Devadatta says to Prince Ajātasattu: “In former times people lived long; now life is short. You may kill your father and become king, and I will kill the Blessed One and become the Buddha.” The prince straps a dagger to his thigh and enters the inner palace; his agitated look betrays him and he is seized by the officials. The ministers debate what to do, and some propose killing the prince, Devadatta and all the monks. King Bimbisāra dismisses the ministers who proposed the killings, asks the prince why he wished to kill his father, and when the prince answers “I wanted the throne”, the king says “If you want the throne, the throne is yours”, and hands the kingship to Ajātasattu. Source text
Different Accounts
How the throne passed: the Pali Vinaya and the Chinese Mahīśāsaka Vinaya have Bimbisāra abdicate of his own accord (only these two schools); the Saṅghabhedavastu of the Chinese Mūlasarvāstivāda Vinaya has the crown prince take the throne after the king was imprisoned; the Chinese Dharmaguptaka Vinaya has Ajātasattu caught entering the palace with a knife, and this passage records no abdication. Devadatta's inciting the prince to seize the throne is recorded by four schools.
More differences between accounts (3)
The Chinese Mahīśāsaka Vinaya has a different order: first the abdication, then the killing of the father, and only after the killing the release of the drunken elephant.
A difference of one year: the Samantapāsādikā says the Buddha passed away in the eighth year after Ajātasattu's accession; counting the year of the passing as the eighth puts the accession in Year 38 after the Awakening, while counting a full eight years puts it in Year 37.
When Bimbisāra himself came to the throne: the Sri Lankan chronicle the Dīpavaṃsa says he succeeded at fifteen after his father's death; the Mahāvaṃsa says his father performed the consecration for him in person while still alive.
Dating
Conjecturally Year 38 after the Awakening, the Buddha aged seventy-two: the Sri Lankan chronicles, the Dīpavaṃsa and the Mahāvaṃsa, say Bimbisāra reigned fifty-two years and was the Buddha's contemporary for thirty-seven; counting from their meeting when the Buddha was thirty-five, his reign ends when the Buddha is seventy-two; the canonical texts themselves say only that it was in the Buddha's later years. This is the result of converting from the Buddha's age; the season is unknown and the year is not certain; the alternative reckoning is Year 37 (the Buddha aged seventy-one).
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Research Notes: Reliability, Dating and Sources
- How Reliability Is Assessed
The episode of “Devadatta incites Ajātasattu to seize the throne” is recorded by four schools, the Pali canon of the Southern tradition, the Chinese Dharmaguptaka Vinaya (Sifen lü), the Chinese Mahīśāsaka Vinaya (Wufen lü) and the Chinese Saṅghabhedavastu of the Mūlasarvāstivāda Vinaya. Attested across multiple schools. Within it, “Bimbisāra abdicates of his own accord” is recorded by two schools, the Pali canon of the Southern tradition and the Chinese Mahīśāsaka Vinaya.
- Dating Evidence and Precision
Converted from the Buddha's age (reckoned from the Buddha's age). Time precision: year uncertain.
Sources
- 巴利三藏巴利律 Kd 17:3.4.1–3.4.11
- 大正藏大正藏 T22 no.1428 p.592b
- 大正藏大正藏 T22 no.1428 p.593c
- 大正藏大正藏 T22 no.1421 p.19b
- 大正藏大正藏 T24 no.1450 p.189c
- 大正藏大正藏 T02 no.125 p.586c
- 巴利註解書巴利註釋 DN-a，PTS 1.135–1.137
- 巴利註解書巴利註釋 《大史》2.29
- 巴利註解書巴利註釋 Vin-a
- 大正藏大正藏 T24 no.1462 p.687a
- 巴利註解書巴利註釋 Sp-ṭ