Birth
Ajatasatru is also known as Kunika. The ancient inscription in Mathura Museum refers to him as Vaidehi putra Ajatasatru Kunika. The story of Ajatasatru is found in Buddhists Tripitakas and Jain Agamas. The account of Ajatasatru's birth is more or less similar in both the traditions. According to Jaina tradition, Ajatasatru was born to king Bimbisara and Queen Chelna; Buddhist tradition records Ajatasatru being born to King Bimbisara and queen Kosala Devi. It is worthwhile to note that both the queens were called "Vaidehi" in both the traditions. Thus Ajatasatru being called Vaidehi putra in the inscription does not clarify the mother's name.
According to "Nirayavalika Sutta" of Jaina Aagams, during her pregnancy Queen Chelna had the strong desire to eat fried flesh of her husband's (King Bimbisara's) heart and drink liquor. Meanwhile the very intelligent Prince Abhayakumara (son of King Bimbisara and Queen Nanda) fried a wild fruit that seemed like heart and gave it to the queen. The queen ate it and later felt ashamed for having such a demonic desire and she feared that the child might grow up and prove fatal for the family, thus after few months when the child was born, the queen had him thrown out of the palace. When the child was lying near the garbage dump, a cock bit his little finger. King Bimbisara, learning about the child being thrown out, ran outside and picked up the child and put its bleeding little finger in his mouth and sucked it till it stopped bleeding and continued this for days until it was healed. As the little finger of the child was sore, he was nicknamed Kunika i.e., Sore Finger. But later he was named Ashokachandra.
In the Buddhists text Digha Nikaya Atthakatha, the above story is almost the same, except that Queen Kosaladevi desired to drink blood from King Bimbisara's arm; the king obliged her and, later, when the child was thrown near the garbage dump, due to an infection he got a boil on his little finger and the king sucked it and once while sucking it the boil got burst inside the king's mouth, but due to the affection for his child he did not spit the pus out, rather swallowed it.
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