Magadha

The Magadha Kingdom (before expansion) corresponded to the modern areas of Patna , Jahanabad , Nalanda , Aurangabad , Arval Navad and Gaya in the south of Bihar and parts of Bengal in the east. It was bounded in the north by the Ganges River , in the east by the Champa River, in the south by the Vindhya Range and in the west by the Son River. In the state of Magadha, there was a culture of its own and a belief system that preceded Hinduism . Most of the second urbanization occurred around 500 BC. Oe., and it was in Magadhi Jainism became strong and Buddhism arose. The importance of the Magadha culture can be seen in the fact that Buddhism, Jainism and Hinduism adopted some of its features, the most significant of which is belief in rebirth and karmic retribution.

There is little specific information about the early rulers of Magadha. The most important sources are the Buddhist canon of Pali, the Jain Agama and the Hindu Puranas. From these sources, it seems that Magadha was ruled by the Kharyanka dynasty for about 200 years (from 543 to 413 BC).

Siddhartha Gautama , the founder of Buddhism, spent most of his life in the kingdom of Magadha. He achieved enlightenment in Bodh Gaye , delivered his first sermon in Sarnath , and the first Buddhist council was held in Rajgrich .

The founder of the Bimbisar dynasty was the son of a petty leader from South Bihar . He inherited the lands he inherited by successful marriages, as well as military campaigns against his neighbors (he conquered the Kingdom of Anga in present-day West Bengal), establishing his power not only in Maradx, but also in the vast territories around it. King Bimbisara was killed by the son of Ajatashatru.

Ajatashatru wanted to seize land north of the Ganges River , so he fought a war with Lichavi , which lasted for 15 years. Around 468 BC. er Ajatashatru defeated Lichavi confederation, sowing discord among Lichavi and using heavy catapults near the walls of Vaishali . The description of these events in the Buddhist and Jain sources is contradictory.

The last significant ruler of the Kharyanka dynasty was Udayin. The Ero successors fought among themselves for power (in the chronicles they are called otricide). Minister Shayshunara took advantage of this, who seized the throne and founded a new dynasty in 413 BC. er

Minister Mahapadma Nanda killed Kalashok from the Shaishunaga dynasty in 367 BC. er and seized the throne, although for some time he covered himself with the sons of Kalashok (until 345 BC).

In 326 BC er Alexander 's army approached the western borders of Magadha. The army, exhausted and frightened by the prospect of a collision with another giant Indian army at the Ganges , rebelled by the river Bias and refused to go further east. Alexander , after meeting with his officers, was convinced that it was better to return and turned south and went down the Indus to the ocean.

Around 321 BC. er Chandragupta Maurya destroyed the Nanda dynasty, becoming the first king of the great Mauryan dynasty and the Maurya empire with the help of Chanakya . Later, the Empire spread to most of South Asia under King Ashoka , who was first known as "Ashoka the Cruel", but later became a student of Buddhism and became known as "Dharma Ashoka". Later, the Mauryan empire, like the empire of Shung and Kharabesh, ended with the replacement of the Gupta empire. The capital of the Gupta Empire remained Pataliputra in Magadha.

Several Shraman movements existed before the 6th century BC. er influenced the traditions of astika and nastik of Indian philosophy. The Shraman movement spawned a wide spectrum of unorthodox beliefs, ranging from accepting or rejecting the concept of soul , atomism , antinomic ethics, materialism , atheism , agnosticism , fatalism to free will, idealizing extreme asceticism and family life, strict ahimsa (non-violence) and vegetarianism to the acceptability of violence and meat-eating. The kingdom of Magadh was the center of these changes.

The Magadh religion is traditionally called shraman and includes Jainism , Buddhism and Shivika. Buddhism and Jainism were religions promoted by the early Magadh kings, such as Srenika, Bimbisara, and Ajatashatru, and the Nanda dynasty that followed (345–321 BC). These shramana religions did not worship Vedic deities, practiced some form of asceticism and meditation (jhana) and sought to build round burial mounds (called stupas in Buddhism), and also sought liberation from the cycles of rebirth and karmic retribution through spiritual knowledge.

The rulers of the Kharyanka dynasty (545-413 BC):

Bimbisara (from 545 to 493 BC. E.)

Ajatashatti (from 493 to 461 BC. E.)

Udayabhadta (Udayin) (from 461 to 445 BC)

Anuruddha (from 445 to 437 BC. E.)

Munda (from 445 to 437 BC. E.)

Haradacaca (from 437 to 413 BC. E.).

The rulers of the Shayshunaga dynasty (413-345 BC):

Shaishunaga (from 413 to 395 BC)

Kalashok (from 395 to 367 BC. E.)

The sons of Kalashok, replacing each other, ruled from 367 to 345. BC er : Kshemadharma, Ksetajit, Vidhisara (Bimbisara), Ajatacatpy, Darsaka, Udayana, Nandivardhana, Mahanandi (Augrasayya).

The rulers of the Nanda dynasty (345–320/13 BC):

Mahapadma (or Ugrasena Nanda) (from 345 to 325 BC)

Dhana Nanda (from 325 to 320/13 BC)

Later on the territory of Magadha there were states:

• 320 / 13-187 BC. er - Empire Mauryev
• 185–73 BC er - Shunga
• 75-26 years BC. er - dynasty Canva
• 320 to 550 n. er - Empire Gupta

• History of india

• Magadha // Encyclopedic Dictionary of Brockhaus and Efron : in 86 tons (82 tons and 4 extra). - SPb. , 1890-1907.
• N. Sychev "The Book of Dynasties", M.-2008

• Magadha // The Great Soviet Encyclopedia : [in 30 t.] / Ch. ed. A. M. Prokhorov . - 3rd ed. - M .: Soviet Encyclopedia, 1969-1978.
• Magadha (English) . - article from Encyclopædia Britannica Online . The appeal date is June 19, 2011.
• Magadha (rulers of the world)
• A brief history of the civilization of Magadha-Andhra
• India VI — IV centuries. BC er
• Magadhi Kings
• History of india
• Powers of India: Magadha, Mauryas, Kushan kingdom, Gupta