Enemy before Birth
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Enemy before Birth
[未生怨] ( Jpn Misho’on)
Also, Unborn Enemy. A translation of the Sanskrit name Ajatashatru, king of Magadha in ancient India during Shakyamuni's time, that appears in Chinese Buddhist texts. Ajata means unborn, and shatru means enemy. According to the
Nirvana Sutra, Prince Ajatashatru asks, "Why do the people denounce me as Enemy before Birth? Who gave me the name?" Devadatta replies, "Before you were born, all the diviners said that, when the child is born, he will kill his father. That is why the others call you Enemy before Birth." The following story is well known, though it is a composition based on several texts. Bimbisara,
king of Magadha, was impatient for the birth of an heir. A diviner predicted that a certain hermit, upon dying, would be reborn as the king's son. To hasten the birth, Bimbisara had the hermit killed. When the king's wife became pregnant, the diviner foretold that the baby would grow up to be the king's enemy. Hence he was called Ajatashatru, or "Enemy before Birth."