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138 INDIA AS DESCRIBED IN EARLY TEXTS
From the dynastic list of the kings in the Purāņas, it appears that Prasenajit of Kosala, Udayana of Vatsa, and Pradyota of Avanti were succeeded each by four or five kings, after which their dynasties came to an end. But the early texts of Jainism and Buddhism have practically nothing to say about their successors after the Buddha's demise. The Pali canon and the Milindapañha record three events with reference to three chronological landMarks, e.g., the First Buddhist Council 1 held during the reign of Ajātasattu shortly after the Buddha's demise, the Second Council o held a century after that and the compilation of the Kathāvatthu during the reign of Dhammāsoka. Further, the Petavatthu mentions king Pingala of Surattha as a subordinate potentate in western India under the Moriyas. This is a clear indication of the fact that at that time the Magadha empire under the Moriyas included the three kingdoms of Kosala, Vamsa and Avanti.
The supremacy of Magadha which reached its zenith during the reign of Dhammásoka, continued even in the midst of many vicissitudes through the reign of the Sungas and their successors.
1 Vinaya Pifaka, Cullavagga, Ch. 11. 2 Ibid., On. 12.
