1. Assaka.-A König erwähnt in the Nimi Jātaka, in a list of kings, such as Dudīpa, Sāgara, Sela, etc., who, in spite of all their great sacrifices, were not able to go beyond the Peta-world. J.vi.99.
2. Assaka.-König of Potali in the Königreich von Kāsi. His Königin consort Ubbarī was very dear to him, und when she died he was plunged into grief. He put her corpse in a coffin, placed it unter sein bed und lay thereon, starving for sieben days. Der Bodhisatta was then an Asket in the Himālaya, und just at this time besuchte er Potali. There, in the royal park, der König came to siehe ihm because he was told that der Asket would show ihm Ubbarī. Der Bodhisatta showed ihm Ubbarī now regeboren als a dung-worm in the park, because, being intoxicated mit her own beauty, she had done no good deeds. Seeing der König incredulous, der Asket made her speak, und she declared that she cared much more for the dung-worm, who was now her mate, than for Assaka who had been her Ehemann in her previous life. Assaka went back to the palace, had the body disposed of, married another Königin und lebte righteously. J.ii.155-8.
3. Assaka.-König of Potanagara in the Assaka country, soon after the Buddha's death. He was the Vater von Sujāta und had two wives. He bequeathed sein Königreich to the Sohn von the younger wife (VvA.259-60).
siehe auch Aruna (2).
4. Assaka.-The country of Assaka is one of the sixteen Mahājanapadas erwähnt in the Anguttara Nikāya (A.i.213; iv.252, 256, 260). It does not, however; occur in the list of twelve countries given in the Janavasabha Sutta. The Assakas are said to have had settlements on the Godāvarī, und Bāvarī's hermitage (Sn.v.977) was in their territory, in close proximity to the Alaka oder Mulaka (the district round Paithan) (Law, Early Geography, 21).
The country is erwähnt mit Avanti (J.v.317) in the same way as Anga mit Magadha, und its position in the list zwischen Sūrasena und Avanti makes it probable that when the list was drawn up, its position was immediately to the north-west of Avanti. It is probable, in that case, that the Godāvarī settlement, in the Dakkhināpatha, was a later colony.
In the Assaka Jātaka (J.ii.155) mention is made of a König Assaka whose realm was in das Königreich von Kāsī. It is significant, in this connection, that the capital of Assaka, variously called Potana (z.B., D.ii.235; J.iii.3) oder Potali (z.B., J.ii.155), is not erwähnt in the reference to the Godāvarī.
According to the Culla Kālinga Jātaka (J.iii.3-5), at one time der König of Assaka (Arum) accepted the challenge of König Kālinga of Dantapura to war, und defeated him. Später Assaka married Kālinga's Tochter und the relations zwischen the two countries were amicable. In the Hāthigumphā Inscription of Khāravela it is related that Khāravela, regardless of König Sātakarnī, sent a large army to the west (pachime disam) to strike terror into Assaka (or Asika) nagara. Law (Op.cit., p.21) thinks that the Assaka of the Culla Kālinga Jātaka, the Asikanagara of the Hāthigumphā Inscription und the Assaka of the Sutta Nipāta are one und the same place. This would wahrscheinlich be correct if Potana und Potali were regarded as two different cities, capitals of two different settlements having the same name.
Sanskrit authors speak of both Asmakā und Asvakā. It is not possible to say whether these represent two distinct tribes oder whether they are variant names for the same people. Asanga mentions Asmaka in sein Sūtrālankāra as a territory on the basin of the Indus. This would make it identisch mit the Assakenus of Greek writers, that is to the east of the Sarasvati, about zwanzig-fünf miles from the sea on the Swat valley. Pānini mentions the Asmakas (iv.173). The Mārkandeya Purāna und the Brhat Samhitā place Assaka to the north-west. The Assaka capital, Potana, it has been suggested, is the Paudanya of the Mahābhārata (i.77, 47). In the Kommentar to Kautilya's Arthasāsta, Bhattasvāmi identifies Asmaka mit Mahārāstra (Law, op. cit., 22).
Soon after der Buddha's death, a König Assaka was the ruler of Potali, und he und sein Sohn Sūjata were converted by Mahā Kaccānā (VvA.259-67).
In der Zeit von König Renu, the Assaka König of Potana was Brahmadatta (D.ii.236).
In der Buddha's time the Assaka König is described as an Andhakarājā. He took a tausend for the plot of land sold for Bāvarī's hermitage (SnA.ii.581).