Chetaka (Sanskrit: ) or Chedaga (Sanskrit: ) was the consul (gana mukhya) of the Licchavi republic during the 5th century BCE.
Ceá¹Âaka was the son of Keka and Yaà Âomatë, he belonged to the Haihaya clan and he had a sister named Trishala.
Ceá¸Âaga was one of the nine elected s ("rulers") of the Council of the Licchavi tribe, which was the supreme authority of the Licchavikas' (aristocratic republic) administration, of which he was the head. As the leader of the Licchavika Council, Ceá¸Âaga was also the ("chief of the republic"), that is, the elected consul of the republic, which also made him the head of the Vajjika League led by the Licchavikas.
Ceá¹Âaka contracted several diplomatic marriages between members of his family and the leaders of other republics and kingdoms. One such marriage was the one between his sister, TrisalÃÂ, and the NÃÂyika SiddhÃÂrtha, which was contracted because of SiddhÃÂrtha's political importance due to its important geographical location close to VesÃÂlë of the NÃÂya tribe he headed, as well as due to SiddhÃÂrtha's membership in the Vajjika Council. SiddhÃÂrtha and Trisalàhad a son, MahÃÂvëra, who became the 24th Jain Tërthaá¹ kara.
Other marital alliances concluded by Ceá¹Âaka included the marriages of his daughters:
Ceá¹Âaka became an adept of the teachings of his nephew MahÃÂvëra and adopted Jainism, thus making the Licchavika and Vajjika's capital of VesÃÂlë a centre of Jainism. Ceá¹Âaka's sixth daughter, Sujyeá¹£á¹ÂhÃÂ, became a Jain nun. The marriages of Ceá¹Âaka's daughters to various leaders, in turn, contributed to the spreading of Jainism across northern South Asia.
Ceá¹Âaka's favourable attitude towards Jainism was why Buddhist sources did not pay notice to him, since he used his power to support the 'Jainism' in his country.
Relations between the Licchavikas and their southern neighbour, theKingdom of Magadha, were initially good, with the wife of the MÃÂgadhë king BimbisÃÂra being the VesÃÂlia princess VÃÂsavë, who was the daughter of the Licchavika Sakala's son Siá¹Âha. There were nevertheless occasional tensions between Licchavi and Magadha, such as competition with the Mallaka capital of KusinÃÂràover acquiring the relics of the Buddha after his death.
In another occasion, the Licchavikas invaded MÃÂgadhë territory from across the Gaá¹ gÃÂ. Later, relations between Magadha and Licchavi permanently deteriorated as result of a grave offence committed by the Licchavikas towards the MÃÂgadhë king BimbisÃÂra.
The hostilities between Licchavi and Magadha continued under the rule of AjÃÂtasattu, who was BimbisÃÂra's son with another Licchavika princess, VÃÂsavë, after he had killed BimbisÃÂra and usurped the throne of Magadha. Eventually Licchavi supported a revolt against AjÃÂtasattu by his younger step-brother and the governor of Aá¹ ga, Vehalla, who was the son of BimbisÃÂra by another Licchavika wife of his, Cellaá¹ÂÃÂ, the daughter of Ceá¸Âaga. BimbisÃÂra had chosen Vehalla as his successor following AjÃÂtasattu's falling out of favour after the latter had been caught conspiring against him. The Licchavikas had then attempted to place Vehalla on the throne of Magadha after AjÃÂtasattu's usurpation and had allowed Vehalla to use their capital VesÃÂlë as a base for his revolt. After the failure of this rebellion, Vehalla sought refuge at his grandfather's place in the Licchavika and Vajjika capital of VesÃÂlë, following which AjÃÂtasattu repeatedly attempted to negotiate with the Licchavikas-Vajjikas. After AjÃÂtasattu's repeated negotiation attempts ended in failure, he declared war on the Vajjika League in 484 BCE.
As members of the Vajjika League, the Vaidehas, NÃÂyikas, and Mallakas were also threatened by AjÃÂtasattu, and, as the Vajjika , Ceá¸Âaga held war consultations with the s of the Licchavikas and Mallikas before the fighting started. The Vaidehas, NÃÂyikas, and Mallakas therefore fought on the side of the League against Magadha. The military forces of the Vajjika League were initially too strong for AjÃÂtasattu to be successful against them, and it required him to have recourse to diplomacy and intrigues over a number of years to finally defeat the Vajjika League by 468 BCE and annex its territories, including Licchavi, Videha, and NÃÂya to the Kingdom of Magadha. Meanwhile, the Mallakas also became part of AjÃÂtasattu's MÃÂgadhë Empire but were allowed a limited degree of autonomy in terms of their internal administration.
After the Licchavikas' defeat, Ceá¸Âaga committed suicide by jumping into a well with an iron statue tied to his neck. His tribe nevertheless survived their defeat by AjÃÂtasattu, and the structures of the older Licchavi republic continued with a degree of local autonomy under MÃÂgadhë rule, as attested by how the Licchavika Council instituted a festival in the memory of the death of the Jain Tërthaá¹ kara, MahÃÂvëra.