Ajatashatru

(2) In the Brhadaranyaka Upanishad, a
great sage who was also the king of
Benares. Ajatashatru is notable for
instructing Gargya, a brahmin priest, on
the nature of Brahman, even though this
was inappropriate by contemporary
standards since Ajatashatru was a kshatriya warrior king and thus should have
been receiving instruction from Gargya.
The Upanishads have several episodes in
which, contrary to the norm, kshatriyas
instruct brahmins. Such episodes reveal
the nature of wisdom as conceived in the
Upanishads—it is achieved by individual
striving and realization and not conferred by birth or social position.
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Ajatashatru