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42-437: Śīlabhadra was said to have originally been from Magadha . Although another source states that he "appears to have been born in a Brahman royal family of Samatata." As a young man he went to Nālandā, and was trained there by Dharmapāla of Nālandā , who also ordained him as a Buddhist monk. According to Xuanzang's account, Śīlabhadra gradually became famous for his learning even in foreign countries. At 30 years old, after defeating

84-718: A Brahmin from southern India in a religious debate, the king insisted on giving him the revenue of a city, which Śīlabhadra accepted with reluctance, and he built a monastery there and kept it funded it with the city's revenues. The name of this monastery was Śīlabhadra Vihāra . At the age of 33, the Chinese Buddhist monk Xuanzang made a dangerous journey to India in order to study Buddhism there and to procure Buddhist texts for translation into Chinese . Xuanzang spent over ten years in India traveling and studying under various Buddhist masters. These masters included Śīlabhadra,

126-528: A centre of commerce and became the capital of Magadha after Ajatashatru's death. The Haryanka dynasty was overthrown by the Shishunaga dynasty . The last Shishunaga ruler, Mahanandin , was assassinated by Mahapadma Nanda in 345 BCE, the first of the so-called "Nine Nandas", i. e. Mahapadma and his eight sons, last being Dhana Nanda . In 326 BCE, the army of Alexander approached the western boundaries of Magadha. The army, exhausted and frightened at

168-633: A royal camp in Pataliputra . The Pithipatis of Bodh Gaya referred to themselves as Magadhādipati and ruled in parts of Magadha until the 13th century. 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 the eastern spurs of the Vindhya mountains formed its southern border. The territory of

210-548: Is inextricably linked to the uncertain chronology of the Buddha and Mahavira . According to historian K. 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. According to historian John Keay , a proponent of the "Long Chronology," Bimbisara must have been reigning in

252-518: Is much uncertainty about the succession of kings and the precise chronology of Magadha prior to Mahapadma 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. Two notable rulers of Magadha were Bimbisara (also known as Shrenika ) and his son Ajatashatru (also known as Kunika ), who are mentioned in Buddhist and Jain literature as contemporaries of

294-533: Is now West Bengal . King Bimbisara was killed by his son, Ajatashatru . Pasenadi , king of neighbouring Kosala and brother-in-law of Bimbisara, promptly reconquered the Kashi province. Accounts differ slightly as to the cause of King Ajatashatru's war with the Licchavi , a powerful tribe north of the river Ganges . It appears that Ajatashatru sent a minister to the area who worked for three years to undermine

336-594: 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

378-583: The three natures , but the Mādhyamaka teacher Jñānaprabha notably opposed this idea. Instead, Jñānaprabha regarded Yogācāra teachings to be below Mādhyamaka, because they (purportedly) posit the real existence of a mind. Śīlabhadra composed the text Buddhabhūmivyākhyāna , which is now extant only in the Tibetan language . Magadha (Mahajanapada) Magadha , also called the Kingdom of Magadha or

420-740: 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 the Magadha people occurs in

462-895: The Magadha Empire , was a kingdom and empire , and one of the sixteen Mahajanapadas during the Second Urbanization period, based in southern Bihar in the eastern Ganges Plain , in Ancient India . Magadha was ruled by the Brihadratha dynasty (1700-682 BCE), the Haryanka dynasty (544–413 BCE), the Shaishunaga dynasty (413–345 BCE), the Nanda dynasty (345–322 BCE), the Mauryan dynasty (322–184 BCE),

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504-864: The Mauryas , Magadha became a pan-Indian empire, covering large swaths of the Indian subcontinent and Afghanistan . The Magadh under the Gupta Empire emerged as the most prosperous kingdom in the history of Ancient India. Magadha played an important role in the development of Jainism and Buddhism . It was the core of four of northern India's greatest empires, the Nanda Empire ( c.  345  – c.  322 BCE ), Maurya Empire ( c.  322 –185 BCE), Shunga Empire ( c.  185 –78 BCE) and Gupta Empire ( c.  240 –550 CE). The Pala Empire also ruled over Magadha and maintained

546-579: The Nanda Dynasty (345–321 BCE) that followed was mostly Jain. These Sramana religions did not worship the Vedic deities , practised some form of asceticism and meditation ( jhana ) and tended to construct round burial mounds (called stupas in Buddhism). These religions also sought some type of liberation from the cyclic rounds of rebirth and karmic retribution through spiritual knowledge. Among

588-850: 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

630-744: The Shunga dynasty (184–73 BCE), the Kanva dynasty (73–28 BCE), the Gupta dynasty (240-550 CE) and the Later Gupta dynasty (490–700). Kanva dynasty lost much of its territory after being defeated by the Satavahanas of Deccan in 28 BCE and was reduced to a small principality around Pataliputra . However, with the rule of Gupta Empire (240-550 CE), The Gupta Empire regained the Glory of Magadh. Under

672-480: The first Buddhist council was held in Rajgriha . The Hindu Mahabharata calls Brihadratha the first ruler of Magadha. Ripunjaya, last king of Brihadratha dynasty, was killed by his minister Pulika, who established his son Pradyota as the new king. Pradyota dynasty was succeeded by Haryanka dynasty founded by Bimbisara . Bimbisara led an active and expansive policy, conquering the kingdom of Anga in what

714-493: 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 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 ,

756-516: The Buddha and Mahavira. Later, the throne of Magadha was usurped by Mahapadma Nanda , the founder of the Nanda Dynasty ( c.  345  – c.  322 BCE ), which conquered much of north India. The Nanda dynasty was overthrown by Chandragupta Maurya , the founder of the Maurya Empire ( c.  322 –185 BCE). Furthermore, there is a "Long Chronology" and a contrasting "Short Chronology" preferred by some scholars, an issue that

798-654: The Buddhist sites currently found in the Magadha region include two UNESCO World Heritage Sites such as the Mahabodhi temple at Bodh Gaya and the Nalanda monastery. 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. Beginning in the Theravada commentaries, the Pali language has been identified with Magahi ,

840-662: The Gupta Empire remained Pataliputra in Magadha. During the Pala-period in Magadha from the 11th to 13th century CE, a local Buddhist dynasty known as the Pithipatis of Bodh Gaya ruled as tributaries to Pala Empire. 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

882-530: The Puranas, their dynasty was brought to an end by the Satavahanas in 28 BCE. The Kanva kings were Brahmins . They were descendants of the sage Saubhari. Vasudeva Kanva killed Devabhuti of the Shunga dynasty and established the rule of the Kanva dynasty. The first ruler of the Kanva dynasty was Vasudeva after whose Gotra the dynasty was named. He was succeeded by his son Bhumimitra. Coins bearing

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924-478: 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 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

966-509: The abbot of Nālandā monastery, who was then 106 years old. Śīlabhadra is described as being very old at this time and highly revered by the monks: He was then very old, his nephew Buddhabhadra being 70 years of age. The pilgrim was met by twenty grave-looking monks, who introduced him to their chief, the venerable "Treasure of the True Law," whose proper name of Śīlabhadra they did not dare to pronounce. Xuanzang advanced towards him according to

1008-430: 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 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

1050-537: The capital of later Shunga rulers. The Kanva dynasty was established by Vasudeva Kanva in 73 BCE. Vasudeva was initially a minister of the Shunga Emperor Devabhuti , who then assassinated the former emperor and usurped the throne. The Kanva ruler allowed the kings of the Shunga dynasty to continue to rule in obscurity in a corner of their former dominions. There were four Kanva rulers. According to

1092-451: 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 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

1134-564: The conquest of Vajjika League and Anga , respectively. The kingdom of Magadha eventually came to encompass 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

1176-458: The established etiquette on his elbows and knees, a custom which is still preserved in Burma under the name of Shikoh. Xuanzang records the number of teachers at Nālandā as being around 1510. Of these, approximately 1000 were able to explain 20 collections of sūtras and śāstras , 500 were able to explain 30 collections, and only 10 teachers were able to explain 50 collections. Xuanzang was among

1218-624: The few who were able to explain 50 collections or more. At this time, only the abbot Śīlabhadra had studied all the major collections of sūtras and śāstras at Nālandā. Xuanzang was tutored in the Yogācāra teachings by Śīlabhadra for several years at Nālandā. Upon his return from India, Xuanzang brought with him a wagon-load of Buddhist texts, including important Yogācāra works such as the Yogācārabhūmi-śastra . In total, Xuanzang had procured 657 Buddhist texts from India. Upon his return to China, he

1260-590: The first king of the Mauryan Empire with the help of his mentor Chanakya . The Empire later extended over most of India under King Ashoka The Great , who was at first known as 'Ashoka the Cruel' but later became a disciple of Buddhism and became known as ' Dharma Ashoka'. Later, the Mauryan Empire ended, as did the Shunga and Khārabēḷa empires, to be replaced by the Gupta Empire . The capital of

1302-578: The hands of Satavahanas and the fall of the Kanva dynasty, the Magadha empire came to an end. The defeat of the Kanva dynasty by the Satavahana dynasty was a localised event in Central India and numismatic and epigraphic evidence suggests that Magadha later came under the hegemony of the Mitra dynasty of Kaushambi from the 1st century BCE until the 2nd century CE. The Puranas suggest that

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1344-560: 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 was here that Jainism and Buddhism arose. Some scholars have identified

1386-597: 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 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

1428-401: The late 5th century BCE, and Ajatashatru in the early 4th century BCE. 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

1470-457: The legend Bhumimitra have been discovered from Panchala realm. Copper coins with the legend "Kanvasya" have also been found from Vidisha, as well as Kaushambi in the Vatsa realm. Bhumimitra ruled for fourteen years and was later succeeded by his son Narayana. Narayana ruled for twelve years. He was succeeded by his son Susharman who was the last king of the Kanva dynasty. After the defeat at

1512-512: 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 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,

1554-712: The prospect of facing another giant Indian army at the Ganges, mutinied at the Hyphasis (the modern Beas River ) and refused to march further east. Alexander, after the meeting with his officer Coenus , was persuaded that it was better to return and turned south, conquering his way down the Indus to the Ocean. Around 321 BCE, the Nanda Dynasty ended with the defeat of Dhana Nanda at the hands of Chandragupta Maurya who became

1596-459: 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 was spoken in Magadha and neighbouring regions and later evolved into modern eastern Indo-Aryan languages like Magahi , Maithili and Bhojpuri . The history of Magadha region is very vast, it can be divided into many periods as: There

1638-541: The unity of the Licchavis. To launch his attack across the Ganges River, Ajatashatru built a fort at the town of Pataliputra . Torn by disagreements, the Licchavis fought with Ajatashatru . It took fifteen years for Ajatashatru to defeat them. Jain texts tell how Ajatashatru used two new weapons: a catapult, and a covered chariot with swinging mace that has been compared to a modern tank. Pataliputra began to grow as

1680-697: Was a ruling dynasty of Magadha , established after Vasudeva Kanva overthrew the preceding Shunga dynasty and ruled from 73 BCE to 28 BCE. Although the Puranic literature indicates that the Kanvas ruled from the former capital of the Shungas in Pataliputra , Magadha in Eastern India , their coins are primarily found in and around the region of Vidisha in Central India , which had also been

1722-693: Was able to secure the throne. The following "Long Chronology" is according to the Buddhist Mahavamsa : The Hindu Literature mostly Puranas give a different sequence: A shorter list appears in the Jain tradition, which simply lists Shrenika (Bimbisara), Kunika (Ajatashatru), Udayin, followed by the Nanda dynasty. Important people from the region of Magadha include: Indo-Scythians Indo-Parthians References Sources Kanva dynasty The Kanva dynasty or Kanvavamsha

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1764-437: Was given government support and many assistants for the purpose of translating these texts into Chinese. According to the Indian translator Divākara , Śīlabhadra divided the Buddhist teachings into three turnings of the Dharma Wheel , following the divisions given in the Saṃdhinirmocana Sūtra : Śīlabhadra considered the teachings from the third turning (Yogācāra) to be the highest form of Buddhism, because it fully explains

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