Magadha
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The actual extent of the Kingdom of Magadha is unknown. Shown here is the approximate extent of Magadha in 500 BCE |
Magadha (मगध) was an ancient
Indo-Aryan kingdom of
Mahajanapadas in
Ancient India, mentioned in both the
Ramayana and the
Mahabharata. It was also one of the four main kingdoms of
India at the time of
Buddha, having risen to
power during the reigns of
Bimbisara (c.
544-
491 BCE) and his son
Ajatashatru (c. 491-
460 BCE). The core of the kingdom was that portion of
Bihar lying south of the
Ganges, with its capital at
Rajagriha (modern Rajgir). Magadha expanded to include most of Bihar and much of
Bengal with the conquest of
Anga, and then expanded up the
Ganges valley annexing
Kosala and
Kashi.Magadha formed one of the sixteen so-called
Mahājanapadas (
Sanskrit, 'great country'). The Magadha empire included republican communities such as Rajakumara. Villages had their own assemblies under their local chiefs called Gramakas. Their administrations were divided into executive, judicial, and military functions. Bimbisara was friendly to both
Jainism and
Buddhism and suspended tolls at the river ferries for all ascetics after the
Buddha was once stopped at the
Ganges River for lack of money.
There is little certain information available on the early rulers of Magadha. The most important sources are the Buddhist Chronicles of
Sri Lanka, the
Puranas, and various
Buddhist and
Jain holy texts. Based on these sources, it appears that Magadha was ruled by the
Śiśunāga dynasty for some 200 years, c.
550 -
350 B.C.E. The Śiśunāga dynasty was overthrown by Ugrasena Mahāpadma Nanda, the first of the so-called nine Nandas (a.k.a. the Nanda or Nava Nanda dynasty). He was followed by his eight sons, whose names were (according to the Mahābodhivamsa) Panduka, Pandugati, Bhūtapāla, Ratthapāla, Govisānaka, Dasasiddhaka, Kevatta, and Dhana Nanda. According to the Sri Lankan Chronicles, the Nanda dynasty was in power for mere 22 years, while the
Puranas state that Mahāpadma ruled for 28 years and his eight sons for only 12.
King
Bimbisara of the Shishunaga dynasty led an active and expansive policy, conquering Anga in what is now
West Bengal.
Siddhartha Gautama himself was born a prince of Kapilavastu in
Kosala around
563 BCE. As the scene of many incidents in his life, Magadha was a holy land.
After the death of Bimbisara at the hands of his son,
Ajatashatru, the widowed princess of
Kosala also died of grief, causing King
Prasenajit to revoke the gift of
Kashi and triggering a war between
Kosala and Magadha.
Ajatashatru was trapped by an ambush and captured with his army; but in a peace treaty he, his army, and Kashi were restored to Magadha, and he married Prasenajit's daughter.
Accounts differ slightly as to the cause of Ajatashatru's war with the
Licchavi republic. It appears that Ajatashatru sent a minister, who for three years worked to undermine the unity of the Licchavis at Vaishali. To launch his attack across the Ganga River (
Ganges), Ajatashatru had to build a fort at a new capital called
Pataliputra, which the
Buddha prophesied would become a great center of commerce. Torn by disagreements the Licchavis were easily defeated once the fort was constructed.
Jain texts tell how Ajatashatru used two new weapons – a catapult and a covered chariot with swinging mace that has been compared to modern tanks.
In
326 BCE, the army of
Alexander the Great approached the boundaries of the Magadhan Empire. The army, exhausted and frightened by the prospect of facing another giant Indian army at the Ganges River, mutinied at the
Hyphasis (modern
Beas) and refused to march further East. Alexander, after the meeting with his officer,
Coenus, was convinced that it was better to return, and turned south, conquering his way down the Indus to the Ocean.
A short while later, Magadha was the seat of the powerful
Maurya dynasty, founded by
Chandragupta, which extended over most of
Southern Asia under
Asoka; and, later, of the powerful
Gupta Empire. The capital of the Mauryan Empire,
Pataliputra (modern
Patna), was begun as a Magadhan fortress and became the capital sometime after Ajatashatru's reign. Chandragupta destroyed the Nanda dynasty around
321 BCE, and became the first king of the great Mauryan Empire.
Amongst the sixteen Mahajanapadas, the kingdom of Magadha rose to prominence under a number of dynasties that peaked in power under the reign of
Asoka Maurya, one of India's most legendary and famous emperors. The kingdom of Magadha had emerged as a major power following the subjugation of two neighbouring kingdoms, and possessed an unparalleled military.
Shishunaga dynasty
According to tradition, the
Shishunaga dynasty founded the Magadha Empire in
684 BCE, whose capital was Rajagriha, later
Pataliputra, near the present day
Patna. This dynasty lasted till
424 BCE, when it was overthrown by the
Nanda dynasty. This period saw the development of two of India's major religions.
Gautama Buddha in the
6th or
5th century BCE was the founder of
Buddhism, which later spread to
East Asia and
South-East Asia, while
Mahavira founded
Jainism.
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Extent of the Nanda Empire |
Nanda dynasty
The
Nanda dynasty was established by an illegitimate son of the king
Mahanandin of the previous
Shishunaga dynasty.
Mahapadma Nanda died at the age of 88, ruling the bulk of this 100-year dynasty. The Nandas were followed by the
Maurya dynasty.
Maurya dynasty
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The Maurya Empire at its greatest extent |
In
321 BCE, exiled general
Chandragupta Maurya founded the
Maurya dynasty after overthrowing the reigning king
Dhana Nanda to establish the
Maurya Empire. During this time, most of the subcontinent was united under a single government for the first time. Capitalising on the destabilization of northern India by the Persian and Greek incursions, the Mauryan empire under Chandragupta would not only conquer most of the Indian subcontinent, but also push its boundaries into
Persia and
Central Asia, conquering the
Gandhara region. Chandragupta was succeeded by his son
Bindusara, who expanded the kingdom over most of present day India, barring the extreme south and east, which may have held tributary status.
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The Buddhist stupa at Sanchi, built during the Mauyran period |
The kingdom was inherited by his son
Ashoka The Great who initially sought to expand his kingdom. In the aftermath of the carnage caused in the invasion of
Kalinga, he renounced bloodshed and pursued a policy of
non-violence or ahimsa after converting to Buddhism. The
Edicts of Ashoka are the oldest preserved historical documents of India, and from Ashoka's time, approximate dating of dynasties becomes possible. The Mauryan dynasty under
Ashoka was responsible for the proliferation of
Buddhist ideals across the whole of
East Asia and
South-East Asia, fundamentally altering the history and development of Asia as a whole.
Ashoka the Great has been described as one of the greatest rulers the world has seen.
Shunga dynasty
The Sunga dynasty was established in 185 BCE, about fifty years after Ashoka's death, when the king
Brihadratha, the last of the Mauryan rulers, was brutally murdered by the then commander-in-chief of the Mauryan armed forces, Pusyamitra Sunga, while he was taking the Guard of Honour of his forces.
Pusyamitra Sunga then ascended the throne.
Kanva dynasty
The Kanva dynasty replaced the Shunga dynasty, and ruled in the eastern part of India from 71 BCE to 26 BCE. The last ruler of the Sunga dynasty was overthrown by Vasudeva of the Kanva dynasty in 75 BC. The Kanva ruler allowed the kings of the Sunga dynasty to continue to rule in obscurity in a corner of their former dominions. Magadha was ruled by four Kanva rulers. In 30 BC, the southern power swept away both the Kanvas and Sungas and the province of Eastern Malwa was absorbed within the dominions of the conqueror. Following the collapse of the Kanva dynasty, the
Satavahana dynasty of the
Andhra kindgom replaced the Magandhan kingdom as the most powerful Indian state.
A list of kings according to the Sri Lankan Chronicles follows:#
Bimbisāra (ruled for 52 years)#
Ajātaśatru (32 years; The
Buddha is thought to have died in the 8th year of Ajātaśatru's reign.)# Udāyin or Udāyibhadra (16 years)# Anuruddha (c. 4 years)# Munda (c. 4 years)# Nāgadāsaka (24 years)# Śiśunāga (18 years)# Kālāśoka (28 years)# Ten sons of Kālāśoka, Nandivardhana being the most prominent (22 years). The names for the other eight are given in the Mahābodhivamsa as follows: Bhaddasena, Korandavanna, Mangura, Sabbañjaha, Jālika, Ubhaka, Sañjaya, Korabya, and Pañcamaka.
The
Puranas give a rather different list with long reigns, making the
Śiśunāga dynasty 321 years long:# Śiśunāga (ruled for 40 years)# Kākavarna (26 years)# Ksemadharman (36 years)# Ksemajit or Ksatraujas (24 years)# Bimbisāra (28 years)# Ajātaśatru (27 years)# Darśaka (24 years)# Udāyin (33 years)# Nandivardhana (40 years)# Mahānandin (43 years)
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Śiśunāga dynasty*
Nanda dynasty
