Rise of the Nanda Imperium

There are some events in the history of a civilization which have the ability to change it’s outlook forever. So much so that the civilization’s motives change, its aspirations change, and more importantly, the means change. In the tide of time, Magadha was the place in ancient India that was meant to bring this ultimate switch in the ways of kingship. The result was a metamorphosis in the ways of the ancient Indian polity and how it was approached and practiced. The man to herald the new era was the founder of the first Magadhan empire — the first Nanda. This post is an attempt to comprehend the momentous rise of Mahāpadma Nanda in early 4th century BCE India.

Introduction

Whenever we talk about any ancient dynasty in any ancient civilization, we try to piece together information from various sources – the archaeological and the literary. Absence or lack of information from any of these sources results in a rather incohesive account. The scholars then try to fit together whatever pieces they are left with and the golden rule which they follow to form a genuine estimate is corroboration from other sources. For a dynasty whose archaeological evidence can be called meager, the Nanda dynasty actually does not lack mention in literary sources. Many of them – the religious ones like the Purāṇa-s, the Buddhists and Jain sources and other non-religious ones like the dramas, the classical accounts etc actually provide us with a lot of information.

And herein lies the precise problem for the account of the Nanda-s, the problem of plenty.

There is a lot of information from these sources and many a times contradictary. In such a scenario, it becomes pertinent that in order to weave a cohesive account of the rise of the Nanda hegemony, we need to see for our self what exactly these varied sources say.

Note: The motive of this post is to chart the course of the rise of Mahāpadma Nanda to the Māgadhan throne and his subsequent reign. The reign of his successors and the eventual overthrow of the Nanda-s from Magadha by the duo of Chandagupta Maurya and Chāṇakya do not come in purview of this write up and will be discussed separately in future on this blog. But the successors and their reign will be mentioned when considered necessary to give perspective and context to the reign of Mahāpadma himself.

Conjectural Reconstruction of an Ancient Indian City based on the Bas-Relief on Southern Gateway of Sanchi Stupa by Percy Brown in his Indian Architecture.

Literary Sources : Religious

§ The Purāṇa-s

The Purāṇa-s give the name Mahāpadma or Mahāpadmapati i.e. sovereign of an infinite host or of immense wealth (Raychaudhuri, 1967) for the first Nanda king, thus hinting not only at his political power but also his wealth. He is called Śūdragarbhodbhava i.e. born of Śūdra mother and that he was the son of the last Śaiśunāga.¹ Various Purāṇa-s like Matsya, Vāyu and Brahmāṇda Purāṇa — all of them agree and maintain that Mahāpadma Nanda was Sarva Kṣhatrāntaka i.e. he destroyed all the Kṣatriya-s and that he was ekarāṭa – the sole monarch of the earth.²

Viṣṇupurāṇa also says the same – he was the destroyer of all the Kṣatriyas and the paramount sovereign whose writ ran unchallenged throughout the earth.³

Viṣṇupurāṇa even mentions his similarity in these acts with none other than Paraśurāma (Mahāpadmo nandaḥ paraśurāma ivāparo akhilakṣatrāṅtakārī bhavitā).⁴ How the first Nanda was significantly different from the previous rulers can be understood from the fact that Purāṇa-s describe him as the incarnation of the Kali age.⁵ The dynasty is called irreligious (adhārmika) in these writings. The Purāṇa-s give an estimated reign of 28 years to Mahāpadma and state that he was succeeded by his eight sons who ruled for twelve years. Thus, in total the Nanda-s ruled for about forty year period. But the chroniclers give the name of only one and possibly the eldest son of Nanda viz., Sahalya/Sahalin⁶ or Sukalpa.⁷ They also agree that Kauṭilya, minister of Chandragupta Maurya finished off the Nanda dynasty.

§ Jain Literature

Many readers here might have heard the connection between the Nanda-s and their origin story concerned with a barber. It would be interesting to know that the Jain texts are the prime source for this barber origin story. Though, the classical Greek writings also mention this connection but they will be discussed later in the post. Jain writers like Haribhadra Sūri in Āvaśyaka sūtra, Hemachandra in Pariśiṣtaparvan, and Jinaprabha Sūri in Vividha-Tirtha-Kalpa mention Nanda as nāpitadāsa…rājā jātaḥ, nāpitakumāra and nāpitagaṇikāsuta respectively i.e. the son of a courtesan by a barber named Divākīrti.⁸ Clearly, no connection has been supposed here between the Nanda king who was contemporary of Alexander and the previous ruling house of Magadh. Hemachandra narrates a very different account of Nanda and his rise to power. He says that when Nanda was a mere boy, he saw Pāṭaliputra in his dreams encircled by his entrails. Nanda explained this dream to his teacher who saw it as a sign of his future greatness. The teacher then married his daughter to Nanda.

On the other hand as per Hemachandra, King Udayin had been assassinated by his enemy’s son who had disguised himself as a Jain monk. Āvaśyaka sūtra suggests that the assassin was sent by Pālaka, king of Avanti, rival of Udāyin. Udāyin had therefore, died with no heirs. When the marriage procession of Nanda was passing through the city, the royal procession after Udāyin’s death was passing from there as well. The two crossed each other and the state elephant put Nanda on his back, the horse neighed and after many supernatural signs, the people and the officers of the state decided to put Nanda on the throne.⁹

With regard to the conquests of Nanda after coming to the throne, the Jain texts explain to us how the entirety of this country down to the seas was brought under the Nanda domination by his minister. This is an intriguing information regarding the possible role played by a minister of Mahāpadma.¹⁰ The reluctant minister according to Jain texts was a man named Kalpaka and it was he who sowed the seeds of expansion in the mind of the first Nanda.

Samudravasan śebhya āsamudramapi śriyaḥ upāyahastairākṛishya tatah so’ krita Nandasāt ¹¹

Dr. Buddha Prakash mentions a Jain text called the Bhagavatī sūtra that has important information regarding the first Nanda. It says that many years after the demise of Mankhali Gośāla (the Ājīvika teacher Gośāla), a very strong king named Devasena Vimalavāhana Mahāpadma (Mahāpauma) was reigning in the city of Śatadvāra in the foot of the Vindhya mountain. The sūtra calls this king the incarnation of Gośāla. Though he also mentions that the alternate reading of the text could mean the city as Śatadvāra located in the land of the Puṇḍas in the foot of Vaiṭādhya mountain. Therefore, this would mean that the place mentioned could be in Puṇḍa or Puṇḍra i.e. North Bengal. These sources also agree that Nanda had eight sons who were his legitimate heirs. The immense wealth of the Nanda-s is also mentioned in Jain literature.

A Jain work called titthogālī paiṇṇa (verses 636-639) talks about a Nanda king-wealthy, beautiful and renowned who hid/buried a huge amount of gold under five topes and Kalki took it away from there (Prakash, 1956). It is interesting that the work does not specify which Nanda king hid the treasure. Most likely, it was one of the sons of the first Nanda.

§ Buddhist Sources

The Buddhist text Mahābodhivaṁśa gives the name of the first Nanda as Ugrasena. As per this text – the sons of the first Nanda were – Paṇḍūka, Paṇḍugati, Bhūtapāla, Rāśṭrapāla, Govishāṇaka, Daśasiddhaka, Kaivarta and Dhana.¹² Buddhists give only a period of 22 years in total to the Nanda dynasty – the nine Nanda-s (navanandāḥ). Buddhists texts also say that this Ugrasena Nanda ousted the nine sons of the previous monarch. In various Pali texts like Theragāthā-Aṭṭhakathā, Samyutta-Nikāya-Aṭṭhakathā and Petavatthu Aṭṭhakathā, Nanda has been described as a king of Kāśī.¹³

These works maintain that Nanda belonged to very humble origins but still he covered the Kassapa Buddha’s chaitya with a golden sheet and thus he was awarded with kingship. He also held a great function to give alms to the 500 Peccaka Buddhas led by Mahāpaduma and at the time of their death he was out in the frontier of his kingdom to quell a rebellion. When he came back, he gave his throne to his eldest son and himself became an ascetic.¹⁴

According to Vaṁsatthappakāsinī, there were nine more Nandas after the first one and they were his brothers and not his sons making them in total ten Nandas. Though, this reading in light of the other evidence does not hold its ground.¹⁵ Vaṁsatthappakāsinī continues to give us some more interesting tradition preserved. It goes on to say that not much is known about Nanda’s family and that he spent his time as a leader of the band of robbers in Malaya (north west). When he collected enough material wealth, he invaded Magadha and made himself the king. We can see that as per this text, Nanda had quite a similar career as that of Chandra Gupta Maurya. This theory however does not seem to be tenable in light of contradictory evidence.

Again Prakash in his paper also furnishes interesting revelation and cites Vaṁsatthappakāsinī to show that when Chāṇakya pronounced his curse on the Nanda king in the session of the alms house (Dānagga), he addresses the Nanda king as Nandin and not the usual Nanda. Mahāvaṁśa of Mogallāna (the Cambodian or Extended Mahāvaṁśa) also has similar tradition when he states that one of the ten sons of Kālāśoka was called Nandin (different from the upstart robber Nanda as per the Buddhist text). It is clear that a lot of convoluted rumours are being addressed here. Vaṁsatthappakāsinī also states that Nanda-s levied taxes on everything, even on skins, gums, trees and stones.¹⁶

Not surprisingly, these steps made the Nanda-s extremely unpopular in the eyes of the public. These texts also refer to the generosity of the last Nanda king- Dhana Nanda and the reason told is that a Brāhmaṇa had entered into the corpse of the greedy Nanda and then he started his charities.¹⁷ The fame and wealth of the Nanda-s had long passed into the folk tales in gigantic proportions. Some Buddhists-Pali texts even refer to a story which relate that Nanda had a tree of desires – Kapparukkha/Kalpavṛkṣa (Prakash, 1956).

Another extremely important source for the tale of the rise of the first Nanda is the 8th century Buddhist text called the Ārya-mañjuśrī-mūla-kalpa and just as important is its analysis by scholar K. P. Jayaswal. It explains that after the reign of certain Viśoka and Śūrasena for 76 years and 17 years respectively, Nanda will rise at Puśpa-city.¹⁸ It is important to note that the king Śūrasena has been told to reign the territories up to the sea. It is related that Mahāpadma was a great power who possessed a large army. He is called Nīchamukhya – the leading vile man by the writer. It is revealed in the text for the first time that he had also been a prime minister to the king before and only got kingship due to some magical process.

The writer of the text in a way complains that Nanda, though a pious and a just soul always patronized and was surrounded by Brāhmin intellectuals and officials – he gave them riches, it says. Brāhmin Vararuchi was his Prime Minister who is told to have been a Buddhist. Famous scholar Pāṇini as per Ārya-mañjuśrī-mūla-kalpa was his favourite. It is then told that Nanda had issues with his Council of Ministers due to alienation of their feelings by him. The writer then relates that Nanda became ill and died at the age of 67.¹⁹

An important point raised is that the Prime Ministers seem to have played very engaging role in the polity of Magadh right from the time of the reign of king Bimbisāra and especially from the time of the first Nanda as the Buddhist practise of recording the name of prominent Prime Ministers of the empire start from the rise of the Nanda dynasty.²⁰

§ The Classical Sources

In 327 BCE, Alexander the Macedonian invaded India and next year, defeated the Indian King Porus in the battle of Hydaspes (Vitastā-Jhelum). After some time, he camped near the banks of Hyphasis (Vipāśā-Beas).²¹ And here, it is related to us by Quintus Curtius Rufus that Alexander obtained information about the mighty empire of the east – the Nanda-s and its enormous army.

Alexander is told — “Beyond the river lay extensive deserts, which it would take eleven days to traverse. Next came the Ganges, the largest river in all of India, the farther bank of which was inhabited by two nations, the Gangaridae and the Prasii, whose king Agrammes kept in the field for guarding the approaches to his country 20,000 cavalry and 200,000 infantry, besides 2000 four-horsed chariots, and, what was the most formidable force of all, a troop of elephants which he said ran up to the number of 3000.”²² When Alexander asks confirmation of these reports from Porus who was also present there, he answers him in these words:

“..as far as the strength of the nation and kingdom was concerned, there was no exaggeration in the reports, but that the present king was not merely a man originally of no distinction, but even of the very meanest condition. His father was in fact, a barber, scarcely staving off hunger by his daily earnings, but who from his being not uncomely in person, had gained the affections of the queen, and by her influence advanced too near a place in the confidence of the reigning monarch. Afterwards, however, he treacherously, murdered his sovereign; and then under the pretense of acting as guardian to the royal children, usurped the supreme authority, and having put the young princes to death, begot the present king, who was detested and held cheap by his subjects, as he rather took after his father than conducted himself as the occupant of the throne.”

J. W. M’Crindle, The Invasion of India by Alexander The Great.

Diodorus also gives the account in a very similar manner. The difference from Curtius account being the name of the nation called Praisioi and Gandaridae, the name of the king given is Xandrames and the elephant number as 4000 instead of 3000. But the account differs on major points when the narration is about what Porus told Alexander when he was asked about the veracity of these claims. Here, Porus confirms the strength of the army and details of their territory but Diodorus presents further narrative as if these were rumours (Prakash, 1955) and thus not confirmed reports.

Porus told Alexander that “the king of Gangaridai was a man of quite worthless character, and held in no respect, as he was thought to be the son of barber. This man – the king’s father – was of a comely person, and of him the queen had become deeply enamoured. The old king having been treacherously murdered by his wife, the succession had devolved on him who now reigned.”²³

Scholar Buddha Prakash highlights in his paper ‘Chandragupta Maurya in the Shāha Nāmā of Firdausi’ that the the current Nanda king was only thought to be the son of a barber. Not only this but, there are other visible differences in the accounts of Curtius and Diodorus. Prakash points out that the while Diodorus makes the queen herself as the assassin of the Magadhan predecessor, Curtius makes the barber paramour as the culprit. And while Diodorus makes the murdered Magadhan king issueless, Curtius, not only mentions young princes but also that they were murdered by the barber.

As can be seen from these accounts, the classical writers here not only differ from the Indian authorities but also have varied narratives within. Plutarch mentions the Gandaritai (Gangaridae) and Prasiai as territories that had separate kings as well as raises the figure for the elephants to 6000. Another classical writer that mentions some details of these territories is Pliny. He narrates that Prasii surpasses every other territory in India in power and glory. Pliny says that “the capital is Palibothra (Pātaliputra), after which some call the people itself the Palibothri, nay, the whole tract of the Ganges.”²⁴

Literary Sources – Non-Religious

§ Kathāsaritasāgara

Kathāsaritasāgara interestingly mentions a katak i.e. a camp of the king Nanda in Ayodhyā and therefore suggests an expedition that Nanda might have taken in the territory of Kośala.²⁵ As per this text the Nanda-s possessed 900 million (990 crores?) of gold pieces – navanavatiśatadravyakoṭīśvarāste nandāḥ.²⁶

§ Harśacharita & Ashtādhyāyi

Harśacharita of Bāṇa also has some inputs that are connected to the rise of the first Nanda. As per Bāṇa, the last Śaiśunāgi had a dagger thrust into his throat in the vicinity of his city.²⁷ Ashtādhyāyi of Pāṇini has a curious passage which is an illustration for a rule – nandopakramāni mānāni. A commentary on Pāṇini’s work named Kāśikā also mentions it. Raychaudhuri makes this passage indicative of the possibility that one of the Nanda king was credited with invention of a certain kind of measure.²⁸

§ Mudrārākṣasa

It is interesting to know that the famous drama Mudrārākṣasa by Viśākhadatta assigns very high birth to the Nanda king.²⁹ This text — like Kathāsaritasāgara — mentions the exact same figure of 900 crore (990 million?) pieces of gold for the treasure of the Nanda-s. It goes on to say that people in the Nanda dominions were crushed by the burden and heaved a sigh of relief when they were ousted. Their downfall was like all the heart diseases of the earth have been removed.³⁰ Not only the common people but Mudrārākṣasa makes the ministers of the state just as perturbed by the Nanda rule and they can be seen in the play as actively taking part and helping Chandragupta when he invaded the kingdom. The infamous incident of the play where Dhana-Nand insulted Chāṇakya is also well known.

§ Tamil Poem by Māmulnār

Famous scholars S. K. Aiyangar and Nilakantha Sastri had pointed to the Tamil poem by Māmulnār which refer to the immense treasure of the Nada-s – “What is it” asks a love-lorn lady, “that has attracted my lover better than my charms?” And among the alternatives considered to the question, one is “Is it the treasure accumulated in the prosperous Pātaliputra and hidden in the waters of the Ganges by the Nandas of great renown, victorious in war?”³¹

§ Cyropaedia

Militaryman, philosopher and historian Xenophon (c. 430-354 BCE) also refer to an Indian king in his fictional biography of the Persian King Cyrus the Great – Cyropaedia which is said to have been written around 370 BCE. The king is told to be a very wealthy man.³² It is told that when Cyrus demanded material help from this king, he promptly helped him and an embassy was sent to Cyrus with the requested funds. Through espionage, the embassy apparently also gave them some much needed information about Cyrus’ enemy Croesus. It is very well known among scholars that despite describing the events of the time of Cyrus the Great, the account by Xenophon many a times had details of Xenophon’s contemporary Cyrus the younger. And as can be seen from the period he wrote around i.e. 370 BCE, it is extremely likely that the Indian king being mentioned here is the first Nanda.

§ Shāha Nāmā of Firdausi

Buddha Prakash in his paper has convincingly proved that the tale of an Indian King (Shah-i-Hind) and his meeting with Alexander (Sikander) mentioned in the Shāha Nāmā of Firdausi are stories of good authority and has some genuine elements of history. The Shah-i-Hind Kaid (Kand of Ma’sudi and Kafand of Majmul-ut-Tawarīkh) is none other than Chandra, the Maurya. Kaid is told to be working under the guidance of one sage named Mihrān that Prakash identifies with Chāṇakya and says the word is an obvious Persian transcription of the Indian word Brāhmaṇa from its Prākrit form Māhaṇa (this word is mentioned in Sukhabodhā of Devendra-Gaṇin).³³

Mihrān  interpreted the dreams of Kaid and saw signs of future sovereignty in them. He charted the course for Kaid in order to achieve their objectives. While narrating this story, it is mentioned by Firdausi that the dreams of Kaid are interpreted by Mihrān and in them he saw a king, his extortionist policy, his overthrow and the end of his dynasty. The king had mighty troops which won him great fame.

Prakash mentions how in the poem, the King was utterly despised by the people, he has grinding taxes in his state and poor are in miserable position. He has a mean heart and insatiable greed. Sages and scholars roam like a pauper and those who do receive patronage are involved in sycophancy of their masters. The people grew wretched and their life became gloomy and devoid of charm.³⁴ Important point to note here as per Prakash is that Firdausi in this epic does not impute any bad origin to the king and only mentions the demerits of his character.³⁵ Some lines from the epic explain the situation during the said mean king’s reign:

He will be gathering fresh hosts

To win his crown new fame….

A time will come when men

Will joy in wealth and never have enough….

When Saturn entereth Libra

The world will be beneath the strong arm, poor

And sick fare ill, and yet, the well-to-do

Will still exact from them, will never open

Their own hordes, nor abate the others’ travail…³⁶

§ Other Non-Religious Sources

Raychaudhuri points out that no contemporary literary authority actually mentions Nanda-s as a dynastic name and the closest we get is in Arthaśāstra of Kauṭilya. The later works like Milind Pañho has the words like “the royal family of Nanda.” Then there is of course the Khāravela inscription that mentions Nandarāja. Milind Pañho also gives us hints for some administrative structure of the Nanda dynasty, though the Arthaśāstra is also a good sources for that. The works of the Tibetan Tārānātha also have information regarding the Nanda-s and he assigns a 29 year reign to the first Nanda. The epitomizers of the Bṛhatkathā by Guṇāḍhya also record important details about the cultural environment of the time of the Nanda-s.³⁷ Another confirmation from a non-religious source comes from the famous Chinese traveler Hiuen Tsang who also mentioned about the wealth of the Nandas – the five treasures of King Nanda’s seven precious substances.

Archaeological – Non Literary Sources

§ Hāthigumpha Inscription

The Hāthigumpha inscription of king Khāravela is one of the most important inscription that mentions the Nanda king. It refers to a water way (aqueduct) constructed by Nanda in the territory of Kaliṅga and also that Nanda carried away a seat (statue or footprints) of the Jina from Kaliṅga as a trophy of his triumph and also some heirlooms of the Kaliṅga kings.³⁸ Tripathi in his paper on the Khāravela inscription has related about an old Sanskrit manuscript that was in possession of a Brāhmin in Bhubaneśvara and which contained a concise account of various dynasties over the period that ruled Tri-Kaliṅga and had the titile of Trikaliṅgādhipati.³⁹ The manuscript definitely mentions Nanda Vaṁśa as one of them. He also mentions about a Jayapura Copper-Plate Grant but that is not comes in the purview of this write up as it hints towards the possibility of events after the reign of the first Nanda.

§ In the Deccan

The old name of the city of Nander situated on the banks of Godavari – “Nava Nanda Dehra” also suggests that the Nanda empire might have reached even there.⁴⁰ Raychaudhuri states on the authority of Rice and his ‘Mysore and Coorg from the Inscriptions’ that some inscriptions dated to 12^th century CE state that the ancient Kuntala was ruled by the Nanda-s. Though, the late date of the inscriptions make this only a possibility and the suggestion cannot be made with surety.

§ Coinage

When it comes to coinage, the hoard of many punch marked coins found in a deep stratum of Golakhpur/Golakpur, the site of ancient Pāṭaliputra are considered pre-Mauryan in origin and hence belonging to the period of the Nanda-s. Mookerji informs us that they contain symbol of “a dog or a hare on a hill” which might have been the symbol of the Nanda Vaṁśa.⁴¹ P. L. Gupta however suggests that of the coins of the Imperial Series from Golakpur, only the coins belonging to the Period IV may be attributed to the Nanda dynasty. But S. R. Goyal is of the view that the Imperial series coins found from different parts of the country should be attributed to either the Nanda-s or the Mauryas.⁴²

It has been suggested by some scholars that the few specimens of coins (like from the Kuru janpada) seems to have some overstrike of Magadha symbols. That might suggests that these punch marked coins were issues by Mahāpadma Nanda after he conquered the land of the Kuru-s. Rice in his ‘Mysore and Coorg from the Inscriptions’ has given some added information according to which, many lead coins found in 1888 at the site of Chandravali, west of Chitaldurg, bore some Brāḥmi legends like Raño Muḍā Naṃdasa which might suggest some sort of Nanda coinage. Later finds in 1909 at the same place also had similar legends like – Raño Chuṭtukaḍḍā Naṃdasa. The date suggested for these coins is from 2nd century BCE-1st century CE. Same series coins have also been found in Karwar. A 2nd century CE stone inscription of Sātakarṇi from Malavaḷḷi and Banavāsi has Vinhukadda Chutukulā Nanda as one of the title and all of this evidence together might suggest some sort of Nanda domination in north-central Kanara but other scholars like Rapson disagree with this reading and are of opinion that the phrase kulānanda only means ̍joy of the family’ and nothing more.⁴³

Estimate of the first Nanda – Mahāpadma Nanda/Ugrasen

As we have seen, there are multiple stories emerging from different kinds of sources and these sources do not only have differences in narrative with others but also huge gaps between them as well. Now that we have learnt about these myriad of views, we can now proceed to form a general estimate of the rise and the historical reign of the first Nanda – Mahāpadma Nanda.

§ Origin and Ascent to the Throne of Magadha

Hindu sources across are unanimous about the name of the first Nanda which as per them was Mahāpadma. Another name suggested by Buddhist sources is Ugrasena. The classical records mention the name of the Nanda king contemporary of Alexander as Agrammes which Raychaudhuri suggests is the Greek corruption of the Sanskrit patronymic Augrasainya i.e. son of Ugrasena. Probably, Mahāpadma was a viruda of the first Nanda which eventually became more famous with time. The origin of Mahāpadma is surrounded by many rumours and many scholars have tried to form a cohesive theory about it.

But first and foremost, the theory about him being a barber, suggested by classical sources has to be categorically rejected.

The reason is two fold – first, all the Indian sources, be it Hindu, Buddhist or Jain confirm that Mahāpadma was not a barber himself. The emphatic evidence against this theory and the nature of the classical evidence itself supports this view which seem to present their stories in a ‘non-commital’ way. Second, the classical evidence of relations between a barber and the queen, the usurpation by a barber, all seem a bit too fantastical in nature. Regarding the Curtius’ claims about the first Nanda’s origin, it has to be kept in mind that these reports of the classical authors were written down based on the rumours that were prevalent in those parts of Punjab where these foreigners interacted. Prakash even suggests that they might even have been calculated to exaggerate the excesses which made them unpopular in the estimation of the people.

Scenario One: When it comes to the Indian stories about the origin of Mahāpadma, different interpretations are suggested by various scholars based on the given evidence. Prakash suggests that he was the son of Mahānandi, whom he identifies with Kālāśoka and he was probably the born of an illicit affair from a śūdra women (possibly a coutesan). Prakash maintains that because he was the son of Mahānandi, his name might have been Nandi, as mentioned in Buddhist sources. And due to him being an illegitimate son to this king, he might have deliberately changed his name from Nandi to Nanda. And this could be the reason that some Buddhist sources continue to give the name Nandi to the dynasty. As per Hindu law, the offspring of a kṣatriya male and a śūdra female is called Ugra.

This story of his origin seem to be corroborated from the classical sources which name the current king Agrammes i.e. Augrasainya – the son of Ugrasena. As per Prakash, this also suggests why he might have been given the post of the minister or prime minister by the last Śaiśunāga, for not being a son of the queen consort, he could not aspire to equality with other legal heirs to the throne.⁴⁴ As mentioned above, the Ārya-mañjuśrī-mūla-kalpa relates that Nanda was firstly the prime minister of the last king. As per Prakash, it was probably due to the reigning king’s affections for him and also that Mahāpadma was always a very talented, innovative statesman that he was given the role of prime minister for he could not have been given his due on count of his low-birth. Being this close to the royal family, it was then possible for the first Nanda to ingratiate himself with the officers and plan the assassination of the heirs. The people then accepted him on the throne as there were no legitimate heirs left.

Prakash also suggests why the title of Mahāpadma being the son of a barber might have taken roots in the folklore. He points out that in Indian tradition of ancient times, the greedy kings were usually styled as sons of a barber. He relates that in one Jātaka tale, king Bharu of Bharukaccha is told be son of a barber due to his miserly disposition. In Divyāvadāna, the inmates of the antaḥpura (harem) of Bindusāra called the daughter of the brāhmaṇa of Champā a barber’s daughter in order to divert the attention of the king from her.⁴⁵

Therefore, the people who were burdened by ever increasing taxes and the greed of the king could have dubbed his origin as the son of a barber. It then becomes a recurring pattern in one section of our sources. Prakash also suggest a very interesting reason for the grossly exaggerated vices of the Nanda-s. Probably it was done in order to highlight the virtues of the Mauryas. Kauṭilya as astute a statesman as he was, probably found it useful to give air to such views in the popular narrative. This might thus have been a deliberate method of propaganda under the Maurya-s. There is another possibility however, that the tales became more exaggerated with time due to the way the stories are spread in the folk lore which tend to have a more stylized narrative and there was not a major propaganda angle in the Nanda tales.

Scenario Two: Another scenario by scholar R. Morton Smith suggests that Mahāpadma was the son (offspring of an illicit affair with a courtesan) of Mahānandin who he identifies with Nāgadarśaka, the last Haryaṅka.⁴⁶ Mahāpadma was made minister of the kingdom owing either to kings affections for him or due to his talents, probably both. He suggests that when Nāgadarśaka was killed and his throne usurped by Śiśunāga, Mahāpadma was left alive as he was not considered to be a danger due to being a non-legitimate son of the last king. But Śiśunāga died within six-seven years and Kālāśoka or Kākavarṇin ascended throne, evidently a young man. It might have been considered prudent to continue Mahāpadma as the minister as he was probably one of the most experienced man in the family, almost ten years older than Kālāśoka.

At the time of assassination of Kālāśoka which probably happened when he went to war with Ujjain i.e. Avanti, he was survived by only young princes. Mahāpadma Nanda then saw the opportunity in killing the sons and ascending the throne. Though this might sound odd but Smith makes it a point to note that as despising this practice of regicides, parricides and the eventual killing of the surviving princes in the eastern royal houses might sound, in those times, this was probably only way left to the aspirants of the throne to make their seat secure in times when despotism and polygamy created many enemies within the royal household.⁴⁷

§ The Duration of His Reign

Purāṇa-s make the reign of Mahāpadma of Aśtāśîti – 88 years (Matsya Purāṇa ) which scholars consider to have been a mistake and take it to mean Aśtāviṁśati – 28 years (Vāyu Purāṇa) which Tārānatha confirms but there are different approaches taken by different scholars. Most scholars consider the latter meaning to be accurate and take the following years important in his life – Birth around 402 BCE, ascent to the throne in around 362 BCE (in light of the overwhelming evidence that Mahāpadma was an experienced man when he usurped the throne) and his death in around 334 BCE. Smith here takes the former meaning and considers the period told in the Purāṇa-s to have been his entire life and not just his reign. He considers the birth year of Mahāpadma to around 431 BCE and his ascent to the throne in around 385 BCE. Thus making his age about 46 when his reign started. He died in 344 BCE at the age of 88 and the Nanda successors reigned for about 22 years. The Buddhist tradition ascribes to the entire Nanda dynasty a period of 22 years but Smith takes it to mean the period of the successors of Mahāpadma only.

§ Conquests

It is agreed by all our sources that the Nanda king was the paramount sovereign of a large part of India. The extent of his rule suggests that the dominions which the Nanda king reigned on was hitherto not achieved by anyone else. The classical sources testify to his immense territories and it is very likely that the conquests were mainly done under the reign of Mahāpadma Nanda as he is called Sarva Kṣhatrāntaka – destroyer of all Kṣatriya-s — Mahāpadmo nandaḥ paraśurāma ivāparo akhilakṣatrāṅtakārī bhavitā — the second Paraśurāma and ekarāṭa – the sole monarch.

The military machine of the first Nanda that went to the farthest corners of India winning territories could not have been possible without its gigantic strength. The classical sources mentioned above in this regard confirm this. When brought under the control of Chandragupta Maurya, this was the same army that went ahead to add even more to what had been conquered by the first Nanda. The ruling Kṣatrīya clans of India when Mahāpadma ascended the throne were – Ikṣavāku, Pāñchāla, Kāśeya, Haihaya-s, Vitihotra-s, Kaliṅga, Aśmaka, Kuru, Maithila-s, and Śurasena-s. Not much is known about the Ikṣavāku of Kośala after the reign of Prasenjit and his son Virudhaka. The kingdom was evidently on the decline and Mahāpadma Nanda used this opportunity to end the rule of the Ikṣavāku and annex the territory to Magadha. The Kathāsaritasāgara evidence of a camp of the Nanda king in Ayodhyā confirms this.

Raychaudhuri notes — may be due to this event, the remaining Ikṣavāku-s had to migrate and they thus went southwards, for the Ikṣavāku-s are found in 3rd-4th century CE occupying the lower valley of Kriṣṇā.⁴⁸

There are strong hints as per Smith that the overthrow of the Vatsa kingdom was also done under the rule of Mahāpadma. Kāśī had been a seat of the viceroy of Magadha since a long time back. When Nanda came on the throne, it must have been under a viceroy of the Śaiśunāga family which Nanda finished off. The Vrijis had already been annexed by Ajātaśatru and his successors and keeping a base from here, Raychaudhuri suggests, Nanda might have conquered the remaining parts of the Nepalese Tarai ending the remnant Maithilas. From the evidence of the Hathigumpha inscription and the old Sanskrit manuscripts of Orissa, the conquest of Kaliṅga by Nanda is confirmed.

Ancient Kaliṅga was considered by the ancient Indian authorities to have been the source of the best of elephants in the country and it is very likely that Nanda had this fact in mind when he went to conquer the territory which hitherto had remain untouched by the rulers of the north. The strength and the importance of elephants in the Nanda army was probably one of the reason for their extensive conquests. How impactful the elephants might have been can be gleamed from the fact that the the classical sources are unanimous in making Macedonians be most worried about the elephant corps – “the most formidable force of all.” That is also the reason why the figures for the elephants are the most fluctuating in the classical sources – from 3000-6000 while other figures remain more or less the same.

Ārya-mañjuśrī-mūla-kalpa says that the emperor’s (Nanda’s predecessor) authority extended up to the sea. There is thus a slight possibility that Kaliṅga was actually brought under the Magadha rule during the last Śaiśunāga and Magadha during this times was under the prime minstership of Mahāpadma Nanda. And that’s why Nanda understood the importance of this place for long and after his rise to the kingship, constructed the aqueduct for better facilities and administration of the territory. Conquest of Kaliṅga therefore, was a personal project of Mahāpadma. But it only remains a theory because the evidence for annexation of Kaliṅga during the time of Nanda (not Śaiśunāga) is overwhelming. Pāñchāla-Kuru-s and Śurasena-s are confirmed to have been under the Nanda-s by the classical sources.

When Chandragupta Maurya ascended to the kingship of Magadha, the territory of much of Malwa, Gujarat were under his rule and it is extremely likely that the base was prepared by Mahāpadma Nanda by bringing Haihaya-s, Vitihotra-s under his domination. The Nandera/Nava Nada Dehra evidence also gives credence to the Nanda conquests up to the banks of Godāvari i.e. the territory of the ancient Aśmaka-s. As has been mentioned above on account of some early period coinage, inscriptions and also some late period inscriptions from erstwhile Mysore state, there is a possibility of north Karnataka to have been under the influence of the Nanda-s but the evidence is very much debatable in this regard and therefore, can not be taken seriously at this point.

§ The Nanda Innovation

The Purāṇa-s had been consistent in relating to us that the rule of the Nanda-s was a break from the past. It herald the age of kali, terrible in the eyes of the chroniclers. It seems like more than the origin of Mahāpadma, it was his innovation in kingship that possibly was the harbinger of change in the Hindu polity. Eastern India had to be the perfect place for this transformation. Ever since the period of Ajātaśatru, the no holds barred approach of the kings of Prāchī was very different from what seems to have been the norm in the Madhya Deśa.

In these parts, every single king, almost every dynasty had been a usurper with numerous cases of regicides and parricides and the throne had been won many a times by bloodshed.

Therefore, it would be very natural that a statesman of immense talents would emerge from this part of our ancient civilization where rules, at least in warfare and politics were some what relaxed. And it would have been even more natural that this man went ahead of his predecessors in his ruthlessness. Here Raychaudhuri quotes another scholar which perfectly sums up the innovation of Mahāpadma Nanda – they (Nanda-s) “compelled the mutually repellent molecules of the body politic to check their gyrations and submit to the grasp of a superior controlling force.”

Smith says that Mahāpadma’s innovation consisted in dethroning the old rulers, and apparently extirpating their families — ‘he destroyed the kṣatriyas.’ He continues to cite its similarity to what communism had as its feature – the old ruling class must be destroyed so that the revolt is without leadership, he says. The stake of revolt is then greater, all, or nothing, he continues.⁴⁹ And that is why Chandragupta was successful in his revolt, he in the guidance of Chāṇakya, went for all, or nothing – and he got it all.

§ Administration

Arrian has mentioned that beyond Beas, there existed “an excellent system of internal government, under which the multitude was governed by aristocracy, who exercise their authority with justice and moderation.”⁵⁰ This Raychaudhuri suggests reminds us of the gaṇa sangha-s and the rājaśabdopajīvin of the Arthśāstra and thus means that Mahāpadma Nanda conquered these territories but still allowed them much independence in their internal administration. It is corroborated by the classical authors who mention the Gangaridae and Prasii separately but put them under one king. The system of relaxed rule was clearly not followed in the core territory and its immediate neighbourhood where the rules were much more strict and harsh.

On the authority of the classical sources, Raychaudhuri implies a a system of provincial government under nomarchs and hyparchs in the Nanda period — somewhat like the governors and the satraps. Though many a times they are mentioned in context of the rule of Chandragupta but it will safe to assume that the system might actually have come into force during the reign of Mahāpadma Nanda, otherwise, it would not have been possible to reign in such a large empire.

The experience of Mahāpadma as a minister might have played a huge role in these innovations. Important in this regard are that the stories of exceeding taxes on everything under the sun during the Nanda rule. Such efficient though burdensome levies could not have been possible without an equally efficient administration to exact them. Raychaudhuri has also suggested the possibility that the territorial units like āhāra, viśaya, janapada and the functionaries like rājūka, prādeśika and rāśṭrīya might have their roots in the Nanda rule as well. Ministers seem to have continued to play important role in the Nanda rule as hinted in Ārya-mañjuśrī-mūla-kalpa, though in it they are more related regarding their disapproval of the ways of the Nanda. But still it seems like the Council of Ministers was pertinent in the administration.

The role of Vararuchi in the text is also an example of the influence of the prime minister. And if some of our sources are correct then a minister called Kalpaka was very influential in the reign of Mahāpadma, so much so, that some Jain sources, as mentioned above ascribe the huge conquests of the first Nanda to the influence of this minister and his advice. The tradition of strong prime ministership therefore, seems to have been an established practice of the Magadha Empire.

§ Cultural Environment

If the tradition mentioned in the Bṛhatkathā is to be believed, “Pāṭaliputra under the Nanda rule became the abode (kṣetra) of Saraswatī and Lakṣmī, the home of learning as well as material prosperity.” The immense wealth of the Nanda rule seem to support this statement and if coupled with the evidence of Ārya-mañjuśrī-mūla-kalpa which makes Nanda surrounded by Brāḥmin intellectuals along with the very important revelation that Nanda had a friend in the epitome of scholarship – the famous Pāṇini, then it becomes even more clear that the rule of Mahāpadma had the traditional hallmarks of cultural and intellectual superiority as well. Scholars like Varśa, Upavarśa, Kātyāyana, Vararuchi, Vyāḍi are said to have flourished in this period.

We have to keep in mind that the tales of Nanda-s disrespecting the intellectuals of the period seems to have taken roots during the rule of Dhana Nanda and not the first Nanda – the infamous incident of the tradition where he insulted Chāṇakya is just an example.

Another interesting conjecture can be made here regarding the religious affiliations of Mahāpadma. As mentioned above, the Jain text Bhagavatī sūtra suggests that the first Nanda might have had close connections and affiliations with the Ājīvika sect. This could possibly be one of the reasons for the bitterness of the sources like Hindu, Buddhist and Jain towards Mahāpadma Nanda. It appears that he none the less respected and supported other religions and sects but strong ties to the Ājīvika-s might have made others displeased. But this is just a guess at best at the moment for any additional proof in this regard is lacking.

§ Wealth of the Nanda-s and Discontent in the Empire

As mentioned earlier, the wealth of the Nanda-s was proverbial and also seems to have been the reason of discontent in the empire among the common folk for the wealth was collected through the ever exceeding burden of taxes. It is no doubt that this wealth must have been from the territorial extension of the Nanda dominions under the leadership of Mahāpadma Nanda and the tributes, taxes levied from these conquered areas. But it is natural to assume that such a huge and fine army required regular maintenance on its upkeep and thus Mahāpadma must have financed such an expenditure by resorting to increasing the taxes.

Thus we can assume that more the conquests furthered by the Nanda army, more were the taxes to maintain the pace of these conquests and instill a fear of such a huge army in these areas to keep them from revolting.

Their proverbial wealth like the figure of 900 million gold pieces possibly became a folk lore due to their new coinage and currency system. Scholar John Allan had stipulated that the stories of the Nanda dynasty’s wealth arose because they were the first dynasty to issue coins on such a large scale. Other scholars however do no support this theory as coins of previous period have been found. Never the less, whether the Nanda-s were the first to issue such coins or not but they certainly seem to have issued them on a large scale for the evidence in the phrase nandopakramāni mānāni mentioned above of a possible royal measure issued by a Nanda king suggests its possibility.

The authorities are however unclear as to who actually was responsible for the exceeding burden of taxes on the populace. It is possible that the later Nanda-s particularly the last emperor Dhana Nanda went too far in this regard and the folklore eventually muddled up the two periods. After all, about the Nanda-s, tradition also says that Pāṭaliputra became the abode (kṣetra) of Saraswatī and Lakṣmī. The only way these contradictory views are possible is if the period of Mahāpadma saw the flowering of cultural and economical development and the later Nanda-s squandered the positives away by their mean and cruel disposition.

The statement from Ārya-mañjuśrī-mūla-kalpa which describes the first Nanda as “pious and just soul” supports this view. The enmity of the council of ministers has been alluded in the Ārya-mañjuśrī-mūla-kalpa. This could be due to the fact that Mahāpadma had not long ago been their peer and it was not possible for many of them to take orders from him. The way he had ascended the throne by intrigues was known to some ministers and they were thus hostile to the first Nanda. The more authoritative Mahāpadma tried to be to make his throne secure, the more resentment grew. Prakash suggests that this might have been one of the reasons that Chandragupta Maurya found many supporters and helpers among the ministers of the last Nanda for his usurpation which has been depicted in Mudrārākṣasa.

Conclusion

If we try to understand as to why the Nanda-s, particularly Mahāpadma Nanda are not given their due in the history, possibly it is because they were overshadowed by the dynasty which came later — the Maurya-s – “the glamour of the Nandas has been dimmed by the great splendour of the succeeding dynasty.” It will be however, correct to remember at this moment that as astute as Mahāpadma Nanda was, the edifice that he erected was based on the foundations of the rule of Bimbisāra and Ajātaśatru which in turn was taken to new heights by the Maurya-s. The talent of Mahāpadma therefore was, in taking what the Haryaṅka rulers had done and add his innovations to the techniques of the ancient Indian polity and warfare.

It is perhaps not an exaggeration when Raychaudhuri in his work, compares the role of Haryaṅka and the Nanda dynasties to what Wessex played in the history of Pre-Norman England, and Prussia in the history of modern Germany. The first Nanda made large scale annexations of territories acceptable in the ancient Indian body politic. We can thus say for sure that the Nanda dynasty under the reign of Mahāpadma Nanda certainly changed the rules of the game forever.

References

1. Hema Chandra Raychaudhuri, Political History of Ancient India from the Accession of Parikshit to the Extinction of the Gupta Dynasty. pp. 117-118.
2. ibid.
3. Prakash, Buddha. “CHANDRA GUPTA MAURYA IN THE SHĀH-NĀMĀ OF FIRDAUSI.” Annals of the Bhandarkar Oriental Research Institute 36, no. 3/4 (1955): 270-91. Accessed July 24, 2021. http://www.jstor.org/stable/44082961.
4. ibid. p. 288.
5. H. C. Raychaudhuri, “India in the Age of the Nandas.” Age of the Nandas and the Mauryas (1967). ed. by K. A. Nilakantha Sastri. p. 11.
6. ibid. p. 23.
7. Raychaudhuri, Political History of Ancient India. p. 119.
8. Prakash, Buddha. “Chandra Gupta Maurya in the Shāh Nāmā of Firdausi”. Part 1. p. 291.
9. Prakash, Buddha. “Chandra Gupta Maurya in the Shāh Nāmā of Firdausi”. (Continued). Annals of the Bhandarkar Oriental Research Institute 37, no. 1/4 (1956): 120-43. Accessed July 25, 2021. http://www.jstor.org/stable/44082912.
10. Raychaudhuri, “India in the Age of the Nandas.” Age of the Nandas and the Mauryas (1967). p. 17.
11. ibid.
12. Raychaudhuri, Political History of Ancient India. p. 119.
13. Prakash, Buddha.“Chandra Gupta Maurya in the Shāh Nāmā of Firdausi”. Part 1. p. 290.
14. Prakash, Buddha. “Chandra Gupta Maurya in the Shāh Nāmā of Firdausi.” (Continued part 2).” pp. 121-122.
15. ibid.
16. ibid. p. 126.
17. ibid.
18. K. P. Jayaswal, “§ 7 Magadha King and their Ministers, Subsequent to Udāyin.” An Imperial History of India. pp. 14-15.
19. ibid.
20. ibid. § 8 Maurya Dynasty. p. 17.
21. J. W. M’Crindle, The Invasion of India by Alexander The Great. pp. 221-222.
22. ibid.
23. ibid. pp. 281-282.
24. Raychaudhuri, “India in the Age of the Nandas.” Age of the Nandas and the Mauryas (1967). p. 16.
25. Raychaudhuri, Political History of Ancient India. p. 119.
26. Prakash, Buddha. Chandragupta Maurya… (part 2) p. 126
27. Raychaudhuri, Political History of Ancient India. p. 118.
28. ibid. p. 120.
29. Prakash, Buddha. Chandragupta Maurya… (part 2) p. 124.
30. ibid. p. 127.
31. Raychaudhuri, “India in the Age of the Nandas.” Age of the Nandas and the Mauryas (1967). p. 254.
32. Prakash, Buddha. Chandragupta Maurya..(part 2). p. 125.
33. Prakash, Buddha. Chandragupta Maurya… (part 1) p. 279.
34. ibid. pp. 283-287.
35. Prakash, Buddha. Chandragupta Maurya..(part 2). p. 124.
36. Prakash, Buddha. Chandragupta Maurya… (part 1) p. 283-287.
37. Raychaudhuri, “India in the Age of the Nandas.” Age of the Nandas and the Mauryas (1967). p. 25.
38. Raychaudhuri, Political History of Ancient India. p. 119. {cf. Prakash, Buddha. Chandragupta Maurya… (part 1) p. 289}.
39. Narayan Tripathi, “A Note on the Hati Gumpha Inscription of Emperor Kharavela.” Journal of Bihar and Orissa. (1930) Volume XVI (J. B. O. R. S.). p. 191.
40. Prakash, Buddha. Chandragupta Maurya… (part 1) p. 290.
41. R. K. Mookerji, Chandragupta Maurya and His Times. p. 345.
42. Goyal, Shankar. “HISTORIOGRAPHY OF THE PUNCH-MARKED COINS.” Annals of the Bhandarkar Oriental Research Institute 81, no. 1/4 (2000): 153-68. Accessed July 27, 2021. http://www.jstor.org/stable/41694610. p. 167.
43. B. L. Rice, Coorg Inscriptions. Epigraphia Carnatica. Volume I. p. 103.
44. Prakash, Buddha. Chandragupta Maurya..(part 2). p. 125.
45. ibid. p. 127.
46. Smith, R. Morton. “On the Ancient Chronology of India (II).” Journal of the American Oriental Society, vol. 77, no. 4, 1957, pp. 266–280. JSTOR. Accessed 27 July 2021. www.jstor.org/stable/596129
47. ibid.
48. Raychaudhuri, “India in the Age of the Nandas.” Age of the Nandas and the Mauryas (1967). p. 17.
49. Smith, R. Morton. “On the Ancient Chronology of India (II). p. 275.
50. Raychaudhuri, “India in the Age of the Nandas.” Age of the Nandas and the Mauryas (1967). p. 21.