Kosala
Kosala
(kō`sələ), ancient Indian kingdom, corresponding roughly in area with the region of OudhOudh, historic region of N central India, now part of the state of Uttar Pradesh. Its early history centers around the ancient kingdom of Kosala, which had Ayodhya (formerly Oudh) as its capital. The region passed under Gupta rule in the 4th cent. A.D.
..... Click the link for more information. . Its capital was AyodhyaAyodhya
or Ajodhya
, town, Uttar Pradesh state, N India, on the Ghaghara River. It forms a municipal corporation with Faizabad. Ayodhya was the capital of the kingdom of Kosala (7th cent. B.C.).
..... Click the link for more information. . It was a powerful state in the 6th cent. B.C. but was weakened by a series of wars with the neighboring kingdom of MagadhaMagadha
, ancient Indian kingdom, situated within the area of the modern states of Bihar and Jharkhand. Its capital was Pataliputra (now Patna). The kingdom rose to prominence in the mid-7th cent. B.C. and rapidly extended its frontiers, especially under the rule of Bimbisara (c.
..... Click the link for more information. and finally (4th cent. B.C.) absorbed by it. Kosala was the setting of much Sanskrit epic literature including the RamayanaRamayana
[story of Rama], classical Sanskrit epic of India, probably composed in the 3d cent. B.C. Based on numerous legends, it is traditionally the work of Valmiki, one of the minor characters.
..... Click the link for more information. . Buddha and Mahavira, founder of JainismJainism
[i.e., the religion of Jina], religious system of India practiced by about 5,000,000 persons. Jainism, Ajivika, and Buddhism arose in the 6th cent. B.C. as protests against the overdeveloped ritualism of Hinduism, particularly its sacrificial cults, and the authority of
..... Click the link for more information. , taught in the kingdom.
Kosala
a state and historic region in ancient India, located north of the middle course of the Ganges River (corresponding to the later region of Oudh). It apparently arose in the seventh to the early sixth century B.C. At the end of the sixth century a number of neighboring regions, particularly Kasi, came under Kosala’s dominion. In the fifth century B.C., under King Prasenajit, Kosaia was forced after a long struggle to accept vassalage to the king of Magadha, Ajatasatru. Later, the sources cease to mention Kosaia as a political entity.