A section from the journey

Bimbisara and Ajatashatru

Two kings began Magadha's climb. Bimbisara, the father, grew the kingdom by marriage and friendship and war. Ajatashatru, the son, took the throne by a dark deed, then made Magadha stronger still. They also lived in the time of the Buddha and Mahavira. They built the base; others would build the empire.

Every rise has its early builders, the ones who lay the first stones. Magadha's rise had two, a father and a son. Their names are worth remembering, for the empire that comes later stands on the ground they prepared.

The father was King , who ruled in the years around the early fifth century before the common era. He was a patient and careful king, not a reckless one. He grew his realm in three ways at once: by wise marriages into neighbouring royal houses, by friendships with other kings, and by war only where war was truly needed.

Bimbisara lived in a remarkable time. Two great teachers walked the same land in his day. He is remembered as a friend and a listener to the Buddha, and his court also knew Mahavira, the great teacher of the Jain path. So this king ruled with armies on one hand and held an open ear for the wisdom of his age on the other.

After Bimbisara came his son, . His path to the throne was a dark one. The old accounts tell us, plainly and without softening it, that he imprisoned his own father to seize the crown. We do not hide such things. A history told honestly must carry the shadows along with the light.

And yet, as a ruler, Ajatashatru was strong and able. He made one choice whose echo is very long. On the bank of the Ganga stood a small village called Pataligrama. Ajatashatru fortified it, turning it into a strongpoint. From that small seed would grow , the mighty capital of the empire to come.

He fought long, hard wars with the neighbouring realms and the gana of the Vajjis, and he won. By the end of his reign, Magadha was no longer one strong kingdom among several. It was the leading power of the whole northern plain.

So this is what the father and son left behind. Not yet an empire, but the firm and ready ground on which an empire could one day rise. Remember the small village by the river, the one Ajatashatru walled. We will return to it when it has become a city of wonder.

Bimbisara grew his kingdom largely by patience, and his son largely by force, and both left their mark. It is uneasy to admire a builder whose hands were not clean. How do you hold the truth that a person can do real good and real wrong in one single life?