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SOOTAL LIFE AND ECONOMIC CONDITIONS 159
maņa ministers of king Ajātasattu under whose supervision the village of Pāțaligāma was fortified and the city of Pāļaliputta was built. It was again by the tactful machination of Vassakāra that the strong unity of the Vajjian confederacy was broken and the Vajjīs could be easily conquered. Cāņakya under whose guidance Candragupta was able to found the powerful Moriyan empire in India, belonged to this official rank.
The Sarab'langa-Jätaka speaks of Jotipāla, son of the Purohita of the king of Benares by a Brahmin wife, who was appointed commandor-in-chief, musavat borcukor his great mastery and skill in ar
e n he was first appointed, his da d was one thousand kahāpaņas and after had defeated 500 archers in an open contest, it was increased to one hundred thousand. In appreciation of his high proficiency, all the people of Kāsi offered him money, which amounted to eighteen hundred crores.1
In the Buddha's time, there lived at Ekanālā in Dakkhiņagiri a Brāhmaṇa of the Bhāradvaja olan, who was a rich agriculturist. Five hundred ploughs were needed to cultivate the fields owned by him. On the day of the festive sowing (mangalavappa), he used to distribute
1 Jätaka, v, p. 127f,
