Magadha

2021-08-22T16:19:05Z

2405:201:5C0D:B81A:2CA5:3A4F:3750:DBEE:

{{short description|Kingdom in ancient India}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=July 2013}}
{{Use Indian English|date=November 2015}}
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{{Infobox country
| native_name =
| conventional_long_name = Kingdom of Magadha
| common_name = Magadha Empire
| era = [[ancient history|Antiquity]]
| government_type = [[Absolute monarchy]] as described in the ''[[Arthashastra]]''
| p1 = Kikata Kingdom
| flag_p1 =
| s1 = Nanda Empire
| flag_s1 =
| image_coat =
| image_map = Mahajanapadas (c. 500 BCE).png
| image_map_caption = Magadha and other Mahajanapadas in the period of the Second Urbanization, early Historic Period.
| image_map2 = Magadha Expansion 1.gif
| image_map2_caption = Territorial expansion of the Maurya empire 6th century BCE onwards
| capital = [[Rajgir|Rajagriha]] (Girivraj)<br/>Later, [[Pataliputra]] (modern-day [[Patna]])
| common_languages = [[Prakrit]]
| religion = [[Hinduism]]<br/>[[Buddhism]]<br/>[[Jainism]]
| currency = [[Coinage of India|Panas]]
| title_leader = [[Samraat]] (Emperor)
| leader1 = [[Bimbisara]]
| year_leader1 = c. 544 - c. 492 BCE
| leader2 = [[Ajatashatru]]
| year_leader2 = c. 492 - c. 460 BCE
| leader3 = [[Udayin]]
| year_leader3 = c. 460 - c. 444 BCE
| leader4 = [[Nāgadāsaka]]
| year_leader4 = c. 437 - c. 413 BCE
| leader5 = [[Shishunaga]]
| year_leader5 = c. 413 - c. 395 BCE
| leader6 = [[Kalashoka]]
| year_leader6 = c. 395 - c. 367 BCE
| today = [[India]]
| demonym =
| area_km2 =
| area_rank =
| GDP_PPP =
| GDP_PPP_year =
| HDI =
| HDI_year =
}}
'''Magadha''' was a region<ref name="Prasad2021">{{cite book|author=Birendra Nath Prasad|title=Archaeology of Religion in South Asia: Buddhist, Brahmanical and Jaina Religious Centres in Bihar and Bengal, C. AD 600-1200|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=K40wzgEACAAJ|date=17 June 2021|publisher=Taylor & Francis Limited|isbn=978-1-03-204711-9}}</ref> and one of the sixteen {{lang-sa|script=Latn|[[Mahajanapada]]s|label=none|lit=Great Kingdoms}} of the Second Urbanization (600-200 BCE) in what is now south [[Bihar]] (before expansion) at the eastern Ganges Plain, north India. Magahi or Magadhi is the language of Magadh which is still spoken in southern Bihar. Magadh was ruled by the [[Pradyota dynasty]], [[Brihadratha|Barhadratha dynasty]], [[Haryanka dynasty]] (544-413 BCE), and the [[Shaishunaga dynasty]] (413 BCE-345 BCE). Villages had their own assemblies under their local chiefs called Gramakas. Their administrations were divided into executive, judicial, and military functions.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Keny |first1=Liladhar |title="THE SUPPOSED IDENTIFICATION OF UDAYANA OF KAUŚĀMBI WITH UDAYIN OF MAGADHA" |journal=Annals of the Bhandarkar Oriental Research Institute |date=1943 |volume=24 |jstor=41784405}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal |last1=Roy |first1=Daya |title=SOME ASPECTS OF THE RELATION BETWEEN ANGA AND MAGADHA (600 B.C.—323 B.C.) |journal=Proceedings of the Indian History Congress |date=1986 |volume=47 |pages=108–112 |jstor=44141530}}</ref>

Magadha played an important role in the development of [[Jainism]] and [[Buddhism]].<ref name="Keown2004">{{cite book|author=Damien Keown|title=A Dictionary of Buddhism|url= https://www.oxfordreference.com/view/10.1093/acref/9780198605607.001.0001/acref-9780198605607-e-1054?rskey=6R59Bf&result=1 |date=26 August 2004|publisher=OUP Oxford|isbn=978-0-19-157917-2|page=163}}</ref> It was succeeded by three of India's greatest empires, the [[Nanda Empire]] (c. 345–322 BCE), [[Maurya Empire]] and [[Gupta Empire]]. The [[Pala Empire]] also ruled over Magadha and maintained a royal camp in [[Pataliputra]].<ref name="Bagchi1993">{{cite book|author=Jhunu Bagchi|title=The History and Culture of the Pālas of Bengal and Bihar, Cir. 750 A.D.-cir. 1200 A.D.|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=J7RKoMeAtpUC|year=1993|publisher=Abhinav Publications|isbn=978-81-7017-301-4|page=64}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal |last1=Jha |first1=Tushar |last2=Tyagi |first2=Satish |title=CONTOURS OF THE POLITICAL LEGITIMATION STRATEGY OF THE RULERS OF PALA DYNASTY IN BENGAL- BIHAR (CE 730 TO CE 1165) |journal=Proceedings of the Indian History Congress |date=2017 |volume=78 |pages=49-58}}</ref>

==Geography==
The kingdom of Magadha, before its expansion, corresponded to the modern districts of [[Patna]], [[Jehanabad]], [[Nalanda]], [[Aurangabad district, Bihar|Aurangabad]], [[Arwal]], [[Nawada]] and [[Bodh Gaya|Gaya]] in southern [[Bihar]]. It was bounded on the north by the river [[Ganges]], on the east by the river Champa, on the south by the [[Chota Nagpur Plateau]], and on the west by the [[Son River]].

The region of Greater Magadha also included neighbouring regions in the eastern Gangetic plains and had a culture and belief system of its own that predated Hinduism. Much of the second urbanisation took place here from c. 500 BCE onwards and it was here that Jainism became strong and Buddhism arose. The importance of Magadha's culture can be seen in that features of Buddhism and Jainism, most significantly a belief in rebirth and karmic retribution, were incorporated into the [[Brahminism|Brahminical orthodoxy]], resulting in the [[Hindu synthesis]].{{sfn| Bronkhorst|2007}}

== History ==
{{HistoryOfSouthAsia}}
[[File:Bamboo garden (Venuvana) at Rajagriha, the visit of Bimbisara.jpg|thumb|left|King [[Bimbisara]] visits the Bamboo Garden (Venuvana) in Rajagriha; artwork from [[Sanchi]].]]
[[File:Late Vedic Culture (1100-500 BCE).png|thumb|Magadha in the early Iron Age (1100-600 BC)]]
[[File:North India in 540 BCE.png|thumb|Map depicting 16 [[mahajanapada]]s kingdoms and other kingdoms in 540 BCE.]]
[[File:Maurya Empire, c.250 BCE 2.png|thumb|Maurya Empire, c. 250 BCE]]

Some scholars have identified the [[Kikata Kingdom|Kīkaṭa]] tribe—mentioned in the [[Rigveda]] (3.53.14) with their ruler Pramaganda—as the forefathers of [[Magadha Kingdom|Magadhas]] because Kikata is used as synonym for Magadha in the later texts;<ref>{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=t6TVLlPvuMAC&pg=PA159|title=Vedic Index of Names and Subjects|last1=Macdonell|first1=Arthur Anthony|last2=Keith|first2=Arthur Berriedale|date=1995|publisher=Motilal Banarsidass Publishe|isbn=9788120813328|language=en}}</ref> Like the Magadhas in the Atharvaveda, the Rigveda speaks of the Kikatas as a hostile tribe, living on the borders of Brahmanical India, who did not perform Vedic rituals.<ref name="Witzel1995">M. Witzel. "[https://books.google.com/books?id=OZ0gAAAAQBAJ&pg=PA333 Rigvedic history: poets, chieftains, and polities]," in ''The Indo-Aryans of Ancient South Asia: Language, Material Culture and Ethnicity.'' ed. G. Erdosy (Walter de Gruyer, 1995), p. 333</ref>

The earliest reference to the Magadha people occurs in the ''[[Atharvaveda]]'', where they are found listed along with the [[Anga]]s, [[Gandhara|Gandharis]] and Mujavats. The core of the kingdom was the area of Bihar south of the [[Ganges]]; its first capital was Rajagriha (modern [[Rajgir|day Rajgir]]), then [[Pataliputra]] (modern [[Patna]]). Rajagriha was initially known as 'Girivrijja' and later came to be known as so during the reign of [[Ajatashatru]]. Magadha expanded to include most of Bihar and [[Bengal]] with the conquest of [[Vajji|Vajji confederation]] and [[Anga]], respectively.<ref>Ramesh Chandra Majumdar (1977). ''Ancient India''. Motilal Banarsidass Publ. {{ISBN|81-208-0436-8}}.</ref> The kingdom of Magadha eventually came to encompass [[Bihar]], [[Jharkhand]], [[Odisha|Orissa]], [[West Bengal]], eastern [[Uttar Pradesh]], and the areas that are today the nations of [[Bangladesh]] and [[Nepal]].<ref>{{cite book|last=Sinha|first=Bindeshwari Prasad|title=Dynastic History of Magadha, Cir. 450-1200 A.D.|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=V3KDaZY85wYC&pg=PA128|year=1977|publisher=Abhinav Publications|page=128}}</ref>

The ancient kingdom of Magadha is heavily mentioned in [[Jainism|Jain]] and [[Buddhist texts]]. It is also mentioned in the ''[[Ramayana]]'', the ''[[Mahabharata]]'' and the [[Puranas]].

There is little certain information available on the early rulers of Magadha. The most important sources are the Buddhist ''[[Pāli Canon]]'', the ''[[Jain Agamas]]'' and the Hindu ''[[Puranas]]''. Based on these sources, it appears that Magadha was ruled by the [[Haryanka dynasty]] for some 200 years, c. 543 to 413 BCE.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Chandra |first1=Jnan |title=SOME UNKNOWN FACTS ABOUT BIMBISĀRA |journal=Proceedings of the Indian History Congress |date=1958 |volume=21 |pages=215–217 |jstor=44145194}}</ref>

[[Gautama Buddha]], the founder of [[Buddhism]], lived much of his life in the kingdom of Magadha. He attained enlightenment in [[Bodh Gaya]], gave his first sermon in [[Sarnath]] and the [[Buddhist councils|first Buddhist council]] was held in [[Rajgriha]].<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.lumbinitrust.org/articles/view/214 |title=Lumbini Development Trust: Restoring the Lumbini Garden |access-date=2017-01-06 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140306041858/http://www.lumbinitrust.org/articles/view/214 |archive-date=6 March 2014 |df=dmy-all }}</ref>

The Hindu ''[[Mahabharata]]'' calls [[Brihadratha]] the first ruler of Magadha. Ripunjaya, last king of Brihadratha dynasty, was killed by his minister Pulika, who established his son Pradyota as the new king. [[Pradyota dynasty]] was succeeded by [[Haryanka dynasty]] founded by [[Bimbisara]]. Bimbisara led an active and expansive policy, conquering the Kingdom of [[Anga]] in what is now [[West Bengal]]. King [[Bimbisara]] was killed by his son, [[Ajatashatru]]. [[Pasenadi]], king of neighbouring [[Kosala]] and brother-in-law of Bimbisara, promptly reconquered the Kashi province.

Accounts differ slightly as to the cause of [[Magadha-Vajji war|King Ajatashatru's war]] with the [[Licchavi (clan)|Licchavi]], an area north of the river [[Ganges]]. It appears that Ajatashatru sent a minister to the area who worked for three years to undermine the unity of the Licchavis. To launch his attack across the Ganges River, Ajatashatru built a fort at the town of [[Pataliputra]]. Torn by disagreements, the Licchavis [[Magadha-Vajji war|fought with Ajatashatru]]. It took fifteen years for Ajatashatru to defeat them. Jain texts tell how Ajatashatru used two new weapons: a catapult, and a covered chariot with swinging mace that has been compared to a modern tank. Pataliputra began to grow as a centre of commerce and became the capital of Magadha after Ajatashatru's death.
[[File:Nanda Empire, c.325 BCE.png|thumb|Nanda empire 450 BCE or 346 BCE]]

The Haryanka dynasty was overthrown by the [[Shishunaga dynasty]]. The last Shishunaga ruler, [[Mahanandin]], was assassinated by [[Mahapadma Nanda]] in 345 BCE, the first of the so-called "Nine Nandas", i. e. Mahapadma and his eight sons, last being [[Dhana Nanda]].

In 326 BCE, [[Greek conquests in India|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, mutinied at the Hyphasis (the modern [[Beas River]]) and refused to march further east. Alexander, after the meeting with his officer [[Coenus (general)|Coenus]], was persuaded that it was better to return and turned south, conquering his way down the Indus to the Ocean.

Around 321 BCE, the Nanda Dynasty ended with the defeat of Dhana Nanda at the hands of [[Chandragupta Maurya]] who became the first king of the [[Maurya Empire|Mauryan Empire]] with the help of his mentor [[Chanakya]]. The Empire later extended over most of [[South Asia]] under King [[Ashoka]], who was at first known as 'Ashoka the Cruel' but later became a disciple of Buddhism and became known as '[[Dharma]] Ashoka'.<ref>Tenzin Tharpa, ''Tibetan Buddhist Essentials: A Study Guide for the 21st Century: Volume 1: Introduction, Origin, and Adaptation'', p.31</ref><ref>Sanjeev Sanyal (2016), ''The Ocean of Churn: How the Indian Ocean Shaped Human History'', section "Ashoka, the not so great"</ref> Later, the Mauryan Empire ended, as did the [[Shunga Empire|Shunga]] and [[Kharavela|Khārabēḷa]] empires, to be replaced by the [[Gupta Empire]]. The capital of the Gupta Empire remained Pataliputra in Magadha.

==Buddhism and Jainism==
Several [[Śramaṇa|Śramaṇic movements]] have existed before the 6th century BCE, and these influenced both the [[āstika and nāstika]] traditions of Indian philosophy.<ref name=reginaldray247>{{cite book |first=Reginald |last=Ray |year=1999 |title=Buddhist Saints in India |publisher=Oxford University Press |isbn=978-0195134834 |pages=237–240, 247–249 }}</ref> The [[Śramaṇa|Śramaṇa movement]] gave rise to diverse range of heterodox beliefs, ranging from accepting or denying the concept of soul, atomism, antinomian ethics, materialism, atheism, agnosticism, fatalism to free will, idealization of extreme asceticism to that of family life, strict [[ahimsa]] (non-violence) and vegetarianism to the permissibility of violence and meat-eating.<ref>{{cite book |first=Padmanabh S. |last=Jaini |year=2001 |title=Collected papers on Buddhist Studies |publisher=Motilal Banarsidass |isbn=978-8120817760 |pages=57–77 }}</ref> Magadha kingdom was the nerve centre of this revolution.

[[Jainism]] was revived and re-established after [[Mahavira]], the last and the 24th ''[[Tirthankara]]'',who synthesised and revived the philosophies and promulgations of the ancient Śramaṇic traditions laid down by the first Jain tirthankara [[Rishabhanatha]] millions of years ago.<ref>{{cite book|last=Patel|first=Haresh|title=Thoughts from the Cosmic Field in the Life of a Thinking Insect [A Latter-Day Saint]|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=SXgEfiNY46sC&pg=PA271|year=2009|publisher=Strategic Book Publishing|isbn=978-1-60693-846-1|page=271}}</ref>[[Buddha]] founded [[Buddhism]] which received royal patronage in the kingdom.

According to Indologist [[Johannes Bronkhorst]], the culture of Magadha was in fundamental ways different from the Vedic kingdoms of the [[Indo-Aryans]]. He argues for a cultural area termed "Greater Magadha", defined as roughly the geographical area in which the [[Buddha]] and [[Mahavira]] lived and taught.{{sfn | Bronkhorst | 2007 }} Suggestive of this distinction, in some Vedic and post-Vedic rituals, a "Magadha man" represents the canonical non-Vedic "Barbarian", the Magadhan standing in for the presence of any and all non-Vedic peoples or the ritually impure.<ref name=Witzel>{{cite journal |last=Witzel |first=Michael |title=Macrocosm, Mesocosm, and Microcosm: The Persistent Nature of 'Hindu' Beliefs and Symbolic Forms |journal=International Journal of Hindu Studies |volume=1 |issue=3 |year=1997 |pages=501–539 |doi=10.1007/s11407-997-0021-x |jstor=20106493 |s2cid=144673508 }}</ref>

[[File:Magadha kingdom Circa 430-320s BC AR Karshapana.jpg|thumb|200px|Magadha kingdom coin, c. 430–320 BCE, Karshapana]]
[[File:Magadha kingdom coin Circa 350 BC AR Karshapana.jpg|thumb|200px|Magadha kingdom coin, c. 350 BCE, Karshapana]]

With regard to the Buddha, this area stretched by and large from [[Śrāvastī]], the capital of [[Kosala]], in the north-west to [[Rajgir|Rājagṛha]], the capital of Magadha, in the south-east".{{sfn | Bronkhorst | 2007 |pp=xi,4 }} According to Bronkhorst "there was indeed a culture of Greater Magadha which remained recognizably distinct from Vedic culture until the time of the grammarian Patañjali (ca. 150 BCE) and beyond".{{sfn | Bronkhorst | 2007 | p=265}} Vedic texts such as the Satapatha Brahmana demonize the inhabitants of this area as demonic and as speaking a barbarous speech. The Buddhologist Alexander Wynne writes that there is an "overwhelming amount of evidence" to suggest that this rival culture to the Vedic Aryans dominated the eastern Gangetic plain during the early Buddhist period. Orthodox Vedic Brahmins were, therefore, a minority in Magadha during this early period.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.h-net.org/reviews/showrev.php?id=31537|title=Review of Bronkhorst, Johannes, Greater Magadha: Studies in the Culture of Early India|last=Wynne|first=Alexander|date=2011|website=H-Buddhism|access-date=2019-08-25}}</ref>

The Magadhan religions are termed the [[sramana]] traditions and include [[Jainism]], [[Buddhism]] and [[Ājīvika]]. Buddhism and Jainism were the religions promoted by the early Magadhan kings, such as Srenika, [[Bimbisara]] and [[Ajatashatru]], and the [[Nanda Dynasty]] (345–321 BCE) that followed was mostly Jain. These Sramana religions did not worship the [[Rigvedic deities|Vedic deities]], practised some form of [[asceticism]] and [[meditation]] ([[jhana]]) and tended to construct round burial mounds (called [[stupas]] in Buddhism).{{sfn | Bronkhorst | 2007 | p=265}} These religions also sought some type of liberation from the cyclic rounds of rebirth and karmic retribution through spiritual knowledge.

===Religious sites in Magadha===
[[File:Bodh gaya before restoration.jpg|thumb|left|The ancient [[Mahabodhi temple]] at Bodh Gaya prior to its restoration]]
Among the Buddhist sites currently found in the Magadha region include two [[UNESCO World Heritage sites]] such as the [[Mahabodhi temple]] at [[Bodh Gaya]]<ref name="Sarao2020">{{cite book|author=K.T.S. Sarao|title=The History of Mahabodhi Temple at Bodh Gaya|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=H5n9DwAAQBAJ&pg=PA66|date=16 September 2020|publisher=Springer Nature|isbn=9789811580673|pages=66–}}</ref> and the [[Nalanda]] monastery.<ref name="Kumar2018">{{cite book|author=Pintu Kumar|title=Buddhist Learning in South Asia: Education, Religion, and Culture at the Ancient Sri Nalanda Mahavihara|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=wlZWDwAAQBAJ|date=7 May 2018|publisher=Lexington Books|isbn=978-1-4985-5493-0}}</ref> The Mahabodhi temple is one of the most important places of pilgrimage in the Buddhist world and is said to mark the site where the Buddha attained enlightenment.<ref name="GearySayers2012">{{cite book|author1=David Geary|author2=Matthew R. Sayers|author3=Abhishek Singh Amar|title=Cross-disciplinary Perspectives on a Contested Buddhist Site: Bodh Gaya Jataka|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=izcenGMBfsoC|year=2012|publisher=Routledge|isbn=978-0-415-68452-1|pages=18–21}}</ref>

==Language==
{{Main|Magadhi Prakrit}}
{{See also|Ardhamagadhi Prakrit}}

Beginning in the Theravada commentaries, the [[Pali language]] has been identified with [[Magahi]], the language of the kingdom of Magadha, and this was taken to also be the language that the Buddha used during his life. In the 19th century, the British [[Oriental studies|Orientalist]] [[Robert Caesar Childers]] argued that the true or geographical name of the Pali language was [[Magadhi Prakrit]], and that because ''pāḷi'' means "line, row, series", the early Buddhists extended the meaning of the term to mean "a series of books", so ''pāḷibhāsā'' means "language of the texts".<ref>''A Dictionary of the Pali Language'' By Robert Cæsar Childers</ref> Nonetheless, Pali does retain some eastern features that have been referred to as ''Māgadhisms''.<ref name="Gethin2008">{{cite book|author=Rupert Gethin|title=Sayings of the Buddha: New Translations from the Pali Nikayas|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=AvogpRk9-5wC|date=9 October 2008|publisher=OUP Oxford|isbn=978-0-19-283925-1|pages=xxiv }}</ref>

Magadhi Prakrit was one of the three dramatic prakrits to emerge following the decline of Sanskrit. It was spoken in Magadha and neighbouring regions and later evolved into modern eastern [[Indo-Aryan languages]] like [[Magahi language|Magahi]], [[Maithili language|Maithili]] and [[Bhojpuri language|Bhojpuri]].<ref>{{Cite book|last=Beames|first=John|url=http://ebooks.cambridge.org/ref/id/CBO9781139208871|title=Comparative Grammar of the Modern Aryan Languages of India: To Wit, Hindi, Panjabi, Sindhi, Gujarati, Marathi, Oriya, and Bangali|date=2012|publisher=Cambridge University Press|isbn=978-1-139-20887-1|location=Cambridge|doi=10.1017/cbo9781139208871.003}}</ref>

== Rulers ==
Two notable rulers of Magadha were [[Bimbisara]] (also known as Shrenika) and his son [[Ajatashatru]] (also known as Kunika), who are mentioned in Buddhist and Jain literature as contemporaries of the Buddha and Mahavira. Later, the throne of Magadha was usurped by [[Mahapadma Nanda]], the founder of the [[Nanda Dynasty]] (c. 345–321 BCE), which conquered much of north India. The Nanda Dynasty was overthrown by [[Chandragupta Maurya]], the founder of the [[Maurya Empire]] (321–180 BCE). There is much uncertainty about the succession of kings and the precise chronology of Magadha prior to Mahapadma Nanda; the accounts of various ancient texts (all of which were written many centuries later than the era in question) contradict each other on many points. Furthermore, there is a "Long Chronology" and a contrasting "Short Chronology" preferred by some scholars, an issue that is inextricably linked to the uncertain [[Gautama Buddha#Historical Siddhārtha Gautama|chronology of the Buddha]] and Mahavira.<ref>{{cite book|last=Bechert|first=Heinz|title=When Did the Buddha Live?: The Controversy on the Dating of the Historical Buddha|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ImnYAAAAMAAJ&pg=PA129|year=1995|publisher=Sri Satguru Publications|isbn=978-81-7030-469-2|page=129}}</ref>

According to historian [[John Keay]], a proponent of the "Short Chronology," Bimbisara must have been reigning in the late 5th century BCE,<ref>{{cite book|last=Keay|first=John|title=India: A History|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=0IquM4BrJ4YC&pg=PT141|year=2011|publisher=Open Road + Grove/Atlantic|isbn=978-0-8021-9550-0|page=141}}</ref> and Ajatashatru in the early 4th century BCE.<ref name="Keay 2010, p.149">{{cite book|last=Keay|first=John|title=India: A History|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=0IquM4BrJ4YC&pg=PT149|year=2011|publisher=Open Road + Grove/Atlantic|isbn=978-0-8021-9550-0|page=149}}</ref> Keay states that there is great uncertainty about the royal succession after Ajatashatru's death, probably because there was a period of "court intrigues and murders," during which "evidently the throne changed hands frequently, perhaps with more than one incumbent claiming to occupy it at the same time" until Mahapadma Nanda was able to secure the throne.<ref name="Keay 2010, p.149"/>

The following "Long Chronology" is according to the Buddhist [[Mahavamsa]]:<ref>{{cite book|last=Bechert|first=Heinz|title=When Did the Buddha Live?: The Controversy on the Dating of the Historical Buddha|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ImnYAAAAMAAJ|year=1995|publisher=Sri Satguru Publications|isbn=978-81-7030-469-2}}</ref>
*[[Haryanka dynasty]]
**Bimbisara (reigned c. 546–494 BCE)
**Ajatashatru (c. 494–462 BCE)
**[[Udayin]] (c. 462–446 BCE)
**Anuruddha and Munda (c. 446–438 BCE)
**Nagadasaka (c. 438–414 BCE)
*[[Shishunaga dynasty]]
**[[Shishunaga]] (c. 414–396 BCE)
**Kalashoka (c. 396–368 BCE)
**Ten sons of Kalashoka (c. 368–346 BCE)
*Nanda Dynasty (c. 346–324 BCE){{refn|group=note|The Hindu [[Puranas]] give a different sequence:<ref name="archive.org">{{Cite web|url=http://archive.org/details/mahavamsagreatch00geigrich|title=Mahavamsa : the great chronicle of Ceylon|first1=Wilhelm|last1=Geiger|first2=Mabel Haynes|last2=Bode|date=25 August 1912|publisher=London : Pub. for the Pali Text Society by Oxford Univ. Pr.|via=Internet Archive}}</ref>
*Shishunaga (reigned for 40 years)
*Kakavarna (36 years)
*Kshemadharman (20 years)
*Kshatraujas (29 years)
*Bimbisara (28 years)
*Ajatashatru (25 years)
*Darbhaka or Darshaka or Harshaka (25 years)
*Udayin (33 years)
*Nandivardhana (42 years)
*Mahanandin (43 years)
*Nanda Dynasty (100 years)}}

A shorter list appears in the Jain tradition, which simply lists Shrenika (Bimbisara), Kunika (Ajatashatru), Udayin, followed by the Nanda Dynasty.<ref name="archive.org"/>

==Historical figures from Magadha==
[[File:Mahavir.jpg|thumb|The 24th Tirthankara of Jainism, Mahavira, who was born in Magadha to a royal family ]]

Important people from the ancient region of Magadha include:

* [[Śāriputra]], born to a wealthy ''Brahmin'' in a village located near [[Rājagaha]] in Magadha. He is considered the first of the Buddha's two chief male disciples, together with [[Maudgalyāyana]].<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Prasad |first1=Chandra Shekhar |title=Nalanda vis-à-vis the Birthplace of Śāriputra |journal=East and West |volume=38 |pages=175 - 188 |url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/29756860}}</ref>

* [[Maudgalyāyana]], born in the village of Kolita in Magadha. He was one of the Buddha's two main disciples. In his youth, he was a spiritual wanderer before meeting the Buddha.<ref name="Malalasekera2007">{{cite book|author=Gunapala Piyasena Malalasekera|title=Dictionary of Pāli Proper Names|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=8Au_lIP1ZnQC&pg=PA403|year=2007|publisher=Motilal Banarsidass Publishe|isbn=978-81-208-3022-6|pages=403–404}}</ref>

* [[Mahavira]], the 24th [[Tirthankara]] of Jainism. Born into a royal [[kshatriya]] family in what is now [[Vaishali district]] of Bihar. He abandoned all worldly possessions at the age of 30 and became an ascetic. He is considered a slightly older contemporary of the Buddha.<ref name="Dutt2013">{{cite book|author=Romesh Chunder Dutt|title=A History of Civilisation in Ancient India: Based on Sanscrit Literature: Volume I|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=udv7AQAAQBAJ&pg=PA382|date=5 November 2013|publisher=Routledge|isbn=978-1-136-38189-8|pages=382–383}}</ref>

* [[Maitripada]], an 11th-century Indian Buddhist [[mahasiddha]] associated with the [[Mahāmudrā]] transmission. Born in the village of Jhatakarani in Magadha. Also associated with the monasteries of Nalanda and [[Vikramashila]].<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Tatz |first1=Mark |title=The Life of the Siddha-Philosopher Maitrīgupta |journal=Journal of the American Oriental Society |volume=107 |pages=695–711 |jstor=603308}}</ref>

==Notes==
{{reflist|group=note}}

==References==
{{reflist}}

===Sources===
{{refbegin}}
*{{Cite book
| last= Raychaudhuri
| first= H.C.
| date= 1972
| title = Political History of Ancient India
|location=Calcutta
| publisher = University of Calcutta
}}
* {{cite book
|last=Law
|first=Bimala Churn
|title=Ancient Indian Tribes
|chapter-url=https://archive.org/stream/ancientindiantri032697mbp#page/n111/mode/2up
|year=1926
|location=Lahore
|chapter=4. The Magadhas
|publisher=Motilal Banarsidas}}
* {{cite book | last=Bronkhorst | first=Johannes | title=Greater Magadha : studies in the culture of early India | url=http://www.ahandfulofleaves.org/documents/Greater%20Magadha%20Studies%20in%20the%20Culture%20of%20Early%20India_Bronkhorst.pdf | publisher=Brill | location=Leiden Boston | year=2007 | isbn=978-90-04-15719-4 | oclc=608455986 |series=Handbook of oriental studies. Section two, India|volume=19|issn=0169-9377}}
* {{citation |last=Singh |first=Upinder |author-link=Upinder Singh |title=A History of Ancient and Early Medieval India: From the Stone Age to the 12th Century |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Pq2iCwAAQBAJ |publisher=[[Pearson PLC|Pearson]] |year=2016 |isbn=978-81-317-1677-9 |ref={{sfnref|Upinder Singh|2016}} }}
{{refend}}

{{Tribes and kingdoms of the Mahabharata}}
{{Mahajanapada}}
{{Middle kingdoms of India}}
{{Magadh Division topics}}
{{coord missing|Bihar}}
{{Authority control}}

{{Historical regions of North India|state=expanded}}

[[Category:Magadha| ]]
[[Category:Ancient India]]
[[Category:Empires and kingdoms of India]]
[[Category:History of Bihar]]
[[Category:Iron Age cultures of South Asia]]
[[Category:Mahajanapadas]]
[[Category:Jain empires and kingdoms]]
[[Category:Regions of Bihar]]
[[Category:Kingdoms of Bihar]]
[[Category:4th-century BC disestablishments in India]]
[[Category:Magahi language]]
[[Category:Ancient Indian cities]]
[[Category:Empires and kingdoms of Nepal]]

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