Magadha–Vajji war

There were nevertheless occasional tensions between Licchavi and Magadha, such as the competition at the Mallaka capital of Kushinagar over acquiring the relics of the Buddha after his death.

After the failure of this rebellion, Vehalla sought refuge at his grandfather's place in the Licchavika and Vajjika capital of Vaishali, following which Ajatshatru repeatedly attempted to negotiate with the Licchavikas-Vajjikas.

After Ajatshatru's repeated negotiation attempts ended in failure, he declared war on the Vajjika League in 484 BCE.

Ajātasattu's hostility towards the Vajjika League was also the result of the differing forms of political organisation between Magadha and the Vajjika League, with the former being monarchical and the latter being republican, not unlike the opposition of the Ancient Greek kingdom of Sparta to the democratic form of government in Athens, and the hostilities between the ancient Macedonian king Philip II to the Athenian and Theban republics.

The military forces of the Vajjika League were initially too strong for Ajātasattu to be successful against them, and it required him having recourse to diplomacy and intrigues over the span of a decade to finally defeat the Vajjika League by 468 BCE and annex its territories, including Licchavi, Videha, and Nāya to the Kingdom of Magadha, while the Mallakas maintained their independence but lost their political importance.