He belonged to the race of the Sakyas, which had emigrated from the delta of the Indus to the land of the Kosalas.
550 Ajatasatru succeeds Bimbisara—is said to have put him to death.
Prasenajit, twenty-third ruler of the Kosalas after the great war, is their king and rules at Sravasti, a new city they had built to the north of Ajodhya, the ancient capital.
Vatsa, son of Satanika, the twenty-fifth successor of Parikshit, is king of the Bharatas (Panchalas-Pandus) at their new capital Kausambi.
The life of these kings is one of great magnificence and luxury. Their palaces are gorgeous and their harems numerous.
540 According to Arrian, Cyrus the Great reaches the Indus on his march. This has never been substantiated, though it is probable that he compelled the nations on the right bank of the river to pay tribute when he reached Gedrosia (Baluchistan).
532 Renunciation of the world by Siddartha.
522 He begins to preach his doctrines at Varanasi (Benares).
He is henceforth known as Buddha “the Enlightened.” He preaches the reformed doctrine known as Buddhism. It points out a way of escape from the terrible consequences of the Brahmanical system by the suppression of desire. It ends in the negation of existence—Nirvana.
It does not thrive in India owing to its abstractness and morbid views of life as well as by the competition of Sivaism and Vishnuism. But in modified form it has flourished in Afghanistan, Tibet, and China.