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{{Short description|One of the Mahajanapadas}}
{{Use Indian English|date=July 2017}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=July 2017}}
{{Infobox former country
| native_name =
| conventional_long_name = Kosala
| common_name = Kosala
| era = [[Iron Age]]
| government_type = [[Monarchy]]
| year_start = c. 7th century BCE{{sfn|Samuel|2010|p=50}}
| year_end = c. 5th century BCE
| p1 = Black and red ware culture
| s1 = Haryanka dynasty{{!}}Magadha
| p2 = Kāśī (kingdom){{!}}Kashi
| image_map = The eastern Gangetic plain after Ajatasattu's, Vidudabha's and Udayana's conquests.jpg
| image_map_caption = Kosala and its neighboring kingdoms.
| image_map2 = Mahajanapadas (c. 500 BCE).png
| image_map2_caption = Kosala and the other [[Mahajanapada]]s in the Post Vedic period.
| title_leader = King
| leader1 = [[Ikshvaku]] (first)
| year_leader1 = ?
| year_leader2 = c. 5th century BCE
| leader2 = Sumitra (last)
| capital = [[Ayodhya]] and [[Shravasti]] of Uttar Kosala
| common_languages = [[Sanskrit]]
| religion = [[Historical Vedic religion]] [[Jainism]] [[Buddhism]]
| currency =
| today = [[India]] [[Nepal]]
}}

'''Kosala''' ({{ipa|sa|koːɕɐlɐ|ipa}}), sometimes referred to as '''Uttara Kosala''' ({{lit|Northern Kosala}}) was one of the [[Mahajanapadas]] of [[History of India|ancient India]].<ref name=":1" />{{Sfn|Mahajan|1960|p=230}} It emerged as a [[janapada|small state]] during the [[Vedic period#Later Vedic period (c. 1000 – c. 600 BCE)|Late Vedic period]]{{sfn|Samuel|2010|p=61–63}}<ref>[[Michael Witzel]] (1989), ''Tracing the Vedic dialects'' in ''Dialectes dans les litteratures Indo-Aryennes'' ed. [[Colette Caillat|Caillat]], Paris, 97–265.</ref> and became (along with [[Magadha (Mahajanapada)|Magadha]]) one of the earliest states to transition from a lineage-based society to a [[monarchy]].<ref>{{Harvcoltxt|Thapar|2013|p=260}} – Interestingly, in the transition from lineage-based societies to states, it is Magadha and Kosala which emerge among the earlier states that move towards kingdoms.</ref> By the 6th century BCE, it had consolidated into one of the four great powers of ancient northern India, along with [[Magadha (Mahajanapada)|Magadha]], [[Vatsa]], and [[Avanti (region)|Avanti]].<ref name=":1">{{Cite web |title=Kosala {{!}} ancient kingdom, India {{!}} Britannica |url=https://www.britannica.com/place/Kosala |access-date=2023-06-08 |website=www.britannica.com |language=en |quote=Kosala rose in political importance early in the 6th century BCE to become one of the 16 states dominant in northern India. It annexed the powerful kingdom of Kashi. About 500 BCE, during the reign of King Prasenajit (Pasenadi), it was regarded as one of the four powers of the north—perhaps the dominant power.}}</ref><ref>Vikas Nain, "Second Urbanization in the Chronology of Indian History", ''International Journal of Academic Research and Development'' '''3''' (2) (March 2018), pp. 538–542 "''Many of the sixteen kingdoms had coalesced into four major ones by 500/400 BCE, by the time of Gautama Buddha. These four were Vatsa, Avanti, Kosala, and Magadha.''"</ref>

Kosala belonged to the [[Northern Black Polished Ware]] culture (c. 700–300 BCE){{sfn|Samuel|2010|p=50}} and was culturally distinct from the [[Painted Grey Ware culture]] of the neighboring [[Kuru Kingdom|Kuru]]-[[Pañcāla|Panchala]] region, following independent development toward [[Second Urbanisation|urbanisation and the use of iron]].{{sfn|Samuel|2010|p=50-51}} The presence of the lineage of [[Solar dynasty|Ikshvaku]]—described as a [[raja]] in the [[Rigveda|Ṛgveda]] and an ancient hero in the [[Atharvaveda]]<ref>{{Harvcoltxt|Thapar|2013|p=138}} – There is a single reference in the Ṛgveda to Ikṣvāku as a rājā, and the Atharvaveda refers to him as an ancient hero.</ref>—to which [[Rama]], [[Mahavira]], and the [[The Buddha|Buddha]] are all thought to have belonged—characterized the Kosalan realm.<ref>{{Harvcoltxt|Thapar|2013|p=287}} – Manu’s eldest son, Ikṣvāku, the progenitor of the Sūryavaṃśa, had three sons, two of whom were important and established themselves at Kosala and Videha, contiguous territories in the middle Ganges plain and important to the narrative of the Rāmāyaṇa. The rulers of Kosala and Videha are therefore of collateral lines.</ref><ref>{{cite book |author=Peter Scharf |title=Ramopakhyana – The Story of Rama in the Mahabharata: A Sanskrit Independent-Study Reader |publisher=Routledge, 2014 |page=559}}</ref>

One of India's two great [[Indian epic poetry|epics]], [[Ramayana]] is set in the "Kosala-[[Videha]]" realm in which the Kosalan prince [[Rama]] marries the Videhan princess [[Sita]].

After a series of wars with neighbouring kingdoms, it was finally defeated and absorbed into the [[Magadha (Mahajanapada)|Magadha]] kingdom in the 5th century BCE. After the collapse of the [[Maurya Empire]] and before the expansion of the [[Kushan Empire]], Kosala was ruled by the [[Deva dynasty (Saketa)|Deva dynasty]], the [[Datta dynasty]], and the [[Mitra dynasty (Mathura)|Mitra dynasty]].

==Location==
===Geography===
Kosala was bounded by the [[Gomti River|Gomti]] River in the west, [[Sai River (Uttar Pradesh)|Sarpika]] River in the south, [[Gandaki River|Sadanira]] in the east which separated it from [[Videha]], and the [[Nepal]] Hills in the north. It encompassed the territories of the [[Shakya]]ns, [[Malla (tribe)|Mallakas]], [[Koliya]]s, [[Kālāma]]s and [[Moriya (tribe)|Moriyas]] at its peak. It roughly corresponds to modern-day [[Awadh]] region in India.<ref>{{harvnb|Raychaudhuri|1972|pp=77–79, 99}}</ref>

===Cities and towns===
The Kosala region had two major cities, [[Ayodhya]] (AKA Saketa) and [[Sravasti|Shravasti]], and a number of minor towns as Setavya, Ukattha,{{Sfn | Raychaudhuri | 1972 |p = 89}} Dandakappa, Nalakapana and Pankadha.{{Sfn | Law |1973|p=132}} According to the [[Puranas]] and the [[Ramayana]] epic, [[Ayodhya]] was the capital of Kosala during the reign of [[Ikshvaku]] and [[Ikshvaku dynasty|his descendants]].{{Sfn | Pargiter | 1972|p=257}} Shravasti is recorded as the capital of Kosala during the Mahajanapada period (6th–5th centuries BCE),{{sfn|Samuel|2010|p=71}} but post-Maurya (2nd–1st centuries BCE) kings issued their coins from Ayodhya.

==Culture==
Kosala belonged to the [[Northern Black Polished Ware]] culture (c. 700–300 BCE),{{sfn|Samuel|2010|p=50}} which was preceded by the [[Black and red ware culture]] (c. 1450–1200 BCE until c. 700–500 BCE). The Central Gangetic Plain was the earliest area for rice cultivation in South Asia, and entered the Iron Age around 700 BCE.{{sfn|Samuel|2010|p=50}} According to Geoffrey Samuel, following Tim Hopkins, the Central Gangetic Plain was culturally distinct from the [[Painted Grey Ware]] culture of the Vedic Aryans of Kuru-Pancala west of it, and saw an independent development toward urbanisation and the use of iron.{{sfn|Samuel|2010|p=50-51}}

=== Religion ===
[[File:Jetavana_of_Sravasti_Sanchi_Stupa_1_Northern_Gateway.jpg|thumb|[[Jetavana]] of [[Shravasti|Sravasti]] showing the three preferred residences of the Buddha. [[Sanchi]].]]
Kosala was situated at the crossroads of [[Vedic period|Vedic]] heartland of [[Kuru Kingdom|Kuru]]-[[Pañcāla|Panchala]] and [[Greater Magadha]]n culture.<ref>{{Harvcoltxt|Bausch|2015|p=28}} – Kosala thrived on the edge of both the Vedic world and Greater Magadha, where it formed an important center during the lifetimes of the Vedic sage Yājñavalkya as well as Sakyamuni Buddha.</ref> According to Alexander Wynne, Kosala-[[Videha]] culture was at the center of unorthodox Vedic traditions, ascetic and speculative traditions, possibly reaching back to the late [[Rigveda|Ṛgveda]].<ref>Wynne, A. (2011). "Review of Johannes Bronkhorst. Greater Magadha: Studies in the Culture of Early India." Buddhism commissioned by David Arnold.</ref> Kosala-Videha culture is thought to be the home of the Śukla school of the [[Yajurveda]].<ref>{{Citation |last=Johnson |first=W. J. |title=Kosala-Videha |date=2009 |url=https://www.oxfordreference.com/display/10.1093/acref/9780198610250.001.0001/acref-9780198610250-e-1363 |work=A Dictionary of Hinduism |access-date=2023-06-11 |publisher=Oxford University Press |language=en |doi=10.1093/acref/9780198610250.001.0001 |isbn=978-0-19-861025-0|url-access=subscription }}</ref>

According to [[Michael Witzel]] and Joel Brenton, the [[Kanva Shakha|Kāṇva]] school of Vedic traditions (and in turn the first Upanishad i.e, [[Brihadaranyaka Upanishad|Bṛhadāraṇyaka Upaniṣad]]) was based in Kosala during the middle and late Vedic periods.<ref>{{Harvcoltxt|Bausch|2015|p=19}}</ref> Kosala had a significant presence of the [[Muni (saint)|muni]] tradition,<ref>{{Harvcoltxt|Bausch|2015|pp=1–2,28}} After Janaka, when the Vajjis surpassed the Videhas, Kosala emerged as a major center of political power and muni religious activity.</ref> which included [[Buddhism|Buddhists]], [[Jainism|Jains]], [[Ājīvika|Ajivikas]], Naga, [[Yaksha|Yakṣa]], and tree worshipers as well as Vedic munis.<ref name=":02">{{Harvcoltxt|Bausch|2018|p=30}}</ref>{{sfn|Samuel|2010|p=48}} The muni tradition emphasized on "practicing [[yoga]], meditation, renunciation and wandering mendicancy" as contrasted to the [[Rishi|ṛṣis]] who "recited prayers, conducted [[Homa (ritual)|homa]], and led a householder lifestyle".<ref name=":02" />

According to Samuel, there is "extensive iconographical evidence for a religion of fertility and auspiciousness".{{sfn|Samuel|2010|p=61}} According to Hopkins, the region was marked by a
{{blockquote|...world of female powers, natural transformation, sacred earth and sacred places, blood sacrifices, and ritualists who accepted pollution on behalf of their community.{{sfn|Samuel|2010|p=61}}}}

===Jainism===
Kosala had a particularly strong connection with [[Jainism]]. [[Shravasti]] is often mentioned in Jaina sources. It is also called Chandrapuri or Chandrikapuri or Ārya Kṣetra, because Jaina texts state that two of their Tirthankaras were born here, namely [[Sambhavanatha]] (3rd of 24) and [[Chandraprabha]] (8th of 24). Shravasti is also known as the capital city of [[Kunala]]'s kingdom.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Temple |first=Richard |url=https://jainqq.org/explore/032545/384 |title=Indian Antiquary Vol 53}}</ref>

Sambhavanatha is said to have had taken initiation, donated all his belongings, and broken his first fast in Shravasti after begging for alms from King Surendradatta.<ref>{{Cite web |last=www.wisdomlib.org |date=2018-11-30 |title=Part 10: Sambhava's initiation |url=https://www.wisdomlib.org/jainism/book/trishashti-shalaka-purusha-caritra/d/doc212689.html |access-date=2025-02-08 |website=www.wisdomlib.org |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=www.wisdomlib.org |date=2018-11-30 |title=Part 11: Sambhava's fast-breaking |url=https://www.wisdomlib.org/jainism/book/trishashti-shalaka-purusha-caritra/d/doc212690.html |access-date=2025-02-08 |website=www.wisdomlib.org |language=en}}</ref> [[Munisuvrata]]swami, the 20th [[Tirthankara]], visited Shravasti and initiated several members of the royal family. As per the Jaina text [[Jnatadharmakathah]], [[Parshvanatha]], the 23rd Tirthankara, also visited Shravasti and inspired several lay-followers to accept initiation.{{sfn|Law|1935|pp=25–26}}

Further, Shravasti is the place of the bitter arguments and meeting between [[Mahavira]] – the 24th Tirthankara, and [[Makkhali Gosala|Gosala Mankhaliputta]] – the founder of [[Ajivikas]] and a rival. According to the Jain texts, the Mahavira visited Shravasti many times and spent his tenth ''varsha'' monsoon season here before attaining omniscience. He was hosted by a wealthy merchant named Nandinipriya. Ancient Jain scholars such as [[Kapila]], Maghavan and [[Kesi (Ganadhara)|Keshi]] studied in Shravasti.{{sfn|Law|1935|pp=25–26}} At Shravasti, Jamāli, Mahavira's son-in-law, created the first of the eight heretical sects by opposing tenets of [[Jainism]] as taught by Mahavira himself. The eighth heretical sect, [[Digambara]] sect, was created by [[Sivabhuti]] at Rathavirapur.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Chatterjee |first=Aseem Kumar |title=Comprehensive History Of Jainism |url=https://jainqq.org/explore/022803/54}}</ref> As described in the Jaina text [[Uttaradhyayana|Uttaradhyayana Sutra]], the discussion between [[Kesi (Ganadhara)|Keśiśramanācharya]] and Mahavira's first disciple, [[Gautama Swami]], is said to have had taken place at Shravasti. This was the place where [[Upkeśa Gaccha]] was established by Keśiśramanācharya after he accepted Mahavira's conduct and became a white-clad monk along with all his disciples who were initially following [[Parshvanatha]]'s conduct.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Jacobi |first=Hermann |url=https://sacred-texts.com/jai/sbe45/sbe4525.htm |title=TWENTY-THIRD LECTURE: KÊSI AND GAUTAMA}}</ref> Moreover, the [[Pattavali]] described in the [[Kalpa Sūtra]], states the existence of "Śrāvastikā Śākhā", one of the four branches of the "Veṣavāṭikgaṇa" of the Jaina sangha. It had originated from Ācārya Kāmardhi, a disciple of Ācārya Suhastisuri, belonging to the beginning of the 3rd century BCE.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Jacobi |first=Hermann |url=https://sacred-texts.com/jai/sbe22/sbe2290.htm |title=LIST OF THE STHAVIRAS}}</ref> Ācārya Jinaprabhasuri, in his [[Vividha Tirtha Kalpa]] confirms that a Jaina temple with an image of [[Sambhavanatha]] was renovated multiple times until it was finally completely desecrated during the reign of [[Alauddin Khilji]].<ref>{{Cite web |last=Jinaprabhasuri |first=Ācārya |url=https://jainqq.org/explore/009519/102 |title=Vividha Tirtha Kalpa}}</ref>

==== Buddhism ====
Kosala had a particularly strong connection to the [[The Buddha|Buddha]]'s life. Buddha introduced himself to the king of Magadha in the [[Sutta Nipata|Suttanipata]] as a Kosalan.<ref>{{Harvcoltxt|Bausch|2018|pp=28–29}} – According to the Suttanipāta, Gotama Buddha’s hometown was located in the region of Kosala, what is today eastern Uttar Pradesh. In the Pabbajjāsutta (Sn 3.1), Gotama Buddha explains his personal background to Magadhan King Bimbisāra, telling him that he hails from a country in Kosala.</ref> In the [[Majjhima Nikāya]] too, king Prasenajit refers to Buddha as a Kosalan.<ref>{{Harvcoltxt|Bausch|2018|p=29}} – In an account given in the Majjhimanikāya, King Pasenadi of Kosala calls the Buddha a Kosalan.</ref> He spent much of his time teaching in [[Shravasti|Śrāvastī]], especially in the [[Jetavana]] monastery.<ref>{{Citation |last1=Buswell |first1=Robert E. |title=Kośala |date=2017 |url=https://www.oxfordreference.com/display/10.1093/acref/9780190681159.001.0001/acref-9780190681159-e-2241 |work=The Princeton Dictionary of Buddhism |access-date=2023-06-11 |publisher=Princeton University Press |language=en |doi=10.1093/acref/9780190681159.001.0001 |isbn=978-0-691-15786-3 |last2=Lopez |first2=Donald S.|url-access=subscription }}</ref> According to Samuels, early Buddhism was not a protest against an already established Vedic-Brahmanical system, which developed in Kuru-Pancala realm, but an opposition against the growing influence of this Vedic-Brahmanical system, and the superior position granted to Brahmins in it.{{sfn|Samuel|2010|p=100}}

==Religious textual references==
===In Buddhist and Jain texts===
[[File:Procession of Prasenajit of Kosala leaving Sravasti to meet the Buddha.jpg|thumb|Procession of [[Prasenajit]] of Kosala leaving [[Sravasti]] to meet the [[Buddha]], carved relief from [[Sanchi]].<ref>Marshall [https://archive.org/stream/in.ernet.dli.2015.459148 p.59]</ref>]]

[[Mahavira]], the 24th [[Tirthankara]] of [[Jainism]] taught in Kosala. A Buddhist text, the ''Majjhima Nikaya'' mentions [[Gautama Buddha|Buddha]] as a Kosalan, which indicates that Kosala may have subjugated the [[Shakya]] clan, which the Buddha is traditionally believed to have belonged to.<ref>{{harvnb|Raychaudhuri|1972|pp=88–9}}</ref>

=== In Vedic Literature ===
{{multiple image
| align = left
| direction = vertical
| header = Kosala
| width = 250
| image1 = Sravasti-citywall.jpg
| caption1 = The ruins of the city walls of [[Sravasti|Shravasti]], the capital of the Kosala kingdom.
| image2 = Ayodhya Nagri.jpg
| caption2 = Gold carving depiction of the legendary [[Ayodhya]] at the [[Ajmer Jain temple]].
}}
Kosala is not mentioned in the early [[Vedic literature]], but appears as a region in the later Vedic texts of the [[Satapatha Brahmana|Shatapatha Brahmana]] (7th–6th centuries BCE,<ref>[http://www.people.fas.harvard.edu/~witzel/Erdosy1995.pdf "Early Indian history: Linguistic and textual parametres."] in The Indo-Aryans of Ancient South Asia, edited by G. Erdosy (1995), p. 136</ref> final version 300 BCE<ref>[http://www.sacred-texts.com/hin/sbr/index.htm The Satapatha Brahmana]. Sacred Books of the East, Vols. 12, 26, 24, 37, 47, translated by Julius Eggeling [published between 1882 and 1900]</ref>) and the [[Kalpa (Vedanga)|Kalpasutras]] (6th-century BCE).<ref>{{harvnb|Law|1926|pp=34–85}}</ref>

===In Puranas===
{{main|Kosala Kingdom}}In the [[Ramayana]], [[Mahabharata]] and the [[Puranas]] the ruling family of the [[Kosala kingdom]] was the [[Ikshvaku dynasty]], which was descended from king [[Ikshvaku]].{{sfn|Sastri|1988|p=17}} The Puranas give lists of kings of the Ikshvaku dynasty from [[Ikshvaku]] to [[Prasenajit]] (Pali: ''Pasenadi'').<ref>{{harvnb|Raychaudhuri|1972|pp=89–90}}</ref> According to the Ramayana, [[Rama]] ruled the Kosala kingdom from his capital, [[Ayodhya]].<ref>{{harvnb|Raychaudhuri|1972|pp=68–70}}</ref>

{{Clear}}

==History==
===Pre-Mauryan===
{{multiple image
| align = right
| caption_align = center
| direction =vertical
| total_width=250
| image1 = The eastern Gangetic plain after Bimbisara's conquests.jpg
| caption1 = Map of the eastern Gangetic plain before Viḍūḍabha's conquests
| image2 = The eastern Gangetic plain after Ajatasattu's, Vidudabha's and Udayana's conquests.jpg
| caption2 = Map of the eastern Gangetic plain after Viḍūḍabha's conquest of Kālāma, Sakya and Koliya
| image3 = The eastern Gangetic plain after Ajatasattu's conquest of Kosala.jpg
| caption3 = The eastern Gangetic plain after Viḍūḍabha's defeat by Ajātasattu of Magadha
| footer=
}}
Koshala's first capital of [[Shravasti]] was barely settled by the 6th century BCE, but there is the beginnings of a mud fort. By 500 BCE, [[List of ancient Indo-Aryan peoples and tribes#Late Janapadas (peoples / tribes) (c. 1100–500 BCE)|Vedic people]] had spread to Koshala.<ref name=":0">{{Cite book|last=Sharma|first=R. S.|title=India's Ancient Past|publisher=Oxford University Press|year=2005|isbn=978-0-19-908786-0|pages=167–169}}</ref>[[File:Kosala coin, 400-300 BCE.jpg|thumb|left|Kosala coin, 400-300 BCE]]
[[File:Kosala Karshapana.jpg|thumb|left|Kosala [[Karshapana]], 5th century BCE.]]

By the 5th century BCE under the reign of King Mahakosala, the neighboring [[Kingdom of Kashi]] had been conquered.<ref>{{harvnb|Raychaudhuri|1972|p=138}}</ref> Mahakosala's daughter was the first wife of King [[Bimbisara]] of Magadha. As a dowry, Bimbisara received a Kashi village that had a revenue of 100,000. This marriage temporarily eased tensions between Koshala and Magadha.<ref name=":0" />

By the time of Mahākosala's son Pasenadi, Kosala had become the suzerain of the [[Kālāma]] tribal republic,{{sfn|Sharma|1968|p=231-236}} and Pasenadi's realm maintained friendly relations with the powerful [[Licchavi (tribe)|Licchavi]] tribe which lived to the east of his kingdom.{{sfn|Sharma|1968|p=121}}

During Pasenadi's reign, a [[Malla (tribe)|Mallaka]] named Bandhula who had received education in Takṣaśilā, had offered his services as a general to the Kauśalya king so as to maintain the good relations between the Mallakas and Kosala. Later, Bandhula, along with his wife Mallikā, violated the {{Transliteration|pi|Abhiseka-Pokkharaṇī}} sacred tank of the [[Licchavi (tribe)|Licchavikas]], which resulted in armed hostilities between the Kauśalya and the Licchavikas. Bandhula was later treacherously murdered along with his sons by Pasenadi. In retaliation, some Mallakas helped Pasenadi's son [[Virudhaka|Viḍūḍabha]] usurp the throne of Kosala to avenge the death of Bandhula, after which Pasenadi fled from Kosala and died in front of the gates of the [[Magadha (Mahajanapada)|Māgadhī]] capital of [[Rajgir|Rājagaha]].{{sfn|Sharma|1968|p=178-180}}

At some point during his reign, Viḍūḍabha fully annexed the Kālāmas. That the Kālāmas did not request a share of the Buddha's relics after his death was possibly because they had lost their independence by then.{{sfn|Sharma|1968|p=231-236}}

Shortly after the Buddha's death, the Viḍūḍabha invaded the [[Sakya (tribe)|Sakya]] and [[Koliya]] republics, seeking to conquer their territories because they had once been part of Kosala. Viḍūḍabha finally triumphed over the Sakyas and Koliyas and annexed their state after a long war with massive loss of lives on both sides. Details of this war were exaggerated by later Buddhist accounts, which claimed that Viḍūḍabha's invasion was in retaliation for having given in marriage to his father the slave girl who became Viḍūḍabha's mother, and that he exterminated the Sakyas. In actuality, Viḍūḍabha's invasion of Sakya might instead have had similar motivations to the [[Magadha (Mahajanapada)|Māgadhī]] king [[Ajatashatru|Ajātasattu]]'s conquest of the [[Vajjika League]] because he was the son of a Vajjika princess and was therefore interested in the territory of his mother's homeland. The result of the Kauśalya invasion was that the Sakyas and Koliyas were absorbed into Viḍūḍabha's kingdom.{{sfn|Sharma|1968|p=182-206}}{{sfn|Sharma|1968|p=207-217}}

The massive life losses incurred by Kosala during its conquest of Sakya weakened it significantly enough that it was itself was soon annexed by its eastern neighbour, the kingdom of [[Magadha (Mahajanapada)|Magadha]], and Viḍūḍabha was defeated and killed by the Māgadhī king [[Ajatashatru|Ajātasattu]].{{sfn|Sharma|1968|p=182-206}}

Under the reign of [[Mahapadma Nanda]] of Magadha, Koshala rebelled but the rebellion was put down.<ref name=":0" />

===Under Mauryan rule===
It is assumed that during the [[Maurya Empire|Mauryan reign]], Kosala was administratively under the viceroy at [[Kosambi|Kaushambi]].<ref>{{harvnb|Mahajan|1960|p=318}}</ref> The [[Sohgaura copper plate inscription]], probably issued during the reign of [[Chandragupta Maurya]] deals with a famine in Shravasti and the relief measures to be adopted by the officials.<ref>{{harvnb|Thapar|2001|pp=7–8}}</ref> The [[Yuga Purana]] section of the [[Yuga Purana|Garga Samhita]] mentions about the ''Yavana'' ([[Indo-Greek]]) invasion and subsequent occupation of Saket during the reign of the last [[Maurya]] ruler Brihadratha or [[Pushyamitra Shunga]].<ref>{{harvnb|Lahiri|1974|pp=21–4}}</ref>

===Post-Mauryan period===
[[File:Muladeva coin Kosala.jpg|thumb|Coin of ruler Muladeva, minted in Ayodhya, Kosala. Obv: ''Muladevasa'', elephant to left facing symbol. Rev: Wreath, above symbol, below snake.]]
[[File:Aryamitra coin Kosala.jpg|thumb|Coin of ruler Aryamitra, issued in Ayodhya, Kosala. Obv: peacock to right facing tree. Rev: Name ''Ayyamitasa'', humped bull to left facing pole.]]
<gallery>
Kashi coin, 400-300 BCE.jpg|Kashi coin, 400-300 BCE.
</gallery>

{{HistoryOfSouthAsia}}

The names of a number of rulers of Kosala of the post-Maurya period are known from the square copper coins issued by them, mostly found at [[Ayodhya]].<ref>Bhandare (2006)</ref> The rulers, forming the [[Deva dynasty (Saketa)|Deva dynasty]], are: Muladeva, Vayudeva, Vishakhadeva, [[Dhanadeva]], Naradatta, Jyesthadatta and Shivadatta. There is no way to know whether king Muladeva of the coins is identifiable with Muladeva, murderer of the Shunga ruler [[Vasumitra]] or not (though a historian, Jagannath has tried to do so).<ref>{{harvnb|Lahiri|1974|p=141n}}</ref> King Dhanadeva of the coins is identified with king Dhanadeva (1st century BCE) of Ayodhya inscription. In this Sanskrit inscription, King Kaushikiputra [[Dhanadeva]] mentions about setting a ''ketana'' (flag-staff) in memory of his father, Phalgudeva. In this inscription he claimed himself as the sixth in descent from [[Pushyamitra Shunga]]. Dhanadeva issued both cast and die-struck coins and both the types have a bull on obverse.<ref>{{harvnb|Bhandare|2006|pp=77–8, 87–8}}</ref><ref>{{harvnb|Falk|2006|p=149}}</ref>

Other local rulers whose coins were found in Kosala include: a group of rulers whose name ends in "-mitra" is also known from their coins: Satyamitra, Aryamitra, Vijayamitra and Devamitra, sometimes called the "Late [[Mitra dynasty (Ayodhya)|Mitra dynasty]] of Kosala".<ref>Proceedings – Indian History Congress – Volume 1 – Page 74</ref> Other rulers known from their coins are: Kumudasena, Ajavarman and Sanghamitra.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ks4UAAAAIAAJ&pg=PA118|title=Papers on the Date of Kaniṣka: Submitted to the Conference on the Date of Kaniṣka, London, 20–22 April 1960|first=Arthur Llewellyn|last=Basham|date=3 November 1968|publisher=Brill Archive|via=Google Books}}</ref>

==See also==
{{Portal|India|History}}
* [[Kosala Kingdom]]
* [[Ayodhya]]
* [[Rama]]
* [[Pasenadi|Prasenjit of Kosala]]
* [[Janapada]]
* [[Mahajanapada]]
* [[Ancestors of Rama]]
* [[List of Ikshvaku dynasty kings in Hinduism|List of Ikshvaku dynasty kings]]

==References==
===Citations===
{{reflist|30em}}

===Sources===
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{{refend}}

{{Tribes and kingdoms of the Mahabharata}}
{{Mahajanapada |state=collapsed}}

[[Category:Kosala| ]]
[[Category:Historical regions in India]]
[[Category:Mahajanapadas]]
[[Category:Places in the Ramayana]]

Kosala - Revision history

NiklasKinard at 15:37, 28 March 2026