CHAPTER VII
The Indian Legends of Asoka
The Lineage and Family of asoka
[1] (1) King Bimbisfâra reigned at Râjagrilia. His son was (2) Ajatasatru, whose son was (3) Udayibhadra, whose son was (4) Munda, whose son was (5) Kâkavarnin, whose son was (6) Sahâlin, whose son was (7) Tulakuchi, whose son was Mahâmandala, whose son was (9) Prasenajit, whose son was (10) Nanda, whose son was (11) Bindusara.
King Bindusâra reigned at Pâtaliputra, and had a son named Susînia.
A certain Brahman of Champâ. had a lovely daughter. A prophecy declared that she was destined to be the mother of two sons, of whom one would become universal monarch, and the other would attain the goal of the life of a recluse. The Brahman, seeking the fulfilment of the prophecy, succeeded in introducing his daughter into the palace, but the jealousy of the queens debarred her from the royal embraces, and assigned to
- ↑ The genealogy as given in the text is from the prose Asokâ-vadâna in the Divyâvadâna (Burnouf, Introduction, 2nd ed., pp. 319 seqq.). The reader will observe that Chandragupta is omitted, and that Bindụsâra, the father of Asoka, is represented as being the son of Nanda. The metrical Asokâvadâna (Râjendralâla Mitra, Nepalese Buddhist Literature, pp. 6-17) substitutes Mahîpâla for Ajâtasatru, and exhibits other minor variations.
