Princess Vajira

Vajira
Empress consort of the Magadha Empire
Reign c. 492 – c. 460 BCE
Spouse Ajatashatru
Issue Udayibhadra[1]
House Hariyanka (by marriage)
Ikshvaku (by birth)
Father Pasenadi
Religion Buddhism

Vajira (also called Vajirakumari) was Empress of the Magadha Empire as the principal consort of Emperor Ajatashatru.[2] She was the mother of her husband's successor, Emperor Udayibhadra.[3]

Vajira was born a princess of the Kingdom of Kosala and was the daughter of King Pasenadi and Queen Mallika. She was also the niece of her mother-in-law, Empress Kosala Devi,[4] the first wife and chief consort of Emperor Bimbisara and the sister of King Pasenadi.

Life

Birth

Vajira or Vajirakumari was born to Pasenadi's chief queen, Mallika. According to Pali tradition, her mother was a beautiful daughter of the chief garland maker of Kosala.[5] When the princess was born, her father was apparently disappointed on hearing the child was a girl, but Buddha assured him that women were sometimes wiser than men.[5]

Marriage

The events which led to her betrothal and eventual marriage to Ajatashatru was that her husband waged a war against her father's kingdom after Bimbisara's death, the cause of the conflict being the revenues from the estate of Kashi, which was given as a dowry to Kosala Devi in her marriage to Bimbisara. After Kosala Devi's death, Pasenadi immediately confiscated the revenues of the estate of Kashi, which had been settled on her as "pin-money", this resulted in hostilities between him and Ajatashatru.[6]

The duel between Ajatashatru and her father was a prolonged affair, fortune favouring each combatant alternatively. Though, Pasenadi emerged victorious, and came to terms with his nephew. He gave the seventeen-year-old Vajira's hand in marriage to him.[6][7] The estate of Kashi, which had been the reason of the conflict, was given to his daughter, Vajira, as a part of her dowry in her marriage to Ajatashatru. Pasenadi also assigned the revenues from the estate of Kashi to Vajira.[8]

References

  1. ↑ Buddhist Council of Ceylon, Ceylon. Ministry of Cultural Affairs, Sri Lanka. Bauddha Kaṭayutu Depārtamēntuva (1963). Encyclopaedia of Buddhism. Govt. of Ceylon. p. 316.
  2. ↑ Sen, Sailendra Nath (1999). Ancient Indian history and civilization (Second ed.). New Delhi: New Age International. p. 113. ISBN 9788122411980.
  3. ↑ Mukherjee, Hemchandra Raychaudhuri. With a commentary by B. N. (2005). Political History of Ancient India : From the accession of Parikshit to the extinction of the Gupta dynasty (6. impression. ed.). Oxford University Press. p. 190. ISBN 9780195643763.
  4. ↑ Jayapalan, N. (2001). History of India. New Delhi: Atlantic. p. 52. ISBN 9788171569281.
  5. 1 2 Alex Wayman & Hideko Wayman (1990). The lion's roar of Queen Śrīmālā : a Buddhist scripture on the Tathāgatagarbha theory (1. Indian ed.). Motilal Banarsidass Publ. p. 3. ISBN 9788120807310.
  6. 1 2 Tripathi, Rama Shankar (1942). History of Ancient India (1st. ed., repr. ed.). Delhi: Motinal Banarsidass. p. 95. ISBN 9788120800182.
  7. ↑ Manoj Kumar Pal (2008). Old Wisdom and New Horizon. Viva Books Private Ltd. p. 162.
  8. ↑ The Journal of the Bihar Research Society. Bihar Research Society. p. 127.
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