PUBLIC ADMINISTRATION IN BUDDHISM OF KING AJATASHATRU

Abstract

         The purpose of this article was to study the public administration of the kingdom of King Ajatashatru in Magadh. The study found government in the era of the Buddha is divided into 16 regions. There are 5 regions that are politically powerful, namely Magadh, Kosol, Wangsa, Avanti and Vajji. King Ajatashatru reigned strongly in Magadh. Although initially he would usurp the throne by assassinating his father, King Bimbisara, as a result of the incitement of Phra Devadatta. King Ajatashatru made a patriarch by torturing Bimbisara by various means. After the patricide, he was still trouble in the heart. Then hearing a sermon from the Lord Buddha, he became convinced and turned to Buddhism and using Buddhist principles as a guideline for governing the state until making the people happy. Moreover, he patronized Buddhism until the end of his reign. It made Magadh a wealth and mighty power that is formidable to other regions. His Highness administers the civil service under the principle of the 10 Virtues of the King. There were two roles in the government administration of King Ajatashatru; the role of the kingdom leader with the administration of Magadh's affairs with righteousness, and the role of the patron of the Buddhism by nurturing the monks, restored 18 temples, built the Sattabana Khuha cave and being the patron the first Sanghayana. Public administration of the Kingdom was a good example of the combination of Buddhist principles that merged with the elaborate rule of the land until making the Magadh region prosperous.