Rise and Growth of the Magadhan Empire
In
the sixth country B.C. North India was divided into sixteen kingdoms out of
which Avanti, Vatsa, Kosala and Magadha rose into prominence by aggrandizing
upon other weaker states.
These
four states involved themselves in internecine quarrel in which Magadha emerged
as the most powerful state and acquired mastery in the political domain of
India.
Magadha
under Bimbisara:
Magadha
rose into prominence under the rule of Bimbisara who belonged to the Haryanka
dynasty. Most probably he overthrew the Brihadrathas from Magadha and assumed
the title “Srinika” after his accession. He ruled Magadha from 544 B.C. to 493
B.C. His greatest achievement was the establishment of Magadhan empire. He followed
fourfold policy in order to fulfill his programme of imperial expansion.
Policy
of Matrimonial Alliance:
By
adopting the policy of matrimonial alliance, Bimbisara tried to augment his
power. He married Kosaladevi, daughter of king Mahakosala of Kosala, received
the Kasi village as dowry, which yielded revenue of 1, 00,000. “Mahavamsa”
mentions his marriage with Chellana the daughter of Chetak, the Lichchavi chief
of Vaisali.
He
then married Vasavi, a princess of Videha in the northward. He also got the
hand of Khema, the daughter of king of Modra in Central Punjab. The
establishment of matrimonial relations with these states added glory to the
Magadhna empire and it also paved the way for the expansion of Magadhan empire
and westward.
Policy
of Conquest:
The
next policy of Bimbisara for the expansion of Magadhan empire was the policy of
conquest. Bimbisara led a campaign against the kingdom of Anga and defeated its
king Brahmadatta. Anga along with its capital city Champa, was annexed to the
Magadhan empire.
Friendly
Relation with distant Neighbours:
As
a farsighted diplomat, Bimbisara had followed the policy of friendship towards
the distant neighbours to win their co-operation for the safety and security of
his empire. He received an embassy and letter from Pukkusati, the ruler of
Gandhar with which Pradyota had fought unsuccessfully. Magadha’s most
formidable enemy was Chanda Pradyota Mahasena of Avanti who fought with
Bimbisara but ultimately the two thought it wise to become friends. He also
sent his physician Jivak to Ujjain when Pradyota was attacked by jaundice.
Consolidation
of his Empire by a Good Administrative System:
By
introducing a highly efficient system of administration, Bimbisara consolidated
his conquests. His administration was found to have been really well-organised
and efficient. The high officers were divided into three classes, viz.
executive, military and judicial. The ‘Sabarthakas’ were responsible for the
management of general administration.
“Senanayaka
Mahamatras” were in charge of military affairs. “Vyavaharika Mahamatra’s” were
in charge of judicial-administration. Provincial administration was also
well-organised. The head of provincial administration was “Uparaja”. The
villages enjoyed rural autonomy. “Gramika” was the head of the village
administration. The penal laws were severe. Bimbisara also developed the means
of communication by constructing good roads. He is said to have established a
new capital at Rajagriha situated on the outskirts of the old capital Girivraja.
He made Magadha a paramount power in the sixth century B.C. It is said that his
kingdom had consisted of 80,000 villages. He was also a devotee of Buddha. He
donated a garden named “Belubana” to the Buddhist Sangha. According to the
Buddhist chronicle Bimbisara ruled Magadha from 544 B.C. to 493 B.C. He was
succeeded by his son Ajatasatru who had killed him and seized the throne for
himself.
Ajatasatru
(492—460 B.C.):
The
reign of Ajatasatru witnessed the high watermark of Bimbisara dynasty. From the
very beginning Ajatasatru pursued the policy of expansion and conquest. He
began a prolonged war with Prasenjit of Kosala who had revoked the gift of the
Kasi village made to Bimbisara. The war continued for some time with varying
success to both sides till Prasenjit ended it by giving his daughter, Vajira
Kumari in marriage to Ajatasatru and leaving him in possession of Kasi.
The
next achievement of Ajatasatru was the conquest of Lichchavis of Vaisali.
Chetak, chief of Lichchavis had formed a strong confederacy comprising 36
republics in order to fight Magadha. According to jaina sources, before his
death, Bimbisara gave his elephant “Seyanaga” “Sechanaka” and two large
bejewelled necklaces, one each to his sons Halla and Vehalla who were born of
their Lichahhavi mother, Chellana.
Chetak
had given them political assylum. After his accession, Ajatasatru requested
chetak to surrender them. But Chetak refused to extradite Chetaka’s step
brothers. So the conflict between Ajatasatru and Lichchhavis became inevitable.
According
to Buddhist text Ajatasatru had entered into an agreement with Lichchhavis to
divide among them the gems extracted from a mine at the foot of the hill near
the river Ganges. But the Lichchhavis deprived Ajatasatru of his share. But Dr.
H.C. Raychoudhury points out that the most potent cause of war was the common
movement among the republican states against the rising imperialism of Magadha.
Ajatasatru made elaborate war preparations against the Lichchhavis. As a base
for operation he constructed a fort at Patalagrama on the confluence of Ganga
and the Son which eventually developed into the famous capital of Pataliputra.
Ajatasatru also tried to create a division among members of Lichchhavi
confederacy. He employed his minister Vassakara who successfully sowed the
seeds of dissension among the members of Vajjian confederacy and broke their
solidarity.
Thereafter
Ajatasatru invaded their territory and it took him full sixteen years to
destroy Lichchhavis. In this war he used some new weapons and devices like
“mahasilakantaka” and “rathamushala” to overpower the enemy. Ultimately
Lichchhavi was annexed to the Magadhan territory.
Ajatasatru
faced danger from Avanti while he was engaged in war with Lichchhavis. King
Chanda Pradyota of Avanti became jealous of his power and threatened an
invasion of Magadha. To meet this danger Ajatasatru started fortification of
Rajgiri. But the invasion did not materialize in his life time.
The
successors of Ajatasatru:
Ajatasatru
was succeeded by his son Udayin who ruled for sixteen years. The Buddhist texts
describe him as a parricide where as the jaina literature mentions him as a
devoted son to his father. Udayin built the city of Pataliputra at the fort of
Patalagrama which commanded the strategically and commercial highway of eastern
India. During his rule Avanti became jealous of the ascendancy of Magadha and a
contest between the two started for mastery of Northern India.
However,
Udayin was not destined to live to see the ultimate victory of Magadha against
Avanti. According to the jaina texts he constructed a chaitya in Pataliputra.
He also observed fasts on the eighth and fourteenth tithis as per the jaina
tradition. It is said that Udayin have been murdered by assassin engaged by
Palaka, the king of Avanti. According to Ceylonese chronicle Udayin was
succeeded by three kings namely Aniruddha, Manda and Nagadasaka.
The Ceylonese chronicle describes that all the three kings were parasite. The
people resented their rule and revolted against the last king Nagadasaka and
raised an amatya Sisunaga on the throne of Magadha. With this restoration the
rule of Haryanka dynasty came to end and the rule of Sisunaga dynasty came into
being.
Sisunaga
served as the viceroy of Kasi before he ascended the throne of Magadha. He
established his capital at Girivaraja. His greatest achievement was the
conquest and annexation of Avanti. This brought to an end the hundred year’s
rivalry between Magadha and Avanti. Probably he had annexed Vatsa and Kosala
Kingdoms to Magadha. Towards the later part of his regain he temporarily
shifted his capital to Vaisali.
Sisunaga
was succeeded by his son Kalasoka or Kakavarna. The reign of Kalasoka is
important for two events, viz., the transfer of Magadha capital from Girivaraja
to Pataliputra and holding of the second Buddhist Congress at Vaisali. Very
unfortunately, he lost his life in a palace revolution, which brought the Nandas
upon the throne of Magadha. The usurper was probably Mahapadma Nanda, the
founder of Nanda dynasty and he also killed the ten sons of Kalasoka who ruled
jointly. Thus the Sisunaga dynasty was followed by the new dynasty of the
Nandas.
The
Nanda Dynasty:
Mahapadma
Nanda:
The
rule of Nandas marked the beginning of a new epoch in the history of Ancient
India. Under the Nandas the provincial kingdom of Magadha was transformed into
an empire. According to R.K. Mookheijee, Mahapadmananda was the “first historical
emperor of India.” Mahapadmananda usurped the throne after murdering Kalasoka,
the last notable ruler of the Sisunaga line. However, the ancestry of
Mahapadmananda is a controversial question. There are two fold versions of his
origin. According to the Puranas, he was the son of the last king of Sisunaga
line by a sudra woman.
The
jaina work Parisishtaparvana describes him as the son of a courtesan by a
barber. Mahapadma Nanda ruled over Magadha for twenty eight years from 367 B.C.
to 338 B.C. He established a strong government in Magadha. Being the ruler of a
prosperous country, Mahapadmananda was destined to realize the dream of
Magadhan imperialism. The puranas describe him as “Sarva Kashtriyantaka” or the
destroyer of all the kshatriyas and the Ekrat or sole soverign.
From
this it is implied that he uprooted the kshatriya dynasties such as Aikshavakus
of Kosala, Panchalas of the Upper Ganges and Doab the Kasis, the Haihayas of
Narmada Valley, the Kalingas of Orissa, the Asmakas of Godavari Valley in Hyderabad,
the Kurus of Upper Ganges region on the confines of Punjab, the Maithilas of
Mithila of Nepalese Terai, the Saurasenas of Mathura on the banks of the Jumna
and Vitihotras of Western India adjacent to Avanti.
He
also conquered Kalinga and it is proved by two passages of Hati-Gumpha
Inscription of Kharavela. It is known from Hathigumpha Inscription that
Nandaraja (Mahapadmananda) constructed some irrigation dams in the province and
carried away the statue of first Jina from Kalinga as a war trophy.
The
southern frontier of the Nanda empire extended up to Godavari Valley in the
Deccan which is proved by the existence of a city called “Nav Nandar Dehra” on
the Godavari. Thus under Mahapadma Nanda Magadhan empire was extended from Kuru
country in the north to the Godavari Valley in the south and from Magadha in
the east to the Narmada on the west. Under the Nandas the Magadhan empire
reached the pinnacle of celebrity. According to Dr. R.K. Mukherjee ‘Mahapadma
Nanda was the first great historical emperor of Northern India.’
The
Successors of Mahapadma Nanda:
The
Buddhist work Maha Bodhivamsa gives a list of the Nava Nandas in which
Mahapandma Nanda and eight others are included. It is generally accepted by the
scholars that the term Nava means nine and that the total number of kings of
Nanda dynasty is nine. The Buddhist texts describe all the nine Nanda Kings as
brothers. But the Puranas describe Mahapadma as the father and the eight Nandas
as his sons. The scholars generally accepted the Puranic evidence. The Puranas
have described that eight sons of Mahapadma Nanda ruled Magadha for twelve
years. The Mahabodhivamsa mentions the name of the last Nanda king as Dhana
Nanda who was also a contemporary of Alexander the Great.
The
classical writers called Dhanda Nanda as Agrammes. He had a passionate love for
hoarding treasures. The Chinese pilgrim Hiuen Tsang also referred to his
wealth. He inherited a vast empire from his father. He had a large standing
army which included 20,000 cavalry, 200,000 infantry, 2,000 chariots and 3,000
elephants as described by the Greek historian Curticus. With his fabulous
wealth and strong army Dhana Nanda became a powerful ruler of Magadha.
Fall
of the Nandas:
Inspite
of his power and wealth, Dhana Nanda lost the support of the people. He became
unpopular among his people for three reasons which ultimately brought his
downfall. Firstly, he taxed people heavily in order to meet the expenses of his
vast army and also to satisfy his lust for wealth. Secondly, the low origin and
anti-Kshatriya policy of the Nandas coupled with their leaning towards jainism
created a number of enemies who were instrumental in bringing their downfall.
Thirdly,
the people could find a leader in Chandragupta Maurya and overthrew the last
Nanda king from the throne. With the fall of the Nandas, Magadha entered into
another phase of her glorious history under the Mauryas. Under the maurya
dynasty the Magadhan empire reached the apex of glory.
