Magadha was a region and kingdom in ancient India, based in theeastern Ganges Plain. It was one of the sixteenMahajanapadas during theSecond Urbanization period. The region was ruled by several dynasties, which overshadowed, conquered, and incorporated the other Mahajanapadas. Magadha played an important role in the development ofJainism andBuddhism[2] and formed the core of theMaurya Empire (ca. 320–185 BCE).
The territory of the Magadha kingdom proper before its expansion was bounded to the north, west, and east respectively by theGaṅgā,Son, andCampā rivers, and the eastern spurs of theVindhya mountains formed its southern border. The territory of the initial Magadha kingdom thus corresponded to the modern-dayPatna andGaya districts of the Indian state ofBihar.[3]
The region ofGreater Magadha also included neighbouring regions in the eastern Gangetic plains and had a distinct culture and belief.
In theAtharvaveda (5.22) (ca. 1200-900 BCE) the Magadhas are listed along with theAngas,Gandharis and Mujavats as non-Vedic tribes located outside of theKuru-Panchala cultural sphere.[4][5]
Some scholars have identified the Kīkaṭa tribe—mentioned in theRigveda (3.53.14) with their ruler Pramaganda—as the forefathers of Magadhas because Kikata is used as synonym for Magadha in the later texts.[6] 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, but Witzel argues that it is "misplaced" to locate the Kikatas within Magadha, as in the Rigveda "their [Kikata] territory is clearly described as being to the south of Kurukshetra, in eastern Rajasthan or western Madhya Pradesh, and Magadha is beyond the geographical horizon of the Rigveda".[7]
There is little certain information available on the early rulers of Magadha. The most important sources are the BuddhistPāli Canon, theJain Agamas and the HinduPuranas. The ancient kingdom of Magadha is also mentioned in theRamayana, theMahabharata. Based on Jain and Buddhist sources, it appears that Magadha was ruled by theHaryanka dynasty for some 130 years, c. 543 to 413 BCE,[10] although dates are uncertain, and could be significantly later.[11]
There is much uncertainty about the succession of kings and the precise chronology of Magadha prior toMahapadma 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 uncertainchronology of the Buddha andMahavira.[11]According to historianK. T. S. Sarao, a proponent of the Short Chronology wherein the Buddha's lifespan was c.477–397 BCE, it can be estimated that Bimbisara was reigning c.457–405 BCE, and Ajatashatru was reigning c.405–373 BCE.[12]According to historianJohn Keay, a proponent of the "Long Chronology," Bimbisara must have been reigning in the late 5th century BCE,[13] and Ajatashatru in the early 4th century BCE.[14] 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.[14]
The core of the kingdom was the area of Bihar south of theGanges; its first capital was Rajagriha (modernday Rajgir), thenPataliputra (modernPatna).[5] Rajagriha was initially known as 'Girivrijja' and later came to be known as so during the reign ofAjatashatru. Magadha expanded to include most of Bihar andBengal with the conquest ofVajjika League andAnga, respectively.[15]
From the 11th century until the late 13th century, a group of Buddhist kings known as thePithipatis ruled parts of the Magadha region. These kings referred to themselves asMagadhādipati which translates to "Lords of Magadha".[17]
SeveralŚramaṇic movements had existed before the 6th century BCE, and these influenced both theāstika and nāstika traditions of Indian philosophy.[19] TheŚramaṇa 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, strictahimsa (non-violence) and vegetarianism to the permissibility of violence and meat-eating.[20] Magadha kingdom was the nerve centre of this revolution.
Jainism was revived and re-established afterMahavira, the last and the 24thTirthankara, who synthesised and revived the philosophies and promulgations of the ancient Śramaṇic traditions laid down by the first Jain tirthankaraRishabhanatha millions of years ago.[21]Buddha foundedBuddhism which received royal patronage in the kingdom.
According to IndologistJohannes Bronkhorst, the culture of Magadha was in fundamental ways different from the Vedic kingdoms of theIndo-Aryans. According to Bronkhorst, theśramana culture arose in "Greater Magadha," which was Indo-Aryan, but notVedic. In this culture,Kshatriyas were placed higher thanBrahmins, and it rejectedVedic authority and rituals.[23][24] He argues for a cultural area termed "Greater Magadha", defined as roughly the geographical area in which theBuddha andMahavira lived and taught.[23][25]
With regard to the Buddha, this area stretched by and large fromŚrāvastī, the capital ofKosala, in the north-west toRājagṛha, the capital of Magadha, in the south-east".[26] 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".[27] 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 easternGangetic plain during the early Buddhist period. Orthodox Vedic Brahmins were, therefore, a minority in Magadha during this early period.[28]
The Magadhan religions are termed thesramana traditions and includeJainism,Buddhism andĀjīvika. Buddhism and Jainism were the religions promoted by the early Magadhan kings, such as Srenika,Bimbisara andAjatashatru, and theNanda Dynasty (345–321 BCE) that followed was mostly Jain. These Sramana religions did not worship theVedic deities, instead of practicing some form ofasceticism andmeditation (jhana) and tending to construct round burial mounds (calledstupas in Buddhism).[27] These religions also sought some type of liberation from the cyclic rounds of rebirth and karmic retribution through spiritual knowledge.
The ancientMahabodhi temple at Bodh Gaya prior to its restoration
Among the Buddhist sites currently found in the Magadha region include two UNESCOWorld Heritage Sites such as theMahabodhi temple atBodh Gaya[29] and theNalanda monastery.[30] 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.[31]
Beginning in the Theravada commentaries, thePali language has been identified withMagadhi, 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 BritishOrientalistRobert Caesar Childers argued that the true or geographical name of the Pali language wasMagadhi Prakrit, and that becausepāḷi means "line, row, series", the early Buddhists extended the meaning of the term to mean "a series of books", sopāḷibhāsā means "language of the texts".[32] Nonetheless, Pali does retain some eastern features that have been referred to asMāgadhisms.[33]
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 easternIndo-Aryan languages likeMagahi,Maithili andBhojpuri.[34]
The 24th Tirthankara of Jainism,Mahavira, who was born in Magadha to a royal family
Important people from the region of Magadha include:
Śāriputra — born to a wealthyBrahmin in a village located nearRājagaha in Magadha. He is considered the first of the Buddha's two chief male disciples, together withMaudgalyāyana.[35]
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.[36]
Mahavira — the 24thTirthankara ofJainism. Born into a royalkshatriya family in what is nowVaishali district ofBihar. He abandoned all worldly possessions at the age of 30 and became an ascetic. He is considered a slightly older contemporary of the Buddha.[37]
^Michael Witzel (1987), "On the localisation of Vedic texts and schools (Materials on Vedic Śākhās, 7)" in G. Pollet (ed.),India and the Ancient world. History, Trade and Culture before A.D. 650
^abRamesh Chandra Majumdar (1977).Ancient India. Motilal Banarsidass Publ.ISBN81-208-0436-8.
^Bronkhorst 2007, p.4: Bronkhorst"It is also in this area that a number of religious and spiritual movements arose, most famous among them Buddhism and Jainism.".
^Chandra, Jnan (1958). "Some Unknown Facts About Bimbisāra".Proceedings of the Indian History Congress.21:215–217.JSTOR44145194.
^Witzel, Michael (1997). "Macrocosm, Mesocosm, and Microcosm: The Persistent Nature of 'Hindu' Beliefs and Symbolic Forms".International Journal of Hindu Studies.1 (3):501–539.doi:10.1007/s11407-997-0021-x.JSTOR20106493.S2CID144673508.
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