Magadha Empire

The first mention of the early history of Magadha state is found in the Mahabharata. It mentions Jarasandha, the ruler of Magadha, who was defeated by Bhima in a duel. In this, the kingdom of Videha in the north of the Ganga and the kingdom of Magadha in the south have been mentioned. Magadha has been the focal point of religious and social awakening along with political upheaval since ancient times. Magadha was one of the powerful monorchies in the time of Buddha, which was located in today’s southern Bihar. In course of time, it became the most powerful Mahajanapada of North India. It also became a global center of glorious history, politics and religion. Magadha Mahajanapada’s boundary extended from the Ganga in the north to the Vindhya Mountains in the south and from Champa in the east to the Son river in the west. The ancient capital of Magadha was Rajagriho, a city surrounded by five hills, Later on, the capital of Magadha was established at Potoliputra. Magadha merged the then powerful kingdoms of Koshal, Vatsa and Avanti into itself. In this way, at one time Magadha expanded in the form of Akhand Bharatvarsha and the history of ancient Magadha itself became the history of India. Many dynasties have played an important role in the flourishing of the Magadha Empire.

Brihadratha Dynasty      

• According to the Mahabharata and the Puranas, Brihadratha, the father of Jarasandha and the son of King Vasu of Chedi, founded this dynasty. It was the oldest and Mahabharata period dynasty.
• There were ten kings in this dynasty, in which Jarasandha, the son of Brihadratha, was the most glorious king.
• According to the Harivansapurana, Jarasandha defeated the kings of Kashi, Kosala, Chedi, Malwa, Videha, Anga, Banga, Kalinga, Kashmir, Pandya and Gandhara because he had a huge and powerful army.
• Jarasandha made Rajagriha (Kusagrapur/Girivraj/Barhadrathpur/ Vashumatipur) the capital of this dynasty, which was a natural fort surrounded by five hills.
• Jarasandha built a 45 km long cyclopean wall (fortification) in the ancient Rajagriha for the outer protection of the city, which had 32 major and 64 minor entrances. The boulders of the wall were made by connecting them with a solution of surkhi, lime, rawa..
• The skilled craftsman who planned the construction of the city was Mahagovind.
• Jarasandha married his daughter (Aasti and Prapti) to Kansa, the king of Mathura and Krishna’s maternal uncle. Jarasandh considered Kansa as the ultimate friend and Krishna as the ultimate enemy.
• It is said that Jarasandha attacked Mathura 17 times but was defeated every time. With the help of Lord Shri Krishna, Pandava son Bhima killed Jarasandha in the Malla war and made his son Sahadeva the ruler of Magadha.
• Ripunjaya was the last king of the Brihadratha dynasty. His court minister Pulak killed Ripunjaya and made his son the king.
• Another courtier Mahiya killed Pulaka and his son and put his son Bimbisara on the throne, laying the foundation of Haryanka dynasty,

Haryanka Dynasty (545 BC to 412 BC)

Bimbisara was the real founder of the Haryanka dynasty. Bimbisara was known by the nickname of Sheniya or Shrenik. Estimatedly, his coronation took place in 545 BCE. Bimbisara made Girivraj (Rajgir) his capital. Two powerful rulers of the Haryanka dynasty, Bimbisara and Ajatashatru were contemporaries of Mahatma Buddha. In his time King Prasenjit of Koshal and Chandrapradyota of Avanti were the prominent rulers. Ajatashatru killed his father Bimbisara and his son Udayana killed Ajatashatru. That’s why this dynasty is also called patricide dynasty. The description of the rulers of this dynasty is as follows-

Bimbisara (544 BCE to 492 BCE)

• Bimbisara was a diplomat and visionary ruler of the Magadha Empire. He expanded and strengthened the kingdom by establishing matrimonial ties with prominent dynasties.
• Bimbisara made Girivraj (Rajagriha/Rajgir) the capital of the Magadha Empire, which was like a fort surrounded by five hills (Ratnagiri, Udayagiri, Sonagiri, Vipulgiri and Vaibhargiri). Before this, Jarasandha had made it the capital.
• First of all, he established a major matrimonial relationship with Kosala Devi, the sister of Kosala king Prasenjit. From this marriage he got the province of Kashi with an annual income of one lakh as dowry. Then the second marriage was done with Chellana, the daughter of Chetak, the ruler of Lichchivi Republic. The third marriage was done with Princess Kshema of Madra Desh (now Punjab).
• He fought an inconclusive battle with Chandra Pradyota Mahasen, the powerful king of Avanti (Ujjain). Later both of them became friends.
• Once when Chandrapradyota fell ill, Bimbisara sent his royal physician Jivaka to Ujjain for his treatment. He conquered the kingdom of Anga and annexed it to his empire and appointed his son Ajatashatru as its sub-king.
• Bimbisara was a follower and patron of Mahatma Buddha According to Vinayapitaka, after meeting Buddha, he embraced Buddhism, but also maintained tolerance towards Jainism and Brahminism.
• According to Buddhist and lain texts, his son Ajatashatru imprisoned him where he died in 493 BCE even though he had already declared Ajatashatru as his successor.
• Bimbisara was the first ruler in Indian history who kept a standing army.
• He is also called Saniya because of having a permanent army.
• According to the Mahavama, Bimbisara ascended the throne at the age of 15.
• Bimbisara appointed Rajvaidya Jivaka in the service of Lord Buddha. He also allowed free sailing for Buddhist monks.

Ajatashatru (492 BCE to 460 BCE)

• After Bimbisara, Ajatashatru sat on the throne of Magadha. His childhood name was Kunilk, Ajatashatru took the policy of expansion of his empire to its climax.
• Ajatashatru defeated Prasenjit in the first war between Kosala and Magadha, but after the second war, Prasenjit married his daughter Vajira to Ajatashatu.
• According to the Jain text Bhagavatisutra, Ajatashatru, with the help of his diplomatic minister Vassakara/Varshakara, weakened the power of the Vajji confederacy by dividing its members and annexed it to the Magadha kingdom. In the course of the campaign against the Vajji union, he used two new weapons Mahashilakantaka and
• Vajji, situated in the neighborhood of Magadha, was a confederation of eight clans, among which Videha, Gyatrik, Licchavi, Katrika and Vaji were important.
• Ajatashatru attacked the Malla Sangha and captured it. In this way, Magadha Empire got its authority over a large area of eastern Uttar Pradesh.
• Ajatashatru nfortified his capital Girivraj (Rajgir) for protection from his arch-rival, the kingdom of Avanti, which was threatening invasion. The remains of this fortification of Rajgir by Ajatshatru can be seen even today.
• He was a religious and liberal emperor. According to various texts, Ajatashatru is considered a follower of both Buddhism and Jainism.
• Ajatashatru is shown worshiping the Buddha on a pediment of the Bharhut Stupa.
• In the eighth year of his reign, Ajatashatru got a stupa built in Rajagriha over the remains of the Buddha after his
• After the death of Mahatma Buddha in 483 BC, the first Buddhist council was organized in the Saptaparni cave of Rajagriha.
• In this council, the Pitakas related to Buddhist monks were divided into Suttapitaka and Vinayapitaka.
• According to Sinhalese legends, Ajatashatru ruled for about 32 years and was murdered by his son Udayana in 460 BC.
• Both Bimbisara and Ajatashatru were contemporaries of Malhatma Buddha.
• It is worth remembering that both Mahatma Buddha (483 BC) and Lord Mahavira (468 BC) had died during the reign of Ajatashatru.

Udayan/Udayin (460 BCE to 445 BCE)

• He became the king of Magadha in 460 BCE after Ajatashatru. In Buddhist texts he is called Pitrahanta but in Jain texts he is called Pitrabhakta. His mother’s name was
• Udayan was the sub-king of Champa before becoming the ruler of Magadha.
• He established a city named Pataliputra (Kusumpur) at the confluence of Ganga and Son and shifted his capital from Rajagriha to Pataliputra.
• Udayana was murdered by a spy from Avanti, the rival kingdom of Magadha.
• According to Buddhist texts, Udayana had three sons, Aniruddha, Mandaka and Nagadasaka.
• The last king of the Haryanka dynasty was Nagadashak who loved luxuries but was weak. Due to laxity in governance, there was widespread discontent among the public, due to which Shishunag became king by revolting in the state. Thus, Haryanka dynasty ended and Shishunaga dynasty was established in 412 BCE.

Shishunaga Dynasty (412 BCE to 345 BCE)

• After Haryanka dynasty, Magadha was ruled by Shishunaga dynasty from 412 to 345 BCE.
• Shishunaga, the governor of Kashi, established this dynasty by deposing the last ruler of the Haryanka dynasty, Nagdasaka, and made Vaishali the capital of Magadha.
• This further expanded the boundaries of Magadha. His greatest achievement was the conquest of the kingdom of Avanti. At the same time, Vatsa and Kosala were also included in the Magadha Empire.
• Shishunaga’s successor was Kalashoka or Kakavarna, who again made Pataliputra the permanent capital of Magadha during his short reign.
• According to the Harshacharita composed by Banabhatt, Kalashoka was stabbed to death by Mahapadmananda while roaming in the capital Pataliputra.
• According to the Mahabodhivansha, Kalashoka had ten sons who ruled Magadha for 22 years.
• It was during the reign of Kalashoka that the second Buddhist Council was held at

Nanda Dynasty (344 BCE to 322 BCE)

• The founder of the Nanda dynasty was
• In the Puranas, Mahapadmananda has been honored with titles like Sarvkshatrantak (the destroyer of all Kshatriyas) and Ekrat. Whereas in Mahabodhivansh, he has been called Ugrasen.
• For the first time in Indian history, an empire was established by him, which covered all India except South India. He crossed the plains of the Ganges and expanded his borders till the south of Vindhya mountain. He was probably the first Chakravarti emperor of Magadha (India).
• Mahapadmananda’s major campaign was the Kalinga conquest, in which he brought back the idol of Jina from Kalinga as a victory monument.
• The Hathigumpha inscription mentions the construction of a canal by Mahapadmananda in Kalinga.
• Mahapadmananda is considered to be the first Shudra ruler in Indian history. In almost all the texts, he has been described to belong to the barber caste.
• There were a total of nine rulers in the Nanda dynasty, of which the last ruler was Ghanananda.
• Alexander’s soldiers refused to cross the banks of Beas river due to the military might of Nanda dynasty, especially elephants, due to which Alexander’s conquest of India remained incomplete.
• Nanda dynasty kings believed in Jainism, Ghananand was a followers of Shaktar and During the period of Ghanananda, the last ruler of the Nanda dynasty (325 BCE), Alexander invaded India.