Mahapadma Nanda
Topic: Janapadas, Mahajanapadas and the Second Urbanisation · NCERT: Class 7, Ch 5 "The Rise of Empires"; Class 12, Ch 2 "Kings, Farmers and Towns"
Meaning
Mahapadma Nanda founded the Nanda dynasty of Magadha, a kingdom in present-day Bihar, in c. the fourth century BCE. Early Buddhist and Jaina writers name him with Bimbisara and Ajatasattu as one of the "ruthlessly ambitious kings" who made Magadha the strongest of the sixteen mahajanapadas (the large early states of north India). The Nandas also show that kings could come from many social backgrounds, not only from the Kshatriya (warrior) group. Nanda rule ended when Chandragupta Maurya took power and started the Mauryan empire.
Example
In the Buddhist and Jaina explanation of Magadha's rise between the sixth and fourth centuries BCE, Mahapadma Nanda and his ministers are given the credit. Modern historians point instead to rich farmland, iron mines, elephants from the forests and the river Ganga.
Don't confuse with
- Dhana Nanda: the last Nanda king, whom Chandragupta Maurya overthrew. Mahapadma Nanda was the founder of the dynasty.
Related concepts
- Rise of Magadha
- Magadha
- Haryanka dynasty
- Bimbisara
- Ajatashatru
- Udayin
- Rajagaha
- Cyclopean wall of Rajgir
- Pataliputra
- Shishunaga dynasty