisara began in 545 BC. He is said to have been born in 540 BC (556 BC).

Bimbisara, the Best King of the Harayanka Dynasty

Angaraja fought with Mahapadma, the father of Bimbisara. When Mahapadma was defeated in this battle, Magadha came under the kingdom. For this reason, Bimbisa took the initiative to take revenge after gaining power. He first strengthened the army by stabilizing the state. Eventually he was able to build a huge army. He then declared war on the state. Udayan was the king of the state at this time. He defeated Udayan in this battle and conquered the kingdom of Bimbisara.

He then married a Koshal princess and received a dowry from a part of Kashi kingdom. This led to the economic prosperity of the kingdom of Magadha. He then married the Licchabi princess of the Vaishali dynasty. As a result, Bimbisara was able to extend his dominance to the foothills of the Himalayas. As a result of these two marriages, the neighboring kingdoms refrained from invading Magadha. He then formed an alliance with the Gandhara kingdom through the ambassador of Bimbisara. He then formed an alliance with Avanti-Raj Pradyot. This enabled Bimbisara to maintain its dominance over a large area without a war.

Bimbisara was devoted to Buddhism and Jainism. As a result, there is disagreement as to which religion he belonged to. According to Jain and Buddhist texts, Gautama met Buddha and Mahavir.

After leaving home, Gautama Buddha first went to Vaishali Nagar (capital of Bajji (Briji Ganatantra) Mahajanapada) and from there he acquired a thorough knowledge of Hindu philosophy from a scholar named Aral Kalam. But could not be satisfied with this knowledge. So from here he came to Uddaka Ramputta for education. He learned Samkhya and Yoga from this guru. Even this new knowledge could not calm him down. He then came to Rajgiri, the capital of Magadha. Bimbisara heard the praise of the new monk in public Met him and invited him to the palace. But the Buddha rejected the invitation, saying that if he ever found the truth, he would defend the king’s invitation. Shortly afterwards, Bimbisara took the initiative to sacrifice 1000 sheep for a ritual. Upon learning of this, the Buddha met the king and requested him to refrain from sacrificing sheep. Bimbisara stopped sacrificing at this request. Then Buddha came to a forest near Urubilb village and started austerities. After attaining enlightenment , Buddha spent six years in Gaya . After about two years, Sir Nath came to Rajgiri, the capital of the kingdom of Magadha , to fulfill his promise . King Bimbisara The garden called Benuban was given to Gautama Buddha for the residence of thousands of monks of the Buddhist community. The Buddha then gave him advice on the fourfold truth. At the request of Bimbisara, the Buddha introduced the rule of fasting on the date of new moon and full moon. It is said that at the request of Bimbisara, the Buddha did not travel in the rainy season but stayed in a certain place and introduced the ritual called sadhana barshabas. The royal physician hired Jibak to build cottages for the monks’ rainy season and to treat the Buddha and the monks. Khema, the third wife of Bimbisara, later joined the nuns’ association and attained merit.

At the instigation of Devadatta, Bimbisara’s son Ajatashatru tried to kill him. Believing in the Buddha’s ideology, Bimbisara forgave his son. But again at the instigation of Devadatta, Ajatashatru captured Bimbisara and his adviser and kept them in a house arrest and declared himself the ruler of Magadha. Bimbisara died under house arrest in 491 BC. His son Ajatashatru was born in the womb of Bimbisara’s wife Kaushalya Devi. It is said that Ajatashatru killed his father Bimbisara by fasting. Kaushalya Devi died in this show. Bimbisara is thought to have died around 490-493 BC.