Ālavī

Ālavī (Pāli: Ālavī) or Āṭavī (Sanskrit: Āṭavī) was an ancient kingdom of central South Asia whose existence is attested during the Iron Age. The inhabitants of Ālavī, called the Ālavakas, were of non-Indo-Aryan origin.[1]

Location

Ālavī was a small state located near the Gaṅgā river. Alexander Cunningham and Vincent Arthur Smith identified Ālavī with the Ġāzīpur region.[1]

The name of the state was derived from that of its capital, named Ālabhiyā, or Ālavī (in Pāli) or Āṭavī (in Sanskrit), which lied on the road between Kosala's capital of Sāvatthī and Magadha's capital of Rājagaha, and was located thirty yojana from Sāvatthī and twelve yojana from Varanasi.[1][2]

History

The 24th Jain Tīrthaṅkara, Mahāvīra, visited Ālavī city, where he converted the Parivrājaka Pudgala to Śramaṇa Dharma in the Śaṅkhavana caitya. During Mahāvīra's time, Ālavī was inhabited by Ṛṣibhadraputra and the Śramaṇopāsakas.[2]

The Buddha often visited Ālavī, especially the Aggalāva cetiya which was located in its capital city.[1]

The king of Ālabhiyā in the Buddha's time held the title of Jiyasattū, meaning "conqueror of enemies."[1]

References
  1. Raychaudhuri 1953, p. 197-199.
  2. Sikdar 1964, p. 537-538.

Further reading
  • Raychaudhuri, Hemchandra (1953). Political History of Ancient India: From the Accession of Parikshit to the Extinction of Gupta Dynasty. University of Calcutta.
  • Sikdar, Jogendra Chandra (1964). Studies in the Bhagawatīsūtra. Muzaffarpur, Bihar, India: Research Institute of Prakrit, Jainology & Ahimsa. pp. 388–464.
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