Magadha

This article is about the historical kingdom proper. For the empire, see Magadhan Empire.

Magadha was an ancient India 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.^[2]

Magadha
1700 BCE – 544 BCE
Magadha and other kingdoms in the Late Vedic period.
Magadha and other Mahajanapadas in the Post Vedic period.
Capital	Rajagriha (Girivraj)
Common languages	Sanskrit[1] Magadhi Prakrit Ardhamagadhi Prakrit
Religion	Historical Vedic religion Buddhism Jainism
Demonym(s)	Māgadhī
Government	Monarchy
Historical era	Iron Age
Currency	Panas
Preceded by Succeeded by Kikata kingdom Magadhan Empire

Geography

Magadha in the early Iron Age (1100-600 BCE)

Cyclopean Wall of Rajgir which encircled the former capital of Magadha, Rajgir. Amongst the oldest pieces of cyclopean masonry in the world

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 the initial Magadha kingdom thus corresponded to the modern-day Patna and Gaya districts of the Indian state of Bihar.^[3]

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.^{[4][failed verification]}

History

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;^[5] 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.^[6]

The earliest reference to 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 the conquest of Vajjika League and Anga, respectively.^[7] 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.^[8]

The ancient kingdom of Magadha is heavily mentioned in Jain and Buddhist texts. It is also mentioned in the Ramayana, the Mahabharata and 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.^[9]

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 the first Buddhist council was held in Rajgriha.^[10]

Buddhism and Jainism

Several Śramaṇic movements had existed before the 6th century BCE, and these influenced both the āstika and nāstika traditions of Indian philosophy.^[11] 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 the permissibility of violence and meat-eating.^[12] 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.^[13] Buddha founded Buddhism which received royal patronage in the kingdom.

Magadha kingdom coin, c. 430–320 BCE, Karshapana

Magadha kingdom coin, c. 350 BCE, Karshapana

Chandragupta Maurya period Karshapana coin, circa 315-310 B.C.^[14]

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.^[4][15] He argues for a cultural area termed "Greater Magadha", defined as roughly the geographical area in which the Buddha and Mahavira lived and taught.^{[4] [16]}

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".^[17] 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".^[18] 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.^[19]

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 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).^[18] These religions also sought some type of liberation from the cyclic rounds of rebirth and karmic retribution through spiritual knowledge.

Religious sites in Magadha

The ancient Mahabodhi temple at Bodh Gaya prior to its restoration

Among the Buddhist sites currently found in the Magadha region include two UNESCO World Heritage Sites such as the Mahabodhi temple at Bodh Gaya^[20] and the Nalanda monastery.^[21] 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.^[22]

Language

Main article: Magadhi Prakrit

See also: Ardhamagadhi Prakrit

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 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".^[23] Nonetheless, Pali does retain some eastern features that have been referred to as Māgadhisms.^[24]

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.^[25]

Historical figures from Magadha

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 wealthy Brahmin in a village located near Rājagaha in Magadha. He is considered the first of the Buddha's two chief male disciples, together with Maudgalyāyana.^[26]
• 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.^[27]
• Mahavira – the 24th Tirthankara of Jainism. Born into a royal kshatriya family in what is now Vaishali district of Bihar. He abandoned all worldly possessions at the age of 30 and became an ascetic. He is considered a slightly older contemporary of the Buddha.^[28]
• Maitripada – an 11th-century Indian Buddhist Mahasiddha associated with the Mahāmudrā transmission. Born in the village of Jhatakarani in Magadha. Also associated with the monasteries of Nalanda and Vikramashila.^[29]
• Dhyānabhadra - 13th/14th century monk of Nalanda born to a minor chief in Magadha and later travelled across South and East Asia.^[30]
• Subhūticandra - 11/12th-century Indian Buddhist monk associated with Nalanda and Vikramashila who belonged to Magadha.^[31]

See also

• Magadhan Empire
• Magadha period
• Greater Magadha
• History of India
• Magadha–Vajji war
• Magadha–Anga war
• Avanti–Magadhan War
• List of Indian monarchs
• Timeline of Indian history
• Magahi culture
• Magahi language

Notes

References

1. Jain, Dhanesh (2007). "Sociolinguistics of the Indo-Aryan languages". In George Cardona; Dhanesh Jain (eds.). The Indo-Aryan Languages. Routledge. pp. 47–66, 51. ISBN 978-1-135-79711-9.
2. Damien Keown (26 August 2004). A Dictionary of Buddhism. OUP Oxford. p. 163. ISBN 978-0-19-157917-2.
3. Raychaudhuri, Hemchandra (1953). Political History of Ancient India: From the Accession of Parikshit to the Extinction of Gupta Dynasty. University of Calcutta. pp. 110–118.
4. Bronkhorst 2007, p. ^{[page needed]}.
5. Macdonell, Arthur Anthony; Keith, Arthur Berriedale (1995). Vedic Index of Names and Subjects. Motilal Banarsidass Publishers. ISBN 9788120813328.
6. M. Witzel. "Rigvedic history: poets, chieftains, and polities," in The Indo-Aryans of Ancient South Asia: Language, Material Culture and Ethnicity. ed. G. Erdosy (Walter de Gruyer, 1995), p. 333
7. Ramesh Chandra Majumdar (1977). Ancient India. Motilal Banarsidass Publ. ISBN 81-208-0436-8.
8. Sinha, Bindeshwari Prasad (1977). Dynastic History of Magadha, Cir. 450–1200 A.D. Abhinav Publications. p. 128.
9. Chandra, Jnan (1958). "Some Unknown Facts About Bimbisāra". Proceedings of the Indian History Congress. 21: 215–217. JSTOR 44145194.
10. "Lumbini Development Trust: Restoring the Lumbini Garden". Archived from the original on 6 March 2014. Retrieved 6 January 2017.
11. Ray, Reginald (1999). Buddhist Saints in India. Oxford University Press. pp. 237–240, 247–249. ISBN 978-0195134834.
12. Jaini, Padmanabh S. (2001). Collected papers on Buddhist Studies. Motilal Banarsidass. pp. 57–77. ISBN 978-8120817760.
13. Patel, Haresh (2009). Thoughts from the Cosmic Field in the Life of a Thinking Insect [A Latter-Day Saint]. Strategic Book Publishing. p. 271. ISBN 978-1-60693-846-1.
14. "Auction 396. INDIA, Mauryan Empire , Karshapana (14mm, 3.32 g). circa 315-310 BC". www.cngcoins.com. Retrieved 24 April 2024.
15. Long, Jeffery D. (2009). Jainism : an introduction. London: I.B. Tauris. ISBN 978-1-4416-3839-7. OCLC 608555139.
16. 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. JSTOR 20106493. S2CID 144673508.
17. Bronkhorst 2007, pp. xi, 4.
18. Bronkhorst 2007, p. 265.
19. Wynne, Alexander (2011). "Review of Bronkhorst, Johannes, Greater Magadha: Studies in the Culture of Early India". H-Buddhism. Retrieved 25 August 2019.
20. K.T.S. Sarao (16 September 2020). The History of Mahabodhi Temple at Bodh Gaya. Springer Nature. pp. 66–. ISBN 9789811580673.
21. Pintu Kumar (7 May 2018). Buddhist Learning in South Asia: Education, Religion, and Culture at the Ancient Sri Nalanda Mahavihara. Lexington Books. ISBN 978-1-4985-5493-0.
22. David Geary; Matthew R. Sayers; Abhishek Singh Amar (2012). Cross-disciplinary Perspectives on a Contested Buddhist Site: Bodh Gaya Jataka. Routledge. pp. 18–21. ISBN 978-0-415-68452-1.
23. A Dictionary of the Pali Language By Robert Cæsar Childers
24. Rupert Gethin (9 October 2008). Sayings of the Buddha: New Translations from the Pali Nikayas. OUP Oxford. pp. xxiv. ISBN 978-0-19-283925-1.
25. Beames, John (2012). Comparative Grammar of the Modern Aryan Languages of India: To Wit, Hindi, Panjabi, Sindhi, Gujarati, Marathi, Oriya, and Bangali. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. doi:10.1017/cbo9781139208871.003. ISBN 978-1-139-20887-1.
26. Prasad, Chandra Shekhar (1988). "Nalanda vis-à-vis the Birthplace of Śāriputra". East and West. 38 (1/4): 175–188. JSTOR 29756860.
27. Gunapala Piyasena Malalasekera (2007). Dictionary of Pāli Proper Names. Motilal Banarsidass Publishers. pp. 403–404. ISBN 978-81-208-3022-6.
28. Romesh Chunder Dutt (5 November 2013). A History of Civilisation in Ancient India: Based on Sanscrit Literature: Volume I. Routledge. pp. 382–383. ISBN 978-1-136-38189-8.
29. Tatz, Mark (1987). "The Life of the Siddha-Philosopher Maitrīgupta". Journal of the American Oriental Society. 107 (4): 695–711. doi:10.2307/603308. JSTOR 603308.
30. Buswell, Robert; Lopez, Donald (2014). The Princeton Dictionary of Buddhism. Princeton University Press. p. 1056. ISBN 9780691157863.
31. Deokar, Lata (2012). "Subhūticandra: A Forgotten Scholar of Magadha". Journal of the Centre for Buddhist Studies, Sri Lanka. 10: 137–154.

Sources

• Raychaudhuri, H.C. (1972). Political History of Ancient India. Calcutta: University of Calcutta.
• Law, Bimala Churn (1926). "4. The Magadhas". Ancient Indian Tribes. Lahore: Motilal Banarsidas.
• Bronkhorst, Johannes (2007). Greater Magadha: studies in the culture of early India (PDF). Handbook of oriental studies. Section two, India. Vol. 19. Leiden; Boston: Brill. ISBN 978-90-04-15719-4. ISSN 0169-9377. OCLC 608455986. Archived from the original (PDF) on 11 September 2015.
• Singh, Upinder (2016), A History of Ancient and Early Medieval India: From the Stone Age to the 12th Century, Pearson, ISBN 978-81-317-1677-9