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298 Most of those whom he had known in his early days were dead, and the aged saint preached to sons and grandsons the same holy law which he had proclaimed to their sires and grandsires, but the faithful Ananda still accompanied him like his shadow, and ministered to his wants. The old King of Rajagriha was no more; his warlike and ambitious son Ajatasatru had ascended the throne of Magadha—it is said by murdering his father—and was now maturing schemes of conquest. It was no part of Ajatasatru's policy to offend so popular and widely respected a person as Gautama, and, outwardly at least, Ajatasatru honoured the reformer.

The powerful Vrijjian clans who occupied the plains on the northern shore of the Ganges, opposite to Magadha, first attracted Ajatasatru's attention. They were a Turanian tribe who had entered into India through the northern mountains and had established a republican form of government in the very centre of Hindu civilization, threatening the conquest of all Magadha.

Gautama was then residing in the Vulture's Peak (Gridhrakuta), a cave on the side of the loftiest of the five hills overlooking the beautiful valley of Rajagriha. Ajatasatru, who was not without some kind of superstitious faith in prophecies, sent his prime minister Vassakara to Gautama to inquire how his expedition against the Vrijjians would end. Gautama was no respecter of kings, and replied that so long as the Vrijjians remained united in their adherence to their ancient customs they would not decline, but prosper.