Magadha
Kingdom - 600 BC-AD 600
North
India's political landscape was transformed by the emergence of Magadha in the
eastern Indo-Gangetic Plain.
A rapid review some of the great Hindu kingdoms which flourished in the fourth
century BC provides an idea of the spread of Hindu influence and power.
Foremost among them was Magadha or South Behar, which became the first power in
India. Beyond the States comprising the then Aryan India, there were States
such as Magadha and Anga that were not yet wholly Brahmanised.
Though
Ariga and Magadha were originally two distinct countries, they had a joint name
Anga-Magadha at the time of the Buddha. Magadha is even mentioned under the
name of Kikota in the Rig Veda. It was in Magadha that Buddha developed his
religion and that Mahavira founded the cognate creed of the Jains. If the
Mahajanapada of Magadha was most important commercially, it was the Mahajanapada
of Taxila that dominated intellectually and culturally. Modern historians have
felt that it is the geographical advantages that
Magadha enjoyed which helped it to become strong and powerful. The short-lived
Kanva dynasty, which was founded by Vasudeva after the Shunga dynasty,
witnessed the complete decline of Magadha which relapsed to its earlier
position of one mahajanapada among several others.
Bimbisara (546 - 494 BC)
Bimbisara
belonged to the Haryanka dynasty. Bimbisara was a contemporary of both
Vardhamana Mahavira and Gautama Buddha. However, both religions claim him as
their supporter and devotee. He seems to have made numerous gifts to the Buddhist Sangha.
Bimbisara also undertook many expeditions and added more territories to his
empire. He defeated Brahmadatta of Anga and annexed that kingdom. He maintained
friendly relations with Avanti. He had also efficiently reorganized the
administration of his kingdom.
He consolidated
his position by matrimonial alliances.
His first matrimonial alliance was with the ruling family of Kosala. He married
Kosaladevi, sister of Prasenajit. He was given the Kasi region as dowry which
yielded large revenue. Bimbisara married Chellana, a princess of the Licchavi
family of Vaisali. This matrimonial alliance secured for him the safety of the
northern frontier. Moreover, it facilitated the expansion of Magadha northwards
to the borders of Nepal. He also
married Khema of the royal house of Madra in central Punjab.
Ajatasatru (494 - 462 BC)
Pasenadi's
sister, the Kosala Devi, was the wife of Bimbisara, King of Magadha. When
Ajatasattu, Bimbisara's son by another wife (the Videha lady from Mithila), put
his father Bimbisara to death, the Kosala Devi died of grief. Pasenadi then
confiscated that township of Kasi, the revenues of which had been granted to
the Kosala Devi as pin money. Angered at this, Ajatasattu declared war against
his aged uncle. At first victory inclined to Ajatasattu.
But in
the fourth campaign he was taken prisoner, and not released until he had
relinquished his claim. Thereupon Pasenadi not only gave him his daughter
Vajira in marriage, but actually conferred upon her, as a wedding gift, the
very village in Kasi in dispute. Three years afterwards Pasenadi's son
Vidudabha revolted against his father, who was then at Ulumba in the Sakiya country. The latter fled to
Rajagaha to ask Ajatasattu for aid ;
but was taken ill and died outside the city gates. Both Vidudabha, and his brother-in-law
Ajatasattu, were subsequently in conflict with the adjoining republican
confederacies, the former with the Sakiyans, the latter with the Vajjians of
Vesali.
The
reign of Ajatasatru was remarkable for his military conquests. He fought
against Kosala and Vaisali. His won a great success against a formidable
confederacy led by the Lichchavis of Vaisali. This had increased his power and
prestige. This war lasted for about sixteen years. It was at this time that
Ajatasatru realised the strategic importance of the small village, Pataligrama
(future Pataliputra). He fortified it to serve as a convenient base of
operations against Vaisali.
Buddhists
and Jains both claim that Ajatasatru was a follower of their religion. But it
is generally believed that in the beginning he was a follower of Jainism and
subsequently embraced Buddhism. He is said to have met Gautama Buddha. This
scene is also depicted in the sculptures of Barhut. According to the Mahavamsa,
he constructed several chaityas
and viharas. He was also instrumental in convening the First Buddhist Council
at Rajagriha soon after the death of the Buddha.
Saisunaga dynasty
The
immediate successor of Ajatasatru was Udayin. He laid the foundation of the new
capital at Pataliputra situated at the confluence of the two rivers, the Ganges
and the Son. Later it became famous as the imperial capital of the Mauryas.
Udayin’s successors were weak rulers and hence Magadha was captured by
Saisunaga. Thus the Haryanka dynasty came to an end and the Saisunaga dynasty
came to power.
The
genealogy and chronology of the Saisunagas are not clear. Saisunaga defeated
the king of Avanti which was made part of the Magadhan Empire. After Saisunaga,
the mighty empire began to collapse.
His successor was Kakavarman or Kalasoka. During his reign the second Buddhist
Council was held at Vaisali. Kalasoka was killed by the founder of the Nanda
dynasty.
The Nandas
The
fame of Magadha scaled new heights under the Nanda dynasty. Their conquests
went beyond the boundaries of the Gangetic basin and in North India they carved
a well-knit and vast empire. Mahapadma Nanda was a powerful ruler of the Nanda
dynasty. He uprooted the kshatriya dynasties in north India and assumed the
title ekarat. The Puranas speak of the extensive conquests made by Mahapadma.
The Hathigumpha inscription of Kharavela of Kalinga refers to the conquest of
Kalinga by the Nandas. Many historians believe that a considerable portion of
the Deccan was also under the control of the Nandas. Therefore, Mahapadma Nanda
may be regarded as a great empire builder.
According
to the Buddhist tradition, Mahapadma Nanda ruled about ten years. He was
succeeded by his eight sons, who ruled successively. The last Nanda ruler was
Dhana Nanda. He kept the Magadhan empire intact and possessed a powerful army and enormous wealth.
The fabulous wealth of the Nandas is also mentioned by several sources. The
enormous wealth of the Nandas is also referred to in the Tamil Sangam work
Ahananuru by the poet Mamulanar. The flourishing state of agriculture in the Nanda
dominions and the general prosperity of the country must have brought
to the royal treasury enormous revenue. The oppressive way of tax collection by
Dhana Nanda was resented by the people.
Taking
advantage of this, Chandragupta Maurya and Kautilya initiated a popular
movement against the Nanda rule. It was during this time that Alexander invaded
India. In 322 B.C., Magadha, under the rule of Chandragupta Maurya, began to
assert its hegemony over neighboring areas. Chandragupta, whose
capital was Pataliputra, near modern-day Patna, in Bihar, where he ruled from
324 to 301 BC. Chandragupta was the architect of the first Indian imperial
power--the Mauryan Empire (326-184 BC).
Maurya Dynasty (321-184 BC)
The
exact course of the events which led to the overthrow of the Nandas and the
establishment of the Mauryas in their royal seat is not fully ascertained. Many
alleged incidents of the revolution in Magadha are depicted vividly in the
ancient political, drama entitled the ‘Signet of Rakshasa ’ (Mudrd-Rdkshasa),
written, perhaps, in the fifth century after Christ. But it would be obviously
unsafe to rely for a matter-of-fact historical narrative on a Work of
imagination composed some seven centuries after the events dramatized. The
information gleaned from other authorities is scanty, and in some respects
discrepant. It appears, however, to be certain that Chandra or Chandragupta,
who when quite young had met Alexander in 326 or 325 BC, was a scion of the
Nandastock. According to some accounts he was a son of the last Nanda king by a
low-born woman. Acting under the guidance of his astute Brahman preceptor,
Vishnugupta, better known by his patronymic Chanakya, or his surname Kautilya
or Kautalya, Chandragupta, who had been exiled from Magadha, attacked the
Macedonian ofiicers in command of the garrisons in the Indus basin after
Alexander’s death, and destroyed them, with the aid of the northern
nations.
The
Maurya empire broke up in the early second century BC, but the monarchs of the
Gupta state reunified much of the subcontinent in the fourth century CE. The
Gupta dynasty (280-550 AD) presided over a rich period of scientific
development, including development of a base-ten numerical system that
incorporated positional notation and the concept of zero. Other enduring
contributions of ancient Indian civilization include agriculture (cotton and
cane sugar), architecture, metallurgy, collections of parables, and games
(chess).