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77-506: A range of monasteries grew up in ancient Magadha (modern Bihar ) and Bengal . According to Tibetan sources, five great mahaviharas stood out during the Pāla period: Vikramashila, the premier university of the era; Nalanda, past its prime but still illustrious, Somapura, Odantapurā, and Jaggadala. The five monasteries formed a network; "all of them were under state supervision" and there existed "a system of co-ordination among them . . it seems from

154-555: A cultural area termed " Greater Magadha ", defined as roughly the geographical area in which the Buddha and Mahavira lived and taught. With regard to the Buddha, this area stretched by and large from Śrāvastī , the capital of Kosala , in the north-west to Rājagṛha , the capital of Magadha, in the south-east". According to Bronkhorst, "there was indeed a culture of Greater Magadha which remained recognizably distinct from Vedic culture until

231-545: A descendant of Yayati. The princes of this country are said to have come from the line of Druhyu who was a famous king of the Rigvedic period and one of the five sons of king Yayati of lunar dynasty. The river Indus watered the lands of Gandhara. Taksashila and Pushkalavati , the two cities of this Mahajanapada, are said to have been named after Taksa and Pushkara, the two sons of Bharata , a prince of Ayodhya and younger brother of Lord Rama . According to Vayu Purana (II.36.107),

308-501: A part of the kingdom of Kashmira . The Jataka also gives another name Chandahara for Gandhara. Gandhara Mahajanapada of Buddhist traditions included territories of east Afghanistan , and north-west of the Punjab (modern districts of Peshawar (Purushapura) and Rawalpindi ). Its later capital was Taksashila (Prakrit for Taxila ). The Taksashila University was a renowned centre of learning in ancient times, where scholars from all over

385-805: A powerful people dwelling in Northern India. According to Mahabharata, Panduputra Bhimasena is said to have conquered the chief of the Mallakas in the course of his expedition in Eastern India. During the Buddhist period, the Mallakas Kshatriya were a republican people with their dominion consisting of nine territories corresponding to the nine confederated clans. These republican states were known as gaṇasaṅgha s . Two of these confederations – one with Kushinagar (modern Kasia near Gorakhpur ) as its capital and

462-556: A prince from the lineage of Yudhishtra . Though a well known monarchical people in the earlier period, the Kurus are known to have switched to a republican form of government during the 6th to 5th centuries BCE. In the 4th century BCE, Kautiliya 's Arthashastra also attests the Kurus following the Rajashabdopajivin (Royal Consul) constitution. The Magadha was one of the most prominent and prosperous of Mahajanapadas. The kingdom of

539-615: A sutra of Jainism , gives a different list of sixteen Mahajanapadas: The author of the Bhagavati Sutra (or the Vyākhyāprajñapti ) has a focus on the countries of Madhydesa and of the far east and south only. He omits the nations from Uttarapatha like the Kamboja and Gandhara. The more extended horizon of the Bhagvati and the omission of all countries from Uttarapatha "clearly shows that

616-525: A well known republican people since Epic times. The Mahabharata refers to several gaṇaḥ (or Republics) of the Kambojas. Kautiliya 's Arthashastra attestes the Kambojas republican character and Ashoka 's Edict No. XIII also testifies the presence of the Kambojas along with the Yavanas. Pāṇini's Sutras, though tend to convey that the Kamboja of Pāṇini was a Kshatriya monarchy, but "the special rule and

693-566: Is also found in later days in the Visakhapatnam region. The Matsyas had not much political importance of their own during the time of Buddha. The Panchalas occupied the country to the east of the Kurus between the mountains and river Ganges. It roughly corresponded to modern Budaun , Farrukhabad and the adjoining districts of Uttar Pradesh . The country was divided into Uttara-Panchala and Dakshina-Panchala. The northern Panchala had its capital at Adhichhatra or Chhatravati (modern Ramnagar in

770-604: Is found in Tibetan and Chinese sources. During the Pāla period, Nālānda was less singularly outstanding, as other Pālā establishments "must have drawn away a number of learned monks from Nālānda when all of the . . came under the aegis of the Pālās." Nonetheless, the fame of this monastery lingered even after the Pala period. Odantapuri, also called Odantapura or Uddandapura, was a Buddhist vihara in what

847-518: Is now Bihar, India. It was established by King Gopala of the Pala dynasty in the 7th century. It is considered the second oldest of India's universities and was situated in Magadh. Currently it is known as the Bihar Sharif city (Headquarters of Nalanda District). Acharya Sri Ganga of Vikramashila had been a student here. According to the Tibetan records there were about 12,000 students at Odantapuri. Odantpuri

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924-539: Is now the centre of the Buddhist pilgrimage circle which is being developed by the tourism development corporation of Uttar Pradesh. The Mallakas, like the Licchavis , are mentioned by Manusmriti as Vratya Kshatriyas . They are called Vasishthas (Vasetthas) in the Mahapparnibbana Suttanta. The Mallakas originally had a monarchical form of government but later they switched to one of Samgha (republican union),

1001-509: The Digha Nikaya , mentions twelve Mahajanapadas from the above list and omits four of them (Assaka, Avanti, Gandhara, and Kamboja). Chulla-Niddesa , another ancient text of the Buddhist canon, adds Kalinga to the list and substitutes Yona for Gandhara, thus listing the Kamboja and the Yona as the only Mahajanapadas from Uttarapatha . The Vyākhyāprajñapti (or the Bhagavati Sutra ),

1078-594: The Ashtadhyayi of Pāṇini. In Kautiliya 's Arthashastra , the Vrishnis are described as sangha or republic. The Vrishnis, Andhakas and other allied tribes of the Shoorsaini formed a sangha and Vasudeva ( Krishna ) is described as the sangha-mukhya . Mathura, the capital of Surasena, was also known at the time of Megasthenes as the centre of Krishna worship. The Surasena kingdom had lost its independence on annexation by

1155-563: The Bareilly district ), while southern Panchala had its capital at Kampilya or Kampil in the Farrukhabad District. The famous city of Kanyakubja or Kanauj was situated in the kingdom of Panchala. Originally a monarchical clan , the Panchals appear to have switched to republican corporation in the 6th and 5th centuries BCE. In the 4th century BCE, Kautiliya 's Arthashastra also attests

1232-698: The Daradas and the Gandharas constituted the Kamboja country. The capital of Kamboja was probably Rajapura (modern Rajori) in the south-west of Kashmir. The Kamboja Mahajanapada of the Buddhist traditions refers to this cis-Hindukush branch of ancient Kambojas. The trans-Hindukush region including the Pamirs and Badakhshan which shared borders with the Bahlikas (Bactria) in

1309-592: The Indian subcontinent . They included parts of the trans- Vindhyan region, and all had developed prior to the rise of Buddhism in India. Archaeologically, this period has been identified as corresponding in part to the Northern Black Polished Ware culture. The term " Janapada " literally means the foothold of a people . The fact that Janapada is derived from Jana points to an early stage of land-taking by

1386-519: The Kshatriya people (or the Kshatriya Jana) who had settled therein. Buddhist and other texts only incidentally refer to sixteen great nations ( Solasa Mahajanapadas ) that existed prior to the time of the Buddha. They do not give any connected history except in the case of Magadha. The Buddhist Anguttara Nikaya , at several places, gives a list of sixteen great states: Another Buddhist text,

1463-535: The Magadhas roughly corresponded to the modern districts of Patna and Gaya in southern Bihar and parts of Bengal in the east. The capital city of Pataliputra was bound in the north by the river Ganges, in the east by the river Champa, in the south by the Vindhya mountains and in the west by the river Sona. During Buddha's time its boundaries included Anga. Its earliest capital was Girivraja or Rajagaha (modern Rajgir in

1540-874: 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. 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

1617-459: The Rigveda , with their king Kashu Chaidya. The location of the capital city, Suktimati , has not been established with certainty. Historian Hem Chandra Raychaudhuri and F. E. Pargiter believed that it was in the vicinity of Banda, Uttar Pradesh . Archaeologist Dilip Kumar Chakrabarti has proposed that Suktimati can be identified as the ruins of a large early historical city, at a place with

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1694-570: The Vedic period . Two of the Mahājanapadas were most probably gaṇasaṅgha s (aristocratic republics), and others had forms of monarchy. Ancient Buddhist texts like the Anguttara Nikaya make frequent reference to sixteen great kingdoms and republics that had developed and flourished in a belt stretching from Gandhara in the northwest to Anga in the east to Asmaka in the southern part of

1771-583: The first Buddhist council was held in Rajgriha . Several Śramaṇic movements had existed before the 6th century BCE, and these influenced both the āstika and nāstika traditions of Indian philosophy. The 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

1848-644: 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 Vedic deities , instead of practicing some form of asceticism and meditation ( jhana ) and tending to construct round burial mounds (called stupas in Buddhism). These religions also sought some type of liberation from

1925-628: The 6th/5th century BCE, the growing state of the Magadhas emerged as the predominant power in ancient India, annexing several of the Janapadas of the Majjhimadesa. A bitter line in the Puranas laments that Magadhan emperor Mahapadma Nanda exterminated all Kshatriyas , none worthy of the name Kshatriya being left thereafter. This refers to the Kasis, Kosalas, Kurus, Panchalas, Vatsyas and other neo-Vedic tribes of

2002-655: The Assakas from that of the Mulakas (or Alakas). The country of Assaka lay outside the pale of Madhyadesa . It was located on a southern high road, the Dakshinapatha . At one time, Assaka included Mulaka and abutted Avanti. The country of the Avantis was an important kingdom of western India and was one of the four great monarchies in India in the post era of Mahavira and Buddha, the other three being Kosala , Vatsa and Magadha . Avanti

2079-615: The Assakas was Potana or Potali, which corresponds present-day Bodhan in Telangana and Paudanya of Mahabharata . In Maharashtra its capital is located in Potali which corresponds to present day Nandura, Buldhana district. The Ashmakas are also mentioned by Pāṇini. They are placed in the north-west in the Markendeya Purana and the Brhat Samhita . The river Godavari separated the country of

2156-704: The Bhagvati list is of later origin and therefore less reliable." The first reference to the Angas is found in the Atharvaveda where they find mention along with the Magadhas , Gandharis and the Mujavats, apparently as a despised people. The Jaina Prajnapana ranks Angas and Vangas in the first group of Aryan people. It mentions the principal cities of ancient India . It was also a great center of trade and commerce and its merchants regularly sailed to distant Suvarnabhumi . Anga

2233-514: The Gandharas and Kambojas were cognate people. It is also contended that the Kurus, Kambojas, Gandharas and Bahlikas were cognate people. According to Dr T. L. Shah, the Gandhara and Kamboja were nothing but two provinces of one empire and were located coterminously, hence influencing each other's language. Naturally, they may have once been a cognate people. Gandhara was often linked politically with

2310-481: The Gandharas were destroyed by Pramiti (a.k.a. Kalika) at the end of Kali Yuga . Pāṇini mentioned both the Vedic form Gandhari as well as the later form Gandhara in his Ashtadhyayi . The Gandhara kingdom sometimes also included Kashmira . Hecataeus of Miletus (549–468) refers to Kaspapyros (Kasyapura or Purushapura, i.e., modern day Peshawar) as a Gandharic city. According to Gandhara Jataka, at one time, Gandhara formed

2387-460: The Jana people for a settled way of life. This process of settlement on land had completed its final stage prior to the times of the Buddha and Pāṇini . The Pre-Buddhist northern Indian sub-continent was divided into several Janapadas, demarcated from each other by boundaries. In Pāṇini's "Ashtadhyayi", Janapada stands for country and Janapadin for its citizenry. Each of these Janapadas was named after

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2464-751: The Kambojas appear to have crossed the Hindukush and planted colonies on its southern side also. These latter Kambojas are associated with the Daradas and Gandharas in Indian literature and also find mention in the Edicts of Ashoka . The evidence in the Mahabharata and in Ptolemy 's Geography distinctly supports two Kamboja settlements. The cis-Hindukush region from Nurestan up to Rajauri in southwest of Kashmir sharing borders with

2541-532: The Kosalas and Videhans find mention in Vedic texts and appear to have been a closely allied people. The Matsya Purana and Alberuni spell Kashi as Kausika and Kaushaka respectively. All other ancient texts read Kashi. The country of Kosala was located to the north-west of Magadha, with its capital at Ayodhya . Its territory corresponded to the modern Awadh (or Oudh) in Central and Eastern Uttar Pradesh . It had

2618-625: The Kuru country was ruled by a titular chieftain (king consul) named Korayvya. The Kurus of the Buddhist period did not occupy the same position as they did in the Vedic period but they continued to enjoy their ancient reputation for deep wisdom and sound health. The Kurus had matrimonial relations with the Yadavas , the Bhojas, Trigratas, and the Panchalas. There is a Jataka reference to king Dhananjaya, introduced as

2695-612: The Magadha people occurs in the Atharvaveda , where they are found listed along with the Angas , Gandharis and Mujavats. The core of the kingdom was the area of Bihar south of the Ganges ; its first capital was Rajagriha (modern 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

2772-655: The Magadhan empire. Vajji or Vṛji was a confederacy of neighbouring clans including the Licchavis and one of the principal mahājanapadas of Ancient India . The area they ruled constitutes the region of Mithila in Nepal and northern Bihar and their capital was the city of Vaishali . Both the Buddhist text Anguttara Nikaya and the Jaina text Bhagavati Sutra ( Saya xv Uddesa I) included Vajji in their lists of solasa (sixteen) mahājanapadas. The name of this mahājanapada

2849-403: The Nalanda district of Bihar). The other names for the city were Magadhapura, Brihadrathapura, Vasumati, Kushagrapura and Bimbisarapuri. It was an active center of Jainism in ancient times. The First Buddhist Council was held in Rajagaha in the Vaibhara Hills. Later on, Pataliputra became the capital of Magadha. The Mallakas are frequently mentioned in Buddhist and Jain works. They were

2926-422: 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". Nonetheless, Pali does retain some eastern features that have been referred to as Māgadhisms . Magadhi Prakrit was one of the three dramatic prakrits to emerge following the decline of Sanskrit. It

3003-552: The Panchalas as following the Rajashabdopajivin (king consul) constitution. The country of the Surasenas lay to the east of Matsya and west of Yamuna . This corresponds roughly to the Brij region of Uttar Pradesh, Haryana and Rajasthan . and Gwalior district of Madhya Pradesh . It had its capital at Madhura or Mathura . Avantiputra, the king of Surasena, was the first among the chief disciples of Buddha, through whose help Buddhism gained ground in Mathura country. The Andhakas and Vrishnis of Mathura/Surasena are referred to in

3080-402: The Puru lineage, was the eponymous ancestor of the Kurus and the founder of Kururashtra (Kuru Janapada) in Kurukshetra. The country of the Kurus roughly corresponded to the modern Thanesar , state of Delhi , and Meerut district of Uttar Pradesh . According to the Jatakas , the capital of the Kurus was Indraprastha (Indapatta) near modern Delhi which extended seven leagues. At Buddha's time,

3157-409: The conquest of Vajjika League and Anga , respectively. The kingdom of Magadha eventually came to encompass modern Bihar , Jharkhand, Orissa , West Bengal, eastern Uttar Pradesh , and the areas that are today the nations of Bangladesh and Nepal . The ancient kingdom of Magadha is heavily mentioned in Jain and Buddhist texts . It is also mentioned in the Ramayana , the Mahabharata and

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3234-417: The cyclic rounds of rebirth and karmic retribution through spiritual knowledge. Beginning in the Theravada commentaries, the Pali language has been identified with Magadhi , 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 Orientalist Robert Caesar Childers argued that the true or geographical name of

3311-419: The east Panjab of whom nothing was ever heard except in the legend and poetry. (The Nandas usurped the throne of Shishunaga dynasty c.  345 BCE , thus founding the Nanda Empire .) The Kambojans and Gandharans, however, never came into direct contact with the Magadhan state until Chandragupta and Kautilya arose on the scene. But these nations also fell prey to the Achaemenids of Persia during

3388-450: The eastern spurs of the Vindhya mountains formed its southern border. The territory of the initial Magadha kingdom thus corresponded to the modern-day Patna and Gaya districts of the Indian state of Bihar . The region of Greater Magadha also included neighbouring regions in the eastern Gangetic plains and had a distinct culture and belief. Much of the Second Urbanisation took place here from ( c.  500 BCE ) onwards, and it

3465-432: The evidence that the different seats of Buddhist learning that functioned in eastern India under the Pāla were regarded together as forming a network, an interlinked group of institutions," and it was common for great scholars to move easily from position to position among them. The famous Nalanda Mahavihara was founded a few centuries earlier; Xuanzang speaks about its magnificence and grandeur. Reference to this monastery

3542-401: The exceptional form of derivative" he gives to denote the ruler of the Kambojas implies that the king of Kamboja was a titular head ( king consul ) only. According to Buddhist texts, the first fourteen of the above Mahajanapadas belong to Majjhimadesa ( Mid India ) while the last two belong to Uttarapatha or the north-west division of Jambudvipa . In a struggle for supremacy that followed in

3619-415: The former princely state of Jaipur in Rajputana , and included the whole of Alwar with portions of Bharatpur . The capital of Matsya was at Viratanagara (modern Bairat ) which is said to have been named after its founder king Virata. In Pali literature, the Matsyas are usually associated with the Surasenas. The western Matsya was the hill tract on the north bank of the Chambal . A branch of Matsya

3696-409: The kingdom. According to Indologist Johannes Bronkhorst , the culture of Magadha was in fundamental ways different from the Vedic kingdoms of the Indo-Aryans . According to Bronkhorst, the śramana culture arose in " Greater Magadha ," which was Indo-Aryan, but not Vedic . In this culture, Kshatriyas were placed higher than Brahmins , and it rejected Vedic authority and rituals. He argues for

3773-419: The members of which called themselves rajas . The Mallakas appeared to have formed an alliance with the Licchhavis for self-defense but lost their independence not long after Buddha's death and their dominions were annexed to the Magadhan empire. The country of the Matsya or Macchā tribe lay to the south of the Kurus and west of the Yamuna , which separated them from the Panchalas. It roughly corresponded to

3850-422: The modern-day name Itaha, on the outskirts of Rewa, Madhya Pradesh . The wool of the Gandharis is referred to in the Rigveda . The Gandharas and their king figure prominently as strong allies of the Kurus against the Pandavas in the Mahabharata war. The Gandharas were furious people, well-trained in the art of war. According to Puranic traditions, this Janapada was founded by Gandhara , son of Aruddha,

3927-422: The neighboring regions of Kashmira and Kamboja . Kambojas are also included in the Uttarapatha. In ancient literature, the Kamboja is variously associated with the Gandhara , Darada and the Bahlika ( Bactria ). Ancient Kamboja is known to have comprised regions on either side of the Hindukush . The original Kamboja was located in eastern Oxus country as neighbor to Bahlika, but with time, some clans of

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4004-414: The north-west Bangladesh on the border with India, near Paharapur. also known as Bhavadev Bihar is another large monastery which flourished between 7th to 12th centuries AD. Located in Comilla, Bangladesh, it was established by King Bhava Deva in the Lalmai Hills Ridge. The Anuradhapura Maha Viharaya ( Pali for "Great Monastery") was an important monastery for Theravada Buddhism in Sri Lanka . It

4081-463: The origin of Kurus from the Puru - Bharata family. Kuru was born after 25 generations of Puru's dynasty, and after 15 generations of Kuru, Kauravas and Pandavas were born. Aitareya Brahmana locates the Kurus in Madhyadesha and also refers to the Uttarakurus as living beyond the Himalayas. According to the Buddhist text Sumangavilasini, the people of Kururashtra (the Kurus) came from the Uttarakuru. Vayu Purana attests that Kuru , son of Samvarsana of

4158-445: The permissibility of violence and meat-eating. 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. Buddha founded Buddhism which received royal patronage in

4235-452: The reign of Cyrus II (558–530 BCE) or in the first year of Darius . Kamboja and Gandhara formed the twentieth and richest satrapy of the Achaemenid Empire. Cyrus II is said to have destroyed the famous Kamboja city called Kapisi (modern Begram ) in Paropamisade . The kingdom was located in the region around its capital Varanasi , bounded by the Varuna and Asi rivers in the north and south which gave Varanasi its name. Before Buddha, Kasi

4312-406: The river Ganges for its southern, the river Gandak (Narayani) for its eastern, and the Himalaya mountains for its northern boundary. Later, the kingdom was ruled by the famous king Prasenajit during the era of Mahavira and Buddha, followed by his son Vidudabha ( Virudhaka ). King Prasenajit was highly educated. His position was further improved by a matrimonial alliance with Magadha: his sister

4389-422: The second with Pava (modern Fazilnagar , 20 kilometres (12 mi) southeast of Kushinagar) as the capital – had become very important at the time of Buddha. Kuśināra is very important in the history of Buddhism since Lord Buddha took last meal at Pava. Buddha was taken ill at Pava and died at Kusinara. It is widely believed that Lord Gautam died at the courtyard of King Sastipal Mall of Kushinagar. Kushinagar

4466-419: The sixth to fourth centuries BCE, during the second urbanisation period. The 6th–5th centuries BCE are often regarded as a major turning point in early Indian history . During this period, India's first large cities since the demise of the Indus Valley civilization arose. It was also the time of the rise of sramana movements (including Buddhism and Jainism ), which challenged the religious orthodoxy of

4543-430: The southern high road called Dakshinapatha which extended from Rajagriha to Pratishthana (modern Paithan ). Avanti was an important centre of Buddhism and some of the leading theras and theris were born and resided there. King Nandivardhana of Avanti was defeated by king Shishunaga of Magadha. Avanti later became part of the Magadhan empire. The Chedis, Chetis or Chetyas had two distinct settlements of which one

4620-410: The time of the grammarian Patañjali (ca. 150 BCE) and beyond". 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. The Magadhan religions are termed

4697-405: The village Kosam, 38 miles from Prayagraj ). Kausambi was a very prosperous city where a large number of wealthy merchants resided. It was the most important entrepôt of goods and passengers from the north-west and south. Udayana was the ruler of Vatsa in the 6th-5th century BCE. He was very powerful, warlike and fond of hunting. Initially king Udayana was opposed to Buddhism , but later became

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4774-406: The west and the Lohas and Rishikas of Sogdiana / Fergana in the north, constituted the Parama-Kamboja country. The trans-Hindukush branch of the Kambojas remained pure Iranian but a large section of the Kambojas of cis-Hindukush appears to have come under Indian cultural influence. The Kambojas are known to have had both Iranian as well as Indian affinities. The Kambojas were also

4851-437: The world came to seek higher education. Pāṇini, the Indian genius of grammar and Kautiliya are the world-renowned products of Taxila University. King Pukkusati or Pushkarasarin of Gandhara in the middle of the 6th century BCE was the contemporary of king Bimbisara of Magadha. Gandhara was located on the northern high road ( Uttarapatha ) and was a centre of international commercial activities. According to one group of scholars,

4928-404: Was an ancient Indian kingdom, region and one of the sixteen Mahajanapadas during the Second Urbanization period, based in the eastern Ganges Plain . Magadha played an important role in the development of Jainism and Buddhism . The territory of the Magadha kingdom proper before its expansion was bounded to the north, west, and east respectively by the Gaṅgā , Son , and Campā rivers, and

5005-427: Was annexed by Magadha in the time of Bimbisara . This was the one and only conquest of Bimbisara. The country of Assaka or the Ashmaka tribe was located in Dakshinapatha or southern India. It included areas in present-day Andhra Pradesh , Telangana , and Maharashtra . In Gautama Buddha 's time, many of the Assakas were located on the banks of the Godavari River (south of the Vindhya mountains). The capital of

5082-426: Was derived from one of its ruling clans, the Vṛjis. The Vajji state is indicated to have been a republic. This clan is mentioned by Pāṇini , Chanakya and Xuanzang . The Vatsas or Vamsas are called to be a branch of the Kurus . The Vatsa or Vamsa country corresponded with the territory of modern Prayagraj in Uttar Pradesh . It had a monarchical form of government with its capital at Kausambi (identified with

5159-431: Was divided into north and south by the river Narmada . Initially, Mahishamati (Mahissati) was the capital of Southern Avanti, and Ujjaini (Sanskrit: Ujjayini) was of northern Avanti, but at the times of Mahavira and Buddha, Ujjaini was the capital of integrated Avanti. The country of Avanti roughly corresponded to modern Malwa , Nimar and adjoining parts of today's Madhya Pradesh . Both Mahishmati and Ujjaini stood on

5236-406: Was established by monks such as Buddhaghosa . The traditional Theravadin account provided by the Mahavamsa stands in contrast to the writings of the Chinese Buddhist monk Faxian (Ch. 法顯), who journeyed to India and Sri Lanka in the early 5th century (between 399 and 414 CE). He recorded that the Mahavihara was not only intact, but housed 3000 monks. Magadha (Mahajanapada) Magadha

5313-401: Was founded by king Devanampiya Tissa (247–207 BCE) in his capital Anuradhapura . The Cūlavamsa written during the European Middle Ages by a monk called Dhamma-kitti, says that king Mahāsena (277-304 AD) had the Mahavihara destroyed by devotees of the Abhayagiri vihara. His son Sirimeghavanna restores the Mahavihara to its former glory. The Mahavihara was the place where the Mahavihara orthodoxy

5390-459: Was here that Jainism and Buddhism arose. Some scholars have identified the Kīkaṭa tribe—mentioned in the Rigveda (3.53.14) with their ruler Pramaganda—as the forefathers of Magadhas because Kikata is used as synonym for Magadha in the later texts; 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. The earliest reference to

5467-435: Was in the mountains of Nepal and the other in Bundelkhand near Kausambi . According to old authorities, Chedis lay near Yamuna midway between the kingdom of Kurus and Vatsas . In the mediaeval period, the southern frontiers of Chedi extended to the banks of the river Narmada . Sotthivatnagara, the Sukti or Suktimati of Mahabharata , was the capital of Chedi. The Chedis were an ancient people of India and are mentioned in

5544-482: Was located at Paharpur, 46.5 km to the north-west of Mahasthangarh in Bangladesh . The available data suggests that the Pala ruler Dharmapala founded the vihara. It followed the traditional cruciform plan for the central shrine. There were 177 individual cells around the central courtyard. There were central blocks in the middle of the eastern, southern and western sides. These might have been subsidiary chapels. It

5621-449: Was married to Bimbisara and part of Kasi was given as dowry. There was, however, a struggle for supremacy between king Pasenadi (Prasenajit) and king Ajatashatru of Magadha which was finally settled once the confederation of Liccavis became conquered by Magadha. Kosala was ultimately merged into Magadha when Vidudabha was Kosala's ruler. Ayodhya , Saketa , Banaras , and Sravasti were the chief cities of Kosala. The Puranas trace

5698-518: Was situated at a mountain called Hiranya Prabhat Parvat and the bank of the river Panchanan. Reference to a monastery known as Vikramashila is found in Tibetan records. The Pala ruler Dharmapala was its founder. The exact site of this vihara is at Antichak, a small village in Bhagalpur district (Bihar). The monastery had 107 temples and 50 other institutions providing room for 108 monks. It attracted scholars from neighbouring countries. Somapura Mahavihara

5775-419: Was spoken in Magadha and neighbouring regions and later evolved into modern eastern Indo-Aryan languages like Magahi , Maithili and Bhojpuri . Important people from the region of Magadha include: Indo-Scythians Indo-Parthians References Sources Mahajanapadas The Mahājanapadas were sixteen kingdoms and aristocratic republics that existed in ancient India from

5852-485: Was the most powerful of the sixteen Mahajanapadas. Several jataka tales bear witness to the superiority of its capital over other cities in India and speak highly of its prosperity and opulence. These stories tell of the long struggle for supremacy between Kashi and the three kingdoms of Kosala , Anga and Magadha . Although King Brihadratha of Kashi conquered Kosala , Kashi was later incorporated into Kosala by King Kansa during Buddha's time. The Kashis along with

5929-531: Was the premier vihara of its kind and its fame lingered till the 11th century CE. Jagaddala Mahavihara was a Buddhist monastery and seat of learning in Varendra , a geographical unit in present north Bengal. It was founded by the later kings of the Pāla dynasty , probably Ramapala ( c.  1077  – c.  1120 ), most likely at a site near the present village of Jagdal in Dhamoirhat Upazila in

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