Pradyota dynasty, also called Prthivim Bhoksyanti (lit. enjoying the earth),[1] was a ruling dynasty of Avanti, founded by Pradyota, after his father Punika, a minister in the court of the king of Ujjaini, the northern part of the former Avanti kingdom, and placed his own son on the throne in 546 BCE.[2]
'Pradyota or Chanda Pradyota' was the founder of the dynasty and the ruler of Avanti. Pradyota was the son of Pulika (or Punika), who is said to have killed previous King Ripunjaya of Brihadratha dynasty at Ujjain, to make his son the king. Pradyota is said to have ruled for 23 years.[3]
According to 'Visarasreni' of Merutunga, Palaka was the son of Pradyota who have ruled from c. 659–635 BCE.[4] He is said to have conquered Kosambi.[3] Palaka is said to have ruled for 25 years.[5]
Visakhayupa, Ajaka, Nandivardhana is said to have ruled for 50, 21 and 20 years respectively.[5]
Pradyota (Sanskrit: Pradyota) or Pajjota (Pali: Pajjota) was a king of Avanti. By the 6th century BCE, the Vitihotra clan who had previously ruled the Avanti kingdom became extinct, and the kingdom itself became divided into two states, with a northern kingdom whose capital was Ujjenī, and a southern kingdom whose capital was Māhissati.[8][9][10] Pradyota's father was Puṇika or Pulika, who was the minister at the court of the king of the Uttara (northern) Avanti kingdom centred around Ujjenī.[8] Pradyota became king of Avanti when his father placed him on the throne of the northern part of the kingdom around Ujjenī after killing its king.[8]
Once on the throne of Avanti, Pradyota sought to consolidate and expand his kingdom, and he was an accomplished soldier who was able to defeat many rulers and turn Avanti into one of the most powerful states of Ancient India in his time.[11] Pradyota engaged in friendly diplomatic relations with the Vajjika League, and he married the princess Śivā, who was the daughter of Ceṭaka, the consul of the powerful Licchavi republic which led the Vajjika League. Śivā was herself a cousin of the 24th JainTīrthaṅkaraMahāvīra, who was the son of Ceṭaka's sister Trisalā.[12] Ceṭaka and his daughters had become adepts of Mahāvīra's teachings, and Jain sources claim that Pradyota had embraced Jainism and promoted its propagation, most likely due to the influence of Śivā, while Buddhist sources claim that he had embraced Buddhism.[11] Buddhist texts however also claim that Pradyota did not have any positive policies, and Buddhist records called him Caṇḍa-Pajjota ("Cruel Pradyota") because of his cruelty.[8]
Pradyota also initiated friendly relations with another one of Ceṭaka's sons-in-law, the king Bimbisāra of the newly rising power of Magadha in the eastern Gangetic plain, and at one point, Pradyota fell ill, and Bimbisāra sent his renowned physician Jīvaka to Avanti to treat Pradyota.[8] However, Jain records also claim that Pradyota attempted to attack Magadha during the reign of Bimbisāra, but was defeated by Bimbisāra's son Abhaya.[11]
The relations between Pradyota and the Śūrasena kingdom were also close, with the Śaurasenī king Subāhu being nicknamed Avantiputra ("son of Avanti") because he was the son of either an Avantika princess or of Pradyota himself.[8]
Pradyota nevertheless had to contend with other powerful kingdoms near Avanti: according to Jain sources, Pradyota had stolen a sandalwood image of Mahavīra as well as the image's keeper, a slave girl named Devadattā, from Vītībhaya, the capital of the kingdom of Sindhu-Sauvīra, after which the king Udayāna of Sindhu-Sauvīra marched on Pradyota's capital Ujjenī, defeated him, and branded his forehead with a frontlet on which was written dāsī-pai ("husband of a slave girl"), before later granting Pradyota pardon and releasing him shortly before the festival of Pajjusana, after which Udayāna invested him as king of Avanti with a gold plate on his forehead to cover the letters dāsī-pai.[15]
Pradyota also engaged in hostilities with the kingdom of Vatsa, against which he carried out an initially successful military campaign until its king Śatānīka was able to repel him. Śatānīka later died of dysentery while Pradyota was carrying out a second campaign against Vatsa, around 495 BCE.[16] According to Jain sources, the queen-regent of Vatsa after Śatānīka's death was his widow Mṛgavatī, who was also the sister of Pradyota's wife Śivā; Mṛgavatī repeatedly rejected the demands of Pradyota to marry her during her regency and made Pradyota wait until Udayana had grown up into a capable ruler, at which point she joined the Jain Nirgrantha order with the permission of Pradyota and in the presence of Mahāvīra, before whom Pradyota could not refuse her request, and entrusted Udayana to Pradyota.[17] Based on these sources, it can be inferred that Pradyota had captured Udayana in the campaign during which Śatānīka had died.[16] Pradyota married his daughter Vāsavadattā to Udayana, and restored him to the throne of Vatsa,[8] although Udayana henceforth remained under Pradyota's influence.[16]
Pradyota fought a war against the king Pukkusāti of Gandhāra, in which he was unsuccessful and was saved only because another war broke out between Pukkusāti and the Pāṇḍava tribe located in the Punjab region.[8]
Following Bimbisāra's son Ajātasattu's usurpation of the throne of Magadha after killing his father, and after Ajātasattu had started a policy of attacking and conquering the Vajjika League, Pradyota took advantage of his control over Vatsa to plan an attack on the Māgadhī capital of Rājagaha, in response of which Ajātasattu fortified his capital.[8][16]
Death
Pradyota reigned for 23 years,[8] and died on the same day as Mahāvīra's passing.[11]
Descendants
In addition to his daughter Vāsavadattā, Pradyota had two sons, named Gopāla and Pālaka, all born from his marriage with the Licchavika princess Śivā.[18] Gopāla succeeded Pradyota but abdicated in favour of Pālaka. Pālaka was an unpopular tyrannical leader, and the population of Avanti overthrew him and instead placed Aryaka on the throne.[8]
Pajjota and his descendants, collectively known as the Pradyota dynasty, ruled over Avanti until it was finally conquered by Magadha in the late 5th century BCE.[8]
List of rulers
Five Kings of Pradyota dynasty ruled for 138 years from 682 to 544 BCE.
Bimbisāra or Shrenika and Seniya in the Jain histories was the King of Magadha and belonged to the Haryanka dynasty. He was the son of Bhattiya. 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.
Ajatasattu or Ajatashatru in Buddhist tradition, or Kunika and Kuniya in the Jain histories, was one of the most important kings of the Haryanka dynasty of Magadha in East India. He was the son of King Bimbisara and was a contemporary of both Mahavira and Gautama Buddha. He forcefully took over the kingdom of Magadha from his father and imprisoned him. He fought a war against the Vajjika League, led by the Licchavis, and conquered the republic of Vaishali. The city of Pataliputra was formed by fortification of a village by Ajatashatru.
Kosala, sometimes referred to as Uttara Kosala was one of the Mahajanapadas of ancient India. It emerged as a small state during the Late Vedic period and became one of the earliest states to transition from a lineage-based society to a monarchy. By the 6th century BCE, it had consolidated into one of the four great powers of ancient northern India, along with Magadha, Vatsa, and Avanti.
The Mahājanapadas were sixteen kingdoms and aristocratic republics that existed in ancient India from the sixth to fourth centuries BCE, during the second urbanisation period.
Anga was an ancient Indo-Aryan tribe of eastern India whose existence is attested during the Iron Age. The members of the Aṅga tribe were called the Āṅgeyas.
Chetaka or Chedaga was the consul of the Licchavi republic during the 5th century BCE.
The Vajjika or VrijikaLeague, Confederacy, or Sangha, also called simply Vajji or Vriji, was an ancient Indo-Aryan league which existed during the later Iron Age period in north-east South Asia.
Malla was an ancient Indo-Aryan tribe of north-eastern Indian subcontinent whose existence is attested during the Iron Age. The population of Malla, the Mallakas, were divided into two branches, each organised into a gaṇasaṅgha, presently referred to as the Malla Republics, which were part of the larger Vajjika League.
Vatsa or Vamsa was one of the sixteen Mahajanapadas of Uttarapatha of ancient India mentioned in the Aṅguttara Nikāya.
Avanti was an ancient Indian Mahajanapada, roughly corresponding to the present-day Malwa region. According to the Buddhist texts, the Anguttara Nikaya, Avanti was one of the solasa mahajanapadas of the 6th century BCE. The janapada was divided into two parts by the Vindhyas, the northern part had its capital at Ujjayini and the southern part had its centre at Mahishmati.
Shishunaga was the founder of the Shishunaga dynasty of the Magadha Empire in the present day northern India. Initially, he was an amatya (official) of the Magadha empire under the Haryanka dynasty. He was placed on the throne by the people who revolted against the Haryanka dynasty rule. According to the Puranas, he placed his son at Varanasi and himself ruled from Girivraja (Rajagriha). He was succeeded by his son Kalashoka (Kakavarna).
Videha was an ancient Indo-Aryan tribe of north-eastern Indian subcontinent whose existence is attested during the Iron Age. The population of Videha, the Vaidehas, were initially organised into a monarchy but later became a gaṇasaṅgha, presently referred to as the Videha Republic, which was part of the larger Vajjika League.
The Haryanka dynasty was the ruling dynasty of Magadha between 544 BC and 413 BC. Initially, the capital was Rajagriha. Later, it was shifted to Pataliputra, near present-day Patna in India during the reign of Udayin. Bimbisara is considered as the founder of the dynasty.
The Licchavis of Vaishali were an ancient Indo-Aryan tribe and dynasty of north-eastern Indian subcontinent whose existence is attested from the Iron Age to the Classical Age. The population of Licchavi, the Licchavikas, were organised into a gaṇasaṅgha, presently referred to as the Licchavi Republic, which was the leading state of the larger Vajjika League.
Udayin also known as Udayabhadra was a king of Magadha in ancient India. According to the Buddhist and Jain accounts, he was the son and successor of the Haryanka king Ajatashatru. Udayin laid the foundation of the city of Pataliputra at the confluence of two rivers, the Son and the Ganges. He shifted his capital from Rajagriha to Pataliputra due to the latter's central location in the empire.
Udayana was a king of Vatsa in India, a contemporary of Gautama Buddha. He is a popular figure in Indian literature, for both his romantic and military stories, but though he probably existed, little is known for certain about his life or reign.
Pushkarasarin or Pukkusati was a king of the Iron Age Indo-Aryan kingdom of Gandhāra during the 6th century BCE.
The Magadha–Vajji war was a conflict between the Haryanka dynasty of Magadha and the neighbouring Vajjika League which was led by the Licchavikas. The conflict is remembered in both Buddhist and Jain traditions. The conflict ended in defeat for the Vajjika League, and the Māgadhīs annexing their territory.
Nāya was an ancient Indo-Aryan tribe of north-eastern South Asia whose existence is attested during the Iron Age. The population of Nāya, the Nāyikas, were organised into a gaṇasaṅgha, presently referred to as the Nāya Republic, which was part of the larger Vajjika League.
Sindhu-Sauvīra was an ancient Indo-Aryan kingdom in the western region of the subcontinent whose existence is attested during the Iron Age in India. The inhabitants of Sindhu were called the Saindhavas, and the inhabitants of Sauvīra were called Sauvīrakas.
↑ Jain, Kailash Chand. Malwa through the Ages. p.99. The Purānas wrongly mention Pradyota and Bimbisara as rulers of Magadha separated by a interval of over 150 years.They were in fact contemporaries ruling over Avanti and Magadha respectively as known to us from Buddhist, Jain and other Sanskrit works. The mistake of including the Avanti rulers in the Magadha list probably a rose on account of the sovereignty established by Avanti over Magadha.
Sikdar, Jogendra Chandra (1964). Studies in the Bhagawatīsūtra. Muzaffarpur, Bihar, India: Research Institute of Prakrit, Jainology & Ahimsa. pp.388–464.
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