Ajatashatru
Ajatashatru
阿闍世王 (Skt; Pali Ajatasattu; Jpn Ajase-o)
A king of Magadha in India in the time of Shakyamuni Buddha. Incited by Devadatta, he gained the throne by killing his father, King Bimbisara, a follower of Shakyamuni. He also made attempts on the lives of the Buddha and his disciples by releasing a drunken elephant upon them. Ajatashatru warred with King Prasenajit of Kosala over
the domain of Kashi, but later made peace with Kosala. During the reign of Prasenajit's son, Virudhaka, however, Ajatashatru conquered Kosala. Under Ajatashatru's reign, Magadha became the most powerful kingdom in India. Later he converted to Buddhism out of remorse for his evil acts and supported the First Buddhist Council in its compilation of
Shakyamuni's teachings undertaken the year following Shakyamuni's death.According to one account, because King Bimbisara's wife, Vaidehi, had borne him no heir, he consulted a diviner. The diviner told him of a hermit living in the mountains who would be reborn as Bimbisara's son after he died. Bimbisara was so impatient for the birth of his heir that he had the
hermit killed. Shortly after, Vaidehiconceived, and the diviner foretold that the child would become the king's enemy. Fearing his son, the king dropped him from atop a tower, but Ajatashatru survived with only a broken finger. Hence he was also called Broken Finger. It is said that he was persuaded to rebel against his father by Devadatta, who revealed to him the story of his birth.
After killing his father, however, Ajatashatru came to regret his conduct deeply. Tormented by guilt, he broke out in virulent sores on the fifteenth day of the second month of his fiftieth year, and it was predicted that he would die on the seventh day of the third month. At the advice of his physician and minister Jivaka, he sought out Shakyamuni, who responded by teaching
him the doctrines of the Nirvana Sutra. Ajatashatru was thereby able to eradicate his evil karma and prolong his life. Concerning the Sanskrit name Ajatashatru, ajata means unborn, and shatru means enemy. Chinese translations
of Buddhist scriptures interpret Ajatashatru as "Enemy before Birth" or "Unborn Enemy." The Sanskrit name is also translated as "Victor over Enemies," i.e., one who has no born enemies.
