Mahapadma Nanda

Mahapadma Nanda
Nanda Samrat
Reign 345 BC - 329 BC
Predecessor Mahanandin
Successor Dhana Nanda
Full name
Mahapadma Nanda
House Nanda Dynasty
Father Mahanandin
Mother Shruda

Mahapadma Nanda (Sanskrit: महापद्मानन्द; IAST: Mahāpadmānanda) (c. 400-329 BC) was the first king of the Nanda dynasty. He was the son of Mahanandin, a Kshatriya king of the Shishunaga dynasty and a Shudra mother.[1] Sons of Mahanandin from his other wives opposed the rise of Mahapadma Nanda, on which he eliminated all of them to claim the throne.[1][2]

The Nandas, under Mahapadma Nanda, established the first great North Indian empire with its political centre in Magadha, which would in the following years lead to the largest empire in Indian Subcontinent built by the Mauryas. Mahapadma Nanda vanquished the old dynasties of North, not as was customary, to extract tribute from them and to be recognized as the most powerful, the samrat, but rather in order to dethrone them and declare himself as an "ekachhatra", the only emperor in the entire land. The collapse of the old Kshatriya dynasties under the rigorous power politics of Mahapadma Nanda, who is explicitly denigrated as the son of a Shudra, and the support extended to followers of non-Vedic philosophies, all has been described as negative signs in the Puranas, which prophesied Mahapadma Nanda's rise as a mark of Kali Yuga. He died at 88 years old. After his few generations, his descendant Dhana Nanda who was a very powerful, cruel and greedy emperor and was also hated by his own people was overthrown by Chandragupta Maurya with the help of local kings, people and shrewd intelligence of Chanakya. The Indologist F. E. Pargiter dated Nanda's coronation to 382 BCE, and R. K. Mookerji dated it to 364 BCE.[3] However, H.C. Raychaudhuri places the event c. 345 BCE.[4]

His kingdom annexed parts of Kalinga, central India, Anga, and the upper Ganges Valley. He was the first Shudra king of Magadha.

References

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 Vincent A. Smith (1 January 1999). The Early History of India. Atlantic Publishers & Dist. pp. 39–. ISBN 978-81-7156-618-1. Retrieved 20 January 2013.
  2. ↑ Vincent A. Smith; A. V. Williams Jackson (30 November 2008). History of India, in Nine Volumes: Vol. II - From the Sixth Century B.C. to the Mohammedan Conquest, Including the Invasion of Alexander the Great. Cosimo, Inc. pp. 37–. ISBN 978-1-60520-492-5. Retrieved 20 January 2013.
  3. ↑ K. D. Sethna. Problems of Ancient India, 2000 New Delhi: Aditya Prakashan. ISBN 81-7742-026-7
  4. ↑ http://books.google.com/books?id=f1XMtc2Q97IC&pg=PA28