Vajira

Vajira (also called Vajirakumari) was queen consort of Magadha as the principal consort of King Ajatashatru. She was the mother of her husband's successor, King Udayibhadra.

Vajira was born a princess of the Kingdom of Kosala and was the daughter of King Pasenadi and Queen Mallika. She was also the niece of her mother-in-law, Queen Kosala Devi, the first wife and chief consort of King Bimbisara and the sister of King Pasenadi.

Life

Birth

Vajira or Vajirakumari was born to Pasenadi's chief queen, Mallika. According to Pali tradition, her mother was a beautiful daughter of the chief garland maker of Kosala. When the princess was born, her father was apparently disappointed on hearing the child was a girl, but Buddha assured him that some women were wiser than men. The estate of Kashi, which had been the reason of the conflict, was given to his daughter, Vajira, as a part of her dowry in her marriage to Ajatashatru. Pasenadi also assigned the revenues from the estate of Kashi to Vajira.