Ajātaśatru
A Dictionary of Buddhism | Date: 2004
Ajātaśatru (Skt.; Pali, Ajātasattu). Second encumbent of the throne of
Magadha which he secured by killing his father,
Bimbisāra. Initially a follower of
Devadatta, Ajātaśatru was at first hostile to the
Buddha and conspired with the former to kill him. Subsequently he repented and became a devout follower. An encounter between the two is narrated at length in the
Sāmaññaphala Sutta of the
Dīgha Nikāya, where the king describes his dissatisfaction with the teachings of the
Six Sectarian Teachers. When the Buddha died in the eighth year of his reign, the king was disconsolate. Ajātaśatru reigned for 32 years and was himself deposed and killed by his son Udāyin (or Udayabhadra).
© A Dictionary of Buddhism 2004, originally published by Oxford University Press 2004.
