The Mighty Magadha! Part I

We have seen the 16 Mahajanapadas in The Mahajanapadas. Among the 16, Magadha was a vast empire and evidently one of the oldest kingdoms of the Mahajanapadas. We shall discuss the dynasties that ruled the Magadha kingdom overtime from 600 B.C to 600 A.D. 

As a basic step, lets understand the difference between the words- Empire and Dynasty.

Empire or Kingdom : It simply means a nation. A chunk of land. The rulers of the Empire can make conquests and increase the boundaries of the Empire. For instance, British Empire was extended when they conquered India. 

Dynasty: It means a lineage of Kings; A hereditary rule. For example, Magada Empire was ruled by Haryanka dynasty then the Empire was conquered and taken over by Shishunga dynasty and so on. So dynasty is about the rulers. Empire is about the land and its extent. 

Also when I talk of India, I always mean it as the ancient India which includes, Pakistan, Bangladesh and  Nepal.

It is important to know that before the first evidently known dynasty of the Magadha there was an ancient dynasty by the name: Barhadratha dynasty. As per famous Smrithi text- Vishnu Purana, the Barhadratha dynasty has been ruled by 20 kings almost all of them being involved and apparently killed in the legendary epic, Mahabharata. However, we shall go by the traditional way and consider Haryanka Dynasty as the first dynasty of Magadha Kingdom.


Here forward, it is important to see the big picture of India when we talk about different dynasties. Big picture is important because, from now, there will be two major uprisings happening in and around India:

1. On the north-east region which mostly will be the uprising of a new dynasty in the Magada empire.  
2. On the north-west which can be the uprisings of a Foreign dynasty(like that of Kushan Dynasty) or an Indian Dynasty(Like that of Maurya Dynasty).

Haryanka Dynasty (542-413 B.C)

Bimbisara welcoming Buddha

King Bimbisara (Died. 493 B.C)

• As per the sources, the dynasty was founded by King Bimbisara(or inherited from his father, Bhattiya) in 542 B.C. During his time, Kingship was the supreme authority and all the lands and natural resources of the Empire came under Royal Ownership(King). 

• Bimbisara was a contemporary of both Gautam Buddha(Founder of Buddhism) and Vardhaman Mahavir(Founder of Jainism).

• Bimbisara started expanding the Kingdom of Magadha. His initial and only achievement of such expansion was accession of the Anga Kingdom.

• Bimbisara has achieved most other Kingdoms like Kosala and Lichhavi(Vajji) through marriage alliances instead of annexation. He is famous for his tactics of expanding the kingdom with marriage alliances.

• His first wife, sister of King of Kosala brought him good relations with Kosala besides getting Kashi, the then small village, as dowry in the marriage. His second wife was the princess of Lichhavi. His son Ajatasatru was given the post Prince of Champa(Anga) during his reign.

• He built Rajagriha as the capital city of Magadha. He was captured, arrested by his son Ajatasatru for the latter to become the King of Magadha. Bimbisara died in the prison around 491 B.C. He had adopted Jainism before death.

Ajatasatru's rule

King Ajatasatru

• (Meaning: one who is an enemy of his own clan from even before his birth) took over the throne in 493 B.C and ruled till 461 B.C. It is said that, he imprisoned his father as he foresaw the bad impacts of his father's rule on the Kingdom. Once he took the throne, he started expanding the Kingdom by warfare. He was much more militaristic than his father.

• He strengthened the Capital Rajagriha which was naturally strong being surrounded by five hills. He then built several forts, roads and buildings at Pataliputra and gradually changed his capital city to Pataliputra(modern day Patna).

• He was said to be ruthless and fierce. He waged wars and won over the famous undefeated Vaishali Republic(Vajji) and then extended his war to Kashi and Kohala defeating all of them. Further, he has conquered 36 small republics around his Kingdom. He played a crucial role in extending the boundaries of the Magadha Empire. Kings after him were not of that valor and just were able to carry on the dynasty and a normal pace.

• He was succeeded by his son, Udayabhadra. Udayabhadra gets assassinated by Anuruddha. Anuruddha passes the throne to his son, Munda then to his son Nagadasaka and then passed on to Shishunga in 413 B.C. After the death of Ajatasatru, there was no powerful King until the Nandas took the throne. Between Ajatasatru and Mahapadmaa Nanda, the Magadha rule and conquests were low on magnitude. This is due to the rule of weak Kings like Shishungas. 

• Under the patronage of King Ajatasatru, the first buddhist council was held at Rajagriha. As many as 500-1000 buddhist monks participated. This council was held during the first rainy season after the death of Buddha. It was held under the directions of Budhha's disciple: Ananda.

'Buddhist councils: After the death of Gautama Buddha (483 B.C), monks and scholars concerned with practicing the lessons he taught met several times at formal councils at which the canon of Buddhist thought was established, the rules of monastic life were agreed, and matters of dogma and ideology were debated and confirmed. The exact number, location, and importance of the councils have been contested, but it is commonly considered that there were three early councils that were of particular importance.'

Shishunaga Dynasty (413-345 B.C)

• Shishunaga, the founder of this dynasty was initially an amatya (minister) of the last Haryanka dynasty ruler Nagadasaka and ascended to the thone after a popular rebellion in 413 B.C. 

• Two most significant events of his reign are the Second Buddhist council at Vaishaliin 383 B.C and the final transfer of capital to Pataliputra. According to the Puranas, Shishunaga was succeeded by his son Kakavarna Kalashoka. During Shishunaga's reign, he was the governor of Varanasi. 

• According to tradition, ten sons of Kalashoka ruled simultaneously. Only one of them mentioned in the Puranic lists, Nandivardhana. Nandivardhana or Mahanandin was probably the last ruler of this dynasty, his empire was inherited by his illegitimate son Mahapadma Nanda. Sons of Mahanandin from his other wives opposed the rise of Mahapadma Nanda, on which Mahanandin eliminated all of them to claim the throne. 

Nanda Dynasty (345-321 B.C)

Mahapadma Nanda 

• Nanda dynasty was simple to understand. It basically had 9 Kings. Mahapadma Nanda and his nine sons. Long after the King Ajatasatru, Nandas again expanded the Magadha Empire by conquests. They have expanded to the west, to the south and to the north.

• Mahapadma Nanda vanquished the old dynasties of north NOT to extract tribute from them and to be recognized as the most powerful (the Samrat), but rather in order to dethrone them and declare himself as an "Ekachhatra", the only emperor in the entire land. 

• The collapse of the old Kshatriya dynasties under the rigorous power politics of Mahapadma Nanda, who is explicitly denigrated as the son of a Shudra, and the support extended to followers of non-Vedic philosophies, all has been described as negative signs in the Puranas, which prophesied Mahapadma Nanda's rise as a mark of Kali Yuga. He was the first Shudra king of Magadha. The throne was inherited to last of the nine sons- Dhana Nanda.

Dhana Nanda's Kingdom

Dhana Nanda 

• He was very powerful, cruel and greedy emperor. He was despised by his own subjects on account of the wickedness of his disposition and meanness of his origin. During his reign, the Nanda Empire extended from Bihar and Bengal in the east to Punjab and Sindh in the west. His Prime Minister was Shaktar. He greatly despised Chanakya and Chandragupta as well as their followers and known for his cruel nature.

• Dhana Nanda's army, as described by Diodorus and Quintus Curtius Rufus, consisted of 200,000 infantry, 20,000 cavalry, 2,000 war chariots and 3,000 war elephants. According to Plutarch however, the size of the Nanda army was even larger, numbering 200,000 infantry, 80,000 cavalry, 8,000 war chariots, and 6,000 war elephants.

• During his reign around 32-321 B.C, the Mauryan King Chandragupta Maurya and his most celebrated Prime Minister Chanakya, started their conquests from the outer boundaries(north-west India) of Magadha expanding towards the centre(Pataliputra). As per the legend, it is said that Chandragupta maurya was inspired by a scene. Where a mother scolds her son when he starts eating food(hot rice) from the centre of the plate and asks him to start eating from the boundaries.

• Around the same time, there was rise of a foreign Empire in the western parts of India by Alexander, The Great of Macedonia! Now, by 321 B.C, Maurya dynasty took over the Magadha Empire and started expanding their kingdom(with Pataliputra as their base). Simultaneously, the Greeks on the north-west expanded. In the race for supremacy the Maurya dynasty of Magadha won and took over the north-western parts. Looking at the big picture, this was a battle against a native Indian family(the Mauryas) and the Foreigners(The Greeks). Only this time, the native Kingdom won. Due to the impact of the Greeks on the north-west, there was rise of Hellenistic culture here(not to be confused with Hellenic culture).

'Hellenic means of Purely Greek origin. Hellenic holds the Purity of the Greek. Hellenic people, culture, art etc were purely Greek. However, Greeks did make great conquests and due to the settlements at different places, their culture, their art forms, their people were influenced by other cultures other people(when Greeks married others) like Mesopotamian or Persian or Indian. The Greek culture in amalgamation with any other culture is referred to as Hellenistic.'     

Maurya Dynasty (321 - 184 B.C)

Chandragupta Maurya 

• He was the founder of the Maurya dynasty and the first emperor to unify most of Greater India into one state. He ruled from 322 BC until his voluntary retirement and abdication in favour of his son Bindusara in 298 BC. Although not a Ksatriya, the Mauryas were not Sudras. They belonged to the Vaishya caste and were very sensitive to the lower castes and took good measures with respect to the lower castes .

• Chandraguptha made his conquest to the north-west in 303 B.C when Seleucus was ruling the Greek territory. He made peace with him by giving his daughter in marriage.

• After unifying much of India, Chandragupta and his chief advisor Chanakya passed a series of major economic and political reforms. He established a strong central administration patterned after Chanakya’s text on politics, the Arthashastra. He came to be known as Samrat Chakravartin and also the Julius Caesar of India.

• Due to its unified structure, the empire developed a strong economy, with internal and external trade thriving and agriculture flourishing. With trade concentrated on north-west and agriculture on north-eastern parts. The Greek diplomat Megasthenes, who visited the Maurya capital Pataliputra during his time, remains as an important source of Maurya history.

• Chandragupta became Jain by faith after renouncing the throne. He abdicated his throne and with the sangha he had gone to spend his last days at Shravanabelagola, a famous religious site in south India, where he fasted to death. 

Bindusara 

• He ruled from 297-272 B.C.

According to the Rajavalikatha a Jain work, the original name of this emperor was Simhasena. According to a legend mentioned in the Jain texts, Chandragupta's Guru and advisor Chanakya used to feed the emperor with small doses of poison to build his immunity against possible poisoning attempts by enemies of the throne. One day, Chandragupta not knowing about the poison, shared his food with his pregnant wife, Durdhara who was 7 days away from delivery. The empress not immune to the poison collapsed and died within few minutes. Chanakya entered the room the very time she collapsed, and to save the child in the womb, he immediately cut open the dead empress' womb and took the baby out, by that time a drop of poison had already reached the baby and touched its head due to which child got a permanent bluish spot (a "bindu") on his forehead. Thus, the newborn was named "Bindusara".

 

• Bindusara inherited his father's Empire and instead of expanding towards north-west like his predecessors he expanded to the south(to the Deccan region). He is known for his very good relations with the Greeks in the north-west and for expanding his Kingdom from Sea to Sea with his conquests in the Deccan region. The small portion of land on the south east India(near Orissa) in the picture was Kalinga. It was not conquered by the Magadha Kings until Ashoka. Kailnga was known for its strongest democratic rule.

• Bindusara's Empire was inherited by his son Ashoka- The Cruel. Who later became Ashoka- The Great. They say, Ashoka was one of a King who can be regarded as: 'Never someone like him before, never someone like him after.' 

Ashoka, The Great

• He ruled from 272-232 B.C. He was called Piyadasi or Devanapiya - Beloved of the Gods. By this time, the world, especially European kingdoms like Greeks got to know the wealth and rich culture of India. Every other great ruler who was ruling the lands surrounding the country wanted to invade India. Of the few who succeeded in doing so, would make settlements in India. They stay for so long that they adopt the native culture, religion and such which slowly makes them no more foreigners and become a part of this country.

• 12 years after ascending to throne, Ashoka waged a war against the powerful Kalinga. He waged a war as he felt that Kalinga was a threat to his north-eastern territories. It was said to be one of the most deadliest wars of Indian History. Hundreds of thousands of people died and many more were enslaved. This left Ashoka in remorse and made him realize that all the war and killings were not worth the price(Kingdom). After this war, Ashoka has embraced Buddhism. After this war, he has invited kings and expanded his kingdom by mercy but not by invasion.  

• It is to be noted that, Ashoka served as a buddhist King for several years. During these years, he followed peace making and peace keeping measures to rule his kingdom. Prisoners of War were treated well and given the task of clearing forest lands for agriculture and irrigation. These lands were later given to the upper caste people.

• Ashoka opened new lands for agricultural. Agriculture was the main source of the economy in the north-east. With new lands coming in from clearing the forests, more growth was seen in the economy. This is due to his systematic design of tax collection from the farmers.  

• Ashoka, for whom buddhism was a peaceful religion, wanted to spread it to neighboring countries. This resulted in sending his followers to north-eastern countries like Afghanistan, Persia, Iran, Greece and even Egypt. Ashoka sent his son, Mahinda, to spread buddhism in Ceylon(Sri Lanka) with a branch of the original Bodi tree(under which Buddha got enlightenment). As a return gesture, the King of Ceylon, Tissa embraced Buddhism. 

• He opened peace gates to India. Also, people who visited India on purposes like travel, trade and religion started writing about India. During Ashoka's rule, due to the increase in the flow of foreigners to India(as the people who wrote about India spread their thoughts with the people of their home lands and as a result, more people started visiting India to know more about this land) more foreigners wrote about India than the Indians themselves. As a result of this India was exposed to other nations, especially to Europe.

Lion Capital of Ashoka

• Ashoka is famous for his pillar inscriptions. These were usually announcements to the general public. These usually started like 'From the beloved of the Gods, Piyadasi wants you to know that...'. These were written in Brahmi script in north-east and in Kharosti script in north-west India. The then Lion Capital of Ashoka has been adopted by India after Independence(From British) as the Emblem of Sovereign of India.  

• Ashoka is known to follow the famous Arthasastra- it is an ancient Indian treatise on statecraft, economic policy and military strategy, written in Sanskrit by Chanakya (or Kautilya). He had well designed tax collection strategies in his Kingdom. He built very good infrastructure including roads, bridges, irrigation canals, etc. 

• The Third Buddhist Council was held with the support of King Ashoka at Pataliputra in India some one hundred years after the second council. One thousand monks under Moggaliputta Tissa assembled to clear up confusion and correct misinterpretations in the Buddha's teachings. It is said that at this assembly the abhidharma works, or commentaries and treatises, were compiled and incorporated into one of the three divisions of the Buddhist canon.

• Ashoka had the motto of: 'All the people are my children'.  He had complex network of espionage system in the Kingdom which he used to find out the efficiency of his officials. He departmentalized the administration and assigned respective heads for the departments. He also divided his kingdom in to divisions, districts and villages. He followed the principles of Danda which means Punishment and Dhamma(or Dharma) which means Social order. Whenever social order was disrupted he used to Punish the responsible individuals. 

• He encouraged people to respect other castes and religions. Ashoka's Dhamma included:
• Unifying principles- Unity in diversity
• Obedience to parents
• Generosity to neighbors
• Tolerance to other's beliefs 
• Good treatment of Slaves
• Caste and creed concord
• Non-violence

• With the death of Ashoka in 232 B.C. Dhamma failed. The system collapsed. Upper castes, especially Brahmans revolted(Ashoka being from the Vaishya origin and Buddhist being considered as Sudras). Foreign invasions started in the north-west India, and native kings of Deccan invaded the north-east of the Magadha Empire. After Buddha's rule the Mauray Dynasty survived for 50 years before going in to the hands of Sunga Dynasty. Several dynasties invaded and rose up on what was previously part of Magadha Empire. Dynasties like:
• Sunga Dynasty (185 - 72 B.C)
• Greco-Bactrian Dynasty(250 - 125 B.C)
• Greco-Indian Dynasty(200 - 50 B.C)
• Saka Dynasty (75 B.C - 100 A.D)
• Kanva Dynasty (75 B.C - 30 B.C)
• Andhra Dynasty (230 B.C - 225 A.D)

Sunga Dynasty (185 - 72 B.C)

Sunga dynasty

• Founded by Pushyamitra Sunga after he killed the last Maurya kings. They were anti-buddhist and in this dynasty, Hinduism came back to power.

Greco-Bactrian (250 - 125 B.C) & Greco-Indian (200 - 50 B.C)

• Greco-Bactrian dynasty rose up in the north-west after the Parthians revolted against the Persian Empire. Diodotos was the then King. After a 50 year rule, they entered India and started settlements in India. The King of the Indian settlements revolted against the Greco-Bactrian King and started his own separate kingdom which came to be known as Greco-Indian dynasty.

Saka Dynasty (75 B.C - 100 A.D)

Sakas - Indo-Scythians

• The Sakas rose up after the nomadic Scythians revolted against the Persians. They also joined hands with the Greco-Indians and later ended the Greco-Indian rule in 50 B.C.

Kanva Dynasty (75 B.C - 30 B.C)

• The Kanva or Kanvayana Dynasty replaced the Sunga dynasty in Magadha, and ruled in the Eastern part of India from 75 B.C to 30 B.C.The last ruler of the Sunga dynasty, Devabhuti, 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. Their dynasty was brought to an end by the ruler of the Satavahana Dynasty or Andhrabhrtya dynasty in Amaravati, Andhra Pradesh.

To be continued in The Mighty Magadha Part II.