Magadh Kingdom

Magadh Kingdom

 

Magadha formed one of the sixteen Mahajanapadas   of ancient Bharat. The core of the kingdom was the realm of Bihar south of the Ganges; its initial capital was Rajagriha (modern Rajgir), then Pataliputra (modern Patna). Rajagriha was initially referred to as 'Girivrijja' and later came to be better-known as therefore throughout the reign of Ajatashatru. Magadha expanded to embrace most of Bihar and Bengal with the conquest of Licchavi and Anga, respectively, followed by much of eastern Uttar Pradesh and Odisha. The ancient kingdom of Magadha is heavily mentioned in Jain and Buddhist texts. It is also mentioned within the Ramayana, the Mahabharata and the Puranas. A state of Magadha, possibly a social group kingdom, is recorded in Vedic texts a lot of earlier in time than 600 BCE.

The earliest reference to the Magadha people happens within the Atharvaveda, where they ar found listed together with the Angas, Gandharis and Mujavats. Magadha played associate necessary role within the development of Jainism and Buddhism, and two of India's greatest empires, the Mauryan Empire and Gupta Empire, originated in Magadha. These empires saw advancements in ancient India's science, mathematics, astronomy, religion, and philosophy and were considered the Golden Age of Asian nation. The Magadha kingdom included republican communities such as the community of Rajakumara. Villages had their own assemblies under their native chiefs known as Gramakas. Their administrations were divided into executive, judicial, and military functions.

The kingdom of the Magadha roughly corresponds to the trendy districts of Patna, Jehanabad, Nalanda, Aurangabad, Nawadah and Gaya in southern Bihar, and parts of geographic region in the east. It was bounded on the north by the watercourse Ganges, on the east by the river Champa, on the south by the Vindhya Range, and on the west by the Son River. This region of Greater Magadha had a culture and spiritual beliefs of its own that predates Hinduism. Much of the second urbanisation took place here from c. 500 BCE forrader and it was here that Jainism became sturdy and Buddhism arose. The importance of Magadha's culture can be seen in this Buddhism, Jainism and Hinduism adopted some of its features, most significantly a belief in rebirth and karmic retribution.

There is little bound info on the market on the first rulers of Magadha. The most important sources area unit the Buddhist Pāli Canon, the Jain Agamas and the Hindu Puranas. Based on these sources, it appears that Magadha was dominated by the Haryanka kinsfolk for some two hundred years, c. 600 BCE – 413 BCE. Gautama Buddha, the founder of Buddhism, lived much of his life in Magadha kingdom. He attained enlightenment in Bodh Gaya, gave his initial sermon in Sarnath and the first Buddhist council was command in Rajgriha. The Hindu Mahabharata calls Brihadratha the initial ruler of Magadha. The second book of the Hindu Mahabharata, the Sabha Parva. As the scene of the many incidents in his life, including his enlightenment, Magadha is often thought-about a blessed land. King Bimbisara of the Haryanka dynasty diode AN active and expansive policy, conquering Anga in what is currently West Bengal. The death of King Bimbisara was at the hands of his son, Prince Ajatashatru. King Pasenadi, king of neighbouring Kosala and in-law of King Bimbisara, promptly retook the gift of the Kashi province. war broke out between Ajatashatru and prasenjit with varied results in favour of each. conflict ended with ajatashatru marrying prasenjit's female offspring Vajjira and kasi was once more given in dowery to magadha.

Accounts differ slightly as to the reason behind King Ajatashatru's war with the Licchavi, an space north of the watercourse Ganges River. It appears that Ajatashatru sent a minister to the space United Nations agency for 3 years worked to undermine the unity of the Licchavis. To launch his attack across the Ganges watercourse, Ajatashatru built a fort at the city of Pataliputra. Torn by disagreements the Licchavis fought with Ajatashatru. It took fifteen years for Ajatashatru to defeat them. Jain texts tell however Ajatashatru used 2 new weapons: a catapult, and a covered chariot with swinging mace that has been compared to a trendy tank. Pataliputra began to grow as a center of commerce and have become the capital of Magadha after Ajatashatru's death. The Haryanka family line was overthrown by the Shishunaga dynasty. The last Shishunaga ruler, Kalasoka, was assassinated by Mahapadma Nanda in 345 BCE, the first of the alleged 9 Nandas, Mahapadma and his eight sons. In 326 BCE, the army of Alexander approached the western boundaries of Magadha. The army, exhausted and frightened at the prospect of facing another giant Indian army at the Ganges River, mutinied at the Hyphasis (the modern Beas River) and refused to march additional East. Alexander, after the meeting with his officer, Coenus, was persuaded that it was better to come and turned south, conquering his approach down the Indus to the Ocean. Around 321 BCE, the Nanda Dynasty complete and Chandragupta Maurya became the initial king of the nice Mauryan family line and Mauryan Empire with the assistance of Chanakya. The Empire later extended over most of South Asia under King Ashoka, who was at initial referred to as 'Ashoka the Cruel' however later became an admirer of Buddhism and have become referred to as 'Dharma Ashoka'. Later, the Mauryan Empire ended, as did the Shunga and Khārabēḷa empires, to be replaced by the Gupta Empire. The capital of the Gupta Empire remained Pataliputra in Magadha.