Ajātasattu sends out his fourfold army (elephants, cavalry, chariots and infantry) and attacks King Pasenadi in Kāsi. In the first battle King Pasenadi is defeated and retreats to Sāvatthī; the Buddha says: the victor breeds hatred, the defeated lies in pain and cannot sleep. In the second battle King Pasenadi wins, captures Ajātasattu alive and takes his elephants, horses and chariots, but spares his life; the Buddha speaks a : “He who plunders others will himself be plundered.” Taishō Canon
Pali Canon
More sources (1)
Different Accounts
The Saṃyutta Nikāya of the Southern tradition and the Chinese Saṃyukta Āgama both record Ajātasattu winning the first battle and King Pasenadi the second, in the same order.
More differences between accounts (1)
The Chinese Dharmaguptaka Vinaya mentions only briefly that the two kings fought and many died; the same passage also mentions Ajātasattu fighting the Licchavis of Vesālī.
Dating
The canonical texts give no year; it is known only to fall after Ajātasattu's accession and before King Pasenadi lost his throne. Reckoned from the year of Ajātasattu's accession, roughly Years 38 to 45 after the Awakening (the Buddha aged seventy-two to eighty); on the other reckoning, as early as Year 37 (aged seventy-one).
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Research Notes: Reliability, Dating and Sources
- How Reliability Is Assessed
Recorded by three schools: the Pali canon of the Southern tradition, the Chinese Saṃyukta Āgama and the Chinese Dharmaguptaka Vinaya (Sifen lü). Attested across multiple schools.
- Dating Evidence and Precision
Inferred from the sequence of events (neither the canonical texts nor the commentaries give the time; the year is worked out from the order of this event and those around it); converted from the Buddha's age (reckoned from the Buddha's age). Time precision: year uncertain.
Sources
- Pali Canon巴利 SN 3.14:1.1–1.5
- Pali Canon巴利 SN 3.15:1.1–1.5
- 大正藏大正藏 T02 no.99 p.338b–c
- 大正藏大正藏 T02 no.99 p.338c–339a
- 大正藏大正藏 T22 no.1428 p.850a