1902.] S. C. Vidyabhusana— Licchavi race of ancient India . 145 
the capital city of Magadha. In spite of all efforts on the part of 
Ajata-^atru and his successors, against the Licchavis, the latter held 
their own in India, and succeeded in securing the good feelings of the 
people here. This member of the Licchavi race, who was elected sover¬ 
eign over Magadha, is named S'isunaga, the founder of a dynasty called 
S'isunaga. He is stated in the Mahavamsa to have at first been Prime- 
minister to King Naga-dasaka, the last royal descendant of Ajata-fatru. 
There are several atthakathas, or Pali commentaries, on the Mahavamsa 
preserved in the ancient monasteries of Ceylon. In the atthakatha of 
the priests of the Uttara-Vihara of Anuradhapura it is recorded that 
S'isunaga was a great statesman, and belonged to a very respectable 
family of the Licchavis. He reigned in Magadha for eighteen years. 
His son Kalasoka reigned twenty-eight years. Kalasoka had ten sons, 
who ruled the empire for twenty-two years. It was during the conjoint 
administration of the sons of Kalasoka that the Nanda dynasty became 
powerful in India, and usurped the sovereignty of Magadha. This is 
a very brief account of the S'isunaga dynasty, supplied by the cele¬ 
brated Pali Mahavamsa of Ceylon. The Visnupurana of the Hindus 
gives a slightly different account. We have found that, according 
to the Mahavamsa, the S'isunaga kings reigned for only 68 years, 
from 471 B.C. to 403 B.C. But according to the Visnupurana (Book 
IV, Chap. XXIV) they ruled over Magadha for 362 years, beginning 
their reigns a little earlier than at the date fixed by the Maha- 
vamsa. It is scarcely desirable to enter here into any controversy on 
the subject, but I must say that though the members of the Licchavi 
race exercised sovereignty over Magadha for a short period only, they 
left a distinguishable mark in the religious and political history of 
India. In the Manu-Samhita we have seen that the Licchavis did 
The Licchavis leaving not strictly obserre tbe BraLmanio rites - 
a distinguishable mark Ttie Mabapanmbbana Sutta, on the other 
in the religious history hand, describes them as devotees to Buddha 
of India. and ^- g re }|gi on j n the we ll-kno.wn Divya- 
vadana (Chaps. Ill and XI) of the Buddhists of the Northern School we 
.find the Licchavis faithfully serving Buddha on special occasions. In 
the Cullavagga of the Vinaya-pitaka, and in the Mahavamsa, we find that, 
though followers of Buddha, they did not observe the Buddhistic disci¬ 
pline to the letter. It was they who in 443 B.C., having declared some 
ten indulgences as being allowable to priesthood, brought about the first 
schism in the Buddhist Church known as the Mahasamgiti heresy. Ten 
thousand Licchavi priests received on this occasion the penalty of 
degradation. In spite of all these, we must acknowledge the Licchavis 
to be the wisest and most learned representatives of the Buddhist 
