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The '''Nanda–Mauryan War'''{{sfn|Roy|2012|p=62}} was a war fought in ancient India from c. 323 BCE to 321 BCE between the Emperor [[Dhana Nanda]] of the [[Nanda dynasty]] and the forces of [[Chandragupta Maurya]] that led to the establishment of the [[Maurya dynasty|Mauryan Empire]] in [[Magadha (Mahajanapada)|Magadha]].{{sfn|Sen|1895|pp=26–32}} Little is known from historical sources for certain dating about the conflict. According to [[Mudrarakshasa]] legends, Chandragupta's army included [[Bahlikas|Bahlika]], [[Kirata]], [[Parasika]], [[Kambojas|Kamboja]], [[Shakas|Saka]], and [[Greek people|Greek]] mercenaries. The army invaded capital city [[Pataliputra]] after regaining power and defeated the Nandas.<ref>Chandragupta Maurya and His Times, Radhakumud Mookerji, Motilal Banarsidass Publ., 1966, p. 27 [https://books.google.com/books?id=i-y6ZUheQH8C&pg=PA27]</ref><ref>History Of The Chamar Dynasty, Raj Kumar, Gyan Publishing House, 2008, p. 51 [https://books.google.com/books?id=eEJ-sXBmBIkC&pg=PA51]</ref> | The '''Nanda–Mauryan War'''{{sfn|Roy|2012|p=62}} was a war fought in ancient India from c. 323 BCE to 321 BCE between the Emperor [[Dhana Nanda]] of the [[Nanda dynasty]] and the forces of [[Chandragupta Maurya]] that led to the establishment of the [[Maurya dynasty|Mauryan Empire]] in [[Magadha (Mahajanapada)|Magadha]].{{sfn|Sen|1895|pp=26–32}} Little is known from historical sources for certain dating about the conflict. According to [[Mudrarakshasa]] legends, Chandragupta's army included [[Bahlikas|Bahlika]], [[Kirata]], [[Parasika]], [[Kambojas|Kamboja]], [[Shakas|Saka]], and [[Greek people|Greek]] mercenaries. The army invaded capital city [[Pataliputra]] after regaining power and defeated the Nandas.<ref>Chandragupta Maurya and His Times, Radhakumud Mookerji, Motilal Banarsidass Publ., 1966, p. 27 [https://books.google.com/books?id=i-y6ZUheQH8C&pg=PA27]</ref><ref>History Of The Chamar Dynasty, Raj Kumar, Gyan Publishing House, 2008, p. 51 [https://books.google.com/books?id=eEJ-sXBmBIkC&pg=PA51]</ref> | ||
==Primary War== | |||
Much of what is known about the conquest comes from accounts written long after the war itself. Ancient historian [[Plutarch]] gives an account of parts of the conquest.<ref name="Barua2005">Barua, Pradeep. [https://muse.jhu.edu/book/11919 The State at War in South Asia]. Vol. 2. U of Nebraska Press, 2005. pp13-15 via [[Project MUSE]] {{subscription required}}</ref> The conquest was fictionalized in ''[[Mudrarakshasa]]'', a political drama in Sanskrit by [[Vishakadatta]] composed between 300 CE and 700 CE.<ref name="Roy2012">Roy, Kaushik. Hinduism and the Ethics of Warfare in South Asia: From Antiquity to the Present. Cambridge University Press, 2012. p61-62</ref> The history is also briefly recounted in ''[[Vishnu Purana]]'' (unknown date), which emphasizes the importance of Chanakya in the destruction of the Nanda empire.<ref>Sharma, Urmila, and Sanjeev Kumar Sharma. Indian Political Thought. Atlantic Publishers & Dist, 2001. p53</ref> In another work, ''[[Milinda Panha]]'' (dating from 100 BCE), Bhaddasala is named as a Nanda [[Senapati|general]] during the conquest.<ref name="Roy2012"/> | |||
Estimates of the number of soldiers involved are based in part on ancient Roman sources. Plutarch estimates that Chandragupta's army would later number 600,000 by the time it had subdued all of India,<ref name="Battacharyya1997">Bhattacharyya, Pranab Kumar. Historical Geography of Madhyapradesh from Early Records. Motilal Banarsidass Publishers, 1977. p8</ref> an estimate also given by [[Pliny the Elder|Pliny]] (23 AD–79 AD). Pliny and Plutarch also estimated the Nanda Army strength in the east as 200,000 [[infantry]], 80,000 [[cavalry]], 8,000 [[Ratha|chariots]], and 6,000 [[war elephant]]s. These estimates were based in part of the earlier work of the Seleucid ambassador to the Maurya, [[Megasthenes]].<ref name="Mookerji, Radhakumud 1966. p165-166">Mookerji, Radhakumud. Chandragupta Maurya and his times. Motilal Banarsidass Publ., 1966. p165-166</ref> One 21st-century author, Suhas Chatterjee, suggests that "Chandragupta had to engage all his military strength, even Greek mercenaries from [[Punjab]] in his conquest of the Nanda king" and according to references about the conquest in the ''[[Milinda Panha]]'' "100,000 of soldiers, 10,000 elephants, 100,000 horses and 5,000 charioteers were killed in the encounter".{{sfn|Chatterjee|1998|p=155}} | |||