Magadha Empire

Magadha empire was an ancient kingdom, it was 1 of the 16 mahajanapadas. The geographical location of Magadha empire is supposed to be around present-day Bihar. Even the capital of Magadha empire was Patriputra (present day Patna). Mahabharat has mentioned Magadha empire and about its king jarasandh.

Contents

• Historical background of Magadha Empire
• Rulers of Magadha Empire
• Factors that led to Magadha Empire’s political success
• conclusion

Historical background of Magadha Empire:

• Magadha was an ancient kingdom located on the Indo-Gangetic plains in eastern India and spread over what is today the modern state of Bihar.
• Magadha was one of the 16 great kingdoms in ancient India.
• The first capital of the Magadha Empire was Rajagriha/Girivraj and then Patliputra.
• The Magadha Empire has been mentioned in the religious texts of Buddhism and Jainism as well as in Puranas, Ramayana and Mahabharata.

• Some scholars have identified the Kikaṭa tribe mentioned in the Rigveda with their ruler Pramaganda as the forefathers of Magadhas because Kikata is used as synonym for Magadha in the later texts.
• One of the earliest references to Magadha is in the epic Mahabharata, where we see the entire Yadava clan abandoning their homeland on the Gangetic plains to migrate south-westwards towards the desert-ocean land to avoid constant battles with their eastern neighbor, Magadha.

• In the Mahabharata, Magadha is the mightiest kingdom in the country, stronger than the Kurus (of whom the epic is all about).
• Magadha controlled the entire eastern part of the country through alliances with smaller vassal states.

• It was constantly at war with its western neighbours, the Yadavas of Mathura, who ultimately migrated far west to the sea coast near the Rann of Kutchh (modern Gujarat) because they could no longer afford the resources needed to protect their kingdom from the regular onslaughts of the Magadha king, Jarasandha.
• The capital of Magadha was Girivraj (Rajgir in Bihar). This city was surrounded by rings of mountains and was, therefore, difficult to lay siege to.

• Jarasandh was defeated in a wrestling match by the Pandava Bheem and ripped apart into two.
  • Jarasandh’s son was placed on the throne but was later to die fighting for the Pandavas in the Kurukshetra war.
• After the war of Kurukshetra, power of Magadh diminished and conquered by neighbour state Avanti.
• Many great empires have originated from the kingdom of Magadh and have seen advancement in various fields of ancient India, such as religion, astronomy, science, mathematics and philosophy.

Rulers of Magadha Empire:

• This dynasty was prevalent around 400 to 600 BC.
• Its capital was Rajagriha and then it shifted to Patliputra.

About Bimbisara:

• Magadha’s gradual rise to political supremacy began with Bimbisara.
• In Mahavamsa, it is statedthat he was appointed king by his father at the age of 15 which suggests that he was not the founder of his dynasty.
• According to Ashvaghosha’s Buddhacharita, Bimbisara belonged to the Haryanka kula (family).
  • This dynasty was called as Haryanka dynasty.
• Bimbisara expanded the kingdom’ boundaries via conquests and matrimonial alliances.
• Buddhism and Jainism grew during the rule of Bimbisara.
• Some of the major religions practiced in India developed during this period.
• The Mahavagga suggests that Bimbisara had a very large kingdom consisting of thousands of prosperous villages.
• A Buddhist text Mahavagga, mentioned 500 wives of Bimbisara.
• He made a number of matrimonial alliances that helped strengthen Magadha’s position.
  • He married Mahakosala, sister of King Prasenajit of Kosala.
  • This marriage brought him a village in Kashi as dowry.
  • He also married a Videhan princess and Khema, daughter of the Madra ruler of central Punjab.
• The country was ruled by the king with help from three classes of officials: the executive, the judiciary, and the military.
• It was during Bimbisara’s rule that Gautama Siddhartha, the heir-prince of a country north of Magadha, came there wandering, seeking the eternal truth, and attained enlightenment at Bodh Gaya to become the Buddha.
• Jaina texts claim Bimbisara was a follower of Mahavira.
• According to the Uttara-dhyayana Sutra, he visited Mahavira along with a retinue of wives, relatives, and servants and became a devoted follower.
• Buddhist texts, on the other hand, claim that he was a follower of the Buddha.
• According to the Sutta Nipata, Bimbisara first met Gautama about 7 years before Buddha’s enlightenment.
• He was friends with another neighbour, Avanti, to whose king he sent his own physician when the Avanti king was ill.

About Ajatashatru:

• Bimbisara was succeeded by his son Ajatashatru, who shifted the capital of Magadha from Girivraj to Pataliputra (modern Patna, Bihar).
• Ever since, Pataliputra has remained the capital of that province, down to this day.
• Ajatashatru also expanded his father’s territories considerably by annexing Kosala, the Lichchhavi Republic, Kashi, and Avanti.
• Some of these kingdoms were related to him by blood but Ajatashatru is generally depicted as a cruel person not given to family niceties (he had deposed and imprisoned his father to ascend the throne).
• Jaina texts state that Ajatashatru used two unique military innovative weapons in the war –
• One was a catapult capable of hurling huge pieces of stone to a great distance (mahashilakantaka)
• another self-propelling chariot with rotating spears and blades attached to its wheels (rathamushal) which used to create havoc in enemy ranks.
• Ajatashatru was against the Buddha, to begin with but became a friend later.
  • When the Buddha died and his remains were distributed among his disciples, a major share fell to Ajatashatru who was the most powerful king of that period.
  • He enshrined the relics inside a stupa at Girivraj.
  • Later, he hosted the first-ever council of Buddhist monks, when about 500 of them congregated at the Magadha capital for the Great Council.
• The steady expansion of Magadha continued under Ajatashatru. The conflict with Kosala was an important part of this process of steady expansion of Magadha.
• Prasenajit, king of Kosala, was furious at Ajatashatru’s patricide (killing of his father).
• His anger was compounded by the fact that Mahakoshala, (Bimbisara’s wife and Prasenajit’s sister) died of grief after her husband’s death. Prasenajit rescinded the gift of Kashi village that had been part of his sister’s dowry. This was followed by a war between Kosala and Magadha.
• In the war, Prasenajit was defeated and had to flee to his capital.
• A major success for Ajatashatru was his victory over the Lichchhavis.
• According to Buddhist tradition, the conflict was instigated by the Lichchhavis, who broke their promise to share equally with Ajatashatru the contents of a jewel mine that was discovered at the foot of a hill at a port on the Ganga.

About Shishunaga:

• There are contradictory accounts regarding Ajatashatru’s successors, but roughly 50 years after his passing, the citizens of Magadha ousted the hereditary king and installed a minister by the name of Shishunaga.   
• His son succeeded Shishunaga as king, and it was under his rule that the Second Buddhist Council was held in Magadha.
• Shishunaga seems to have had a second capital at Vaishali (according to the Mahavamsatika, he was the son of a Lichchhavi raja of Vaishali).
• He succeeded in destroying the power of the Pradyota dynasty of Avanti. The kingdoms of Vatsa and Kosala may also have been annexed by him.
• Buddhist tradition describes the four kings who succeeded Ajatashatru as patricides who ruled for a total of 56 years.
• Buddhist texts refer to the immediate successor as Udayibhadda, and Jaina texts as Udayabhadra or Udayin.
• According to the Puranas, Udayin was succeeded by Nandivardhana and Mahanandin.
  • Buddhist tradition, on the other hand, lists Anuruddha, Munda, and Nagadarshaka as Udayibhadda’s successors.
• The Haryanka dynasty lasted till 424 BC.
• The Shaishunaga dynasty came to a bloody end.
  • The king and his sons were murdered, making way for the Nanda dynasty.

The Nanda dynasty:

• Mahapadma Nanda succeeded the Shishunaga Dynasty’s final ruler, who had been assassinated in a palace plot.
  • The Puranas call the founder of the Nanda dynasty Mahapadma, while Buddhist tradition calls him Ugrasena.
• The Jaina Parishishtaparvan states that the first Nanda king was the son of a barber by a ganika (courtesan).
• The Puranas refer to Mahapadma as being the offspring of a Shaishunaga dynasty ruler and a Shudra woman, expressing their displeasure of the Nanda kings by labeling them adharmika (those who do not adhere to dharmic principles).
• The Nandas are described in Buddhist writings as being “of unknown lineage” (annatakula). According to the Mahavamsatika, Ugrasena was a frontiersman who was captured by a band of thieves, rose to the position of leader, and helped the group achieve numerous military victories.
• The Puranas refer to Mahapadma as one who attained sole sovereignty (ekarat) and as an uprooter of the Kshatriyas (sarva-kshatrantaka).
• A possible indication of Nanda military victories in Kalinga is suggested by the later Hathigumpha inscription of Kharavela, which mentions a king named Nanda building a canal and either conquering a place or taking away a Jaina shrine or image from Kalinga.
• The existence of a place called Nau Nand Dehra (Nanded) on the Godavari is taken by some scholars as reflecting Nanda rule over the Deccan. The evidence for the extension of Nanda rule into trans-Vindhyan India is not strong.
• When Alexander invaded Magadha, Dhana Nanda was in power.
• He is referred to as Augrasenya, son of Ugrasena, in the Greek chronicles as Agrammes or Xandrames.
• The Prasii (Prachya, or the eastern people) and the Gangaridae (those from the lower Ganga valley) were under his powerful dominion.
• According to Curtius, his army included 3,000 elephants, 2,000 chariots, 20,000 cavalry, and 200,000 infantries. According to some Greek tales, there were 4,000 or 6,000 elephants.

factors that led to Magadha Empire’s political success:

• The first major kingdom of north India was constructed by the Nanda monarchs on the foundations laid by their Haryanka and Shaishunaga forebears.
• Much has been written about the elements that contributed to Magadha’s political success.
• The geographical location was undoubtedly advantageous.
• The new city Pataliputra was safeguarded by its location at the confluence of the Ganga and Son rivers.
• The ancient capital Rajagriha was surrounded by a perimeter of five easily fortified hills.
• Additionally, this kingdom was connected to significant trade routes by the Ganga and its tributaries, the Son on the south and the Gandak and Gogra on the north.
• While some historians have cited Magadha’s relative emancipation from Brahmanical orthodoxy as a strength, it is challenging to determine the political implications of such a situation.
• Kosambi suggested that a monopoly over iron ore mines was a major factor responsible for Magadha’s imperialist expansion.
• In terms of resources, the kingdom did have advantages of fertile soil and access to timber and elephants in the adjoining forests.
• The nearby Chotanagpur plateau was rich in many kinds of minerals and raw materials, and access to these must also have been an important asset.
• Rich rulers who devised strategic matrimonial alliances with the rulers of Magadha and favouring them with land led to a good cause in extension of the Magadha empire.
• Strong military force was the strength of Magadha empire so much that the army of Alexander moved back from the west front only when they heard of Magadha empire in the Eastern front.

Conclusion:

Despite being extremely wealthy with huge military, the kings were hugely unpopular on account of his cruelty and the high rates of taxation he imposed on the populace. After Alexander left for Greece, the departure created a power vacuum in western India. Chandragupta Maurya stepped into this vacuum, subjugated these kingdoms, and then entered Pataliputra and killed the Nanda king. The vast Magadha empire was acquired by even more powerful Mauryan Empire.

Ref: Source-1

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