The ancient kingdom of Magadha is located on the Eastern Side of India which is now called Bihar too. During Gautam Budhha’s time, Magadha was one of the most powerful kingdoms under Bimbisara. During the ancient Magadha was considered as one of the powerful Kingdoms who were ruling the entire India’s eastern part. At that time the capital of Magadha was Pataliputra now known as Patna, Bihar. In 326 BCE, The Great Alexander was camping all the rivers of India’s western part. He was with his army every time but they refused to go further after knowing about the Magadha Kingdom.  This is not just the first during the time of the Mahabharata Yadav clan also choose to leave their own land which is near the river Ganga and to avoid constant battle they had to leave the entire state.

Magadha during Buddha’s time

• When Gautama Siddhartha became Lord Budhha that time Magadha was one of the flourishing Kingdoms which was under the control of Bimbisara
• Magadha with his power manages to become friends of many eastern kingdoms and also with north and west kingdoms. Also, Bimbisara was a friend of neighbour state Avanti, When Avanti was ill he received a physician from Bimbisara kingdom
• This kingdom can be ruled by the power of the military, executive and judiciary
• Gautam Budhha entered the state when Bimbisara was king and he was seeking eternal truth and he got enlightenment in Bodh Gaya

After Bimbisara

• Bimbisara had a son named Ajatashatru and he was the reason to shift the old capital to Pataliputra
• Till now it is known as Pataliputra the capital of Magadha
• Ajatashatru started to conquer many more states including Avanti, Kash and Lichchhavi
• It is believed that Ajatashatru took some states with cruelty and even imprisoned his own father
• The battle between Lichhavi and Magadha also lasted long enough and there was complete dominance by Magadha but Ajatashatry also had an affair with courtesan Amrapali
• When Amrapali gets to know about the cruelty of Ajatashatru she chooses to become a nun and also her son from Ajatashatru becomes Monk
• Earlier Ajatashatru was totally against Budhha but later he became a friend of him
• When Budhha died then all his remaining were distributed between all the disciples but Ajatashatru got most of the share who was the Most Power Leader of Magadha. He also hosted the very first council for Buddhist Monks where almost 500 members of the rush joined the Capital state of Magadha

Nandas Took back their land

• Mahapadma Nanda conquered all the land which was lost due to the Ajatashatru’s successors and extending kingdom reign
• Bimbisara never chose to conquer all the world cruelly but Ajatashatru did some cruelty to become king of many other states
• When Alexander tried to invade again, the Nanda Dynasty had already expanded Magadha’s area and now if anyone wants to attack Magadha they will have to face the entire North Indian kingdom

Second Urbanisation

• Second urbanisation in India started after 500 BCE
• New settlements were made for the Ganges site, especially for the Central part of the Ganges. It is where the Magadha had gained most of its prominence and this is also where the Mauryan Empire formed its base
• It was one of the first areas where rice cultivation processes started in the Southern side of Asia. The latter population started to increase as well
• Since Magadha is always known for its powerful characteristics the Gupta and Maurya empires who originally are from Magadha saw a complete change in India’s all development sectors which includes philosophy, religion, science, astronomy and mathematics, at that time India was one of the only countries who was having all kind of knowledge was on of the best for the country in terms of development in Golden Age
• King Bimbisara who had a dream to get most of the quality states under control is now having his dream fulfilled when the Magadha kingdom becomes the reason for the advancement of India’s development
• Now if you relate it with the history you will get to know that Britishers chose to target this part fast which was near to sea for the transportation of goods and other materials

Conclusion

After being so wealthy and powerful with its military Magadha king was so unpopular because of his cruelty and a higher rate of taxation which he totally imposed on the entire population. Buddhist scripture says the kings used to dig deep in the Ganges to hide their all wealthy gold. Many have tried to conquer the Magadha state because of its wealthy nature and great soil. After the Second urbanisation in India it became totally revealed to the entire world how India this state is wealthy enough.

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