Magadha

This article or section should be merged with Magadha empire.

Magadha was an ancient kingdom of India, mentioned in both the Ramayana and the Mahabharata.

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 parts of Bengal with the conquest of Anga, and then expanded up the Ganges valley annexing Kosala and Kashi.

As the scene of many incidents in the life of Gautama Buddha, it was a holy land. It was also the seat of the Mauryan Empire, founded by Chandragupta, which extended over all India under Asoka; and, later, of the powerful Gupta Empire. The capital of the Mauryan Empire, Pataliputra (modern Patna), was begun as a Magadhan fortress.

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 Sisunaga dynasty for some 200 years, c. 550 – 350 B.C.E.

A list of kings according to the Sri Lankan Chronicles follows:

1. Bimbisara (ruled for 52 years)
2. Ajatashatru (32 years; The Buddha is thought to have died in the 8th year of Ajatashatru's reign.)
3. Udayin or Udayibhadra (16 years)
4. Anuruddha (c. 4 years)
5. Munda (c. 4 years)
6. Nagadasaka (24 years)
7. Sisunaga (18 years)
8. Kalasoka (28 years)
9. Ten sons of Kalasoka, Nandivardhana being the most prominent (22 years)

The Puranas give a rather different list with long reigns, making the Sisunaga dynasty 321 years long:

1. Sisunaga (ruled for 40 years)
2. Kakavarna (26 years)
3. Ksemadharman (36 years)
4. Ksemajit or Ksatraujas (24 years)
5. Bimbisara (28 years)
6. Ajatasatru (27 years)
7. Darsaka (24 years)
8. Udayin (33 years)
9. Nandivardhana (40 years)
10. Mahanandin (43 years)

The Sisunaga dynasty was overthrown by Mahapadma, the first of the so-called nine Nandas (a.k.a. the Nanda or Navananda dynasty). He was followed by his eight sons. According to the Sri Lankan Chronicles, the Nanda dynasty was in power for mere 22 years, while the Puranas state that Mahapadma ruled for 28 years and his eight sons for only 12.

In 326 BCE, the army of Alexander the Great approached the boundaries of Magadha. The army, exhausted and frightened by the prospect of facing another giant Indian army at the Ganges River, army 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.

The Nanda dynasty was eventually destroyed by Candragupta Maurya c. 321 BCE, the first king of the great Mauryan Empire.

This article incorporates text from the public domain 1911 Encyclopædia Britannica.