The Nanda Empire at its greatest extent under Dhana Nanda circa 323 BC.

Asia in 323BC, showing borders of the Nanda Empire in relation to Alexander's Empire and neighbors.

The Nanda dynasty ruled Magadha during the 5th and 4th centuries BC. Magadha (मगध formed one of the sixteen Mahājanapadas ( Sanskrit, "great countries" or regions in ancient India. It is said to have been established by an illegitimate son of the king Mahanandin of the previous Shishunaga dynasty. Mahanandin was a king of the Shishunaga dynasty. The dynasty ruled parts of ancient India around the city of Patliputra (present day Patna, Bihar According to tradition the Shishunaga dynasty founded the Magadha Empire in 684 BC, whose capital was Rajagriha, later Pataliputra, near the Mahapadma Nanda died at the age of 88 and, therefore, he ruled the bulk of the period of this dynasty, which lasted 100 years. Mahapadma Nanda (450 BC - 362 BC was the first king of the Nanda dynasty. At its greatest extent, the Nanda Empire extended from Bihar to Bengal in the west. Bihar ( Hindi:बिहार Urdu: بہار bɪhaːr) is a state in eastern India. Etymology and ethnology The exact origin of the word Bangla or Bengal is unknown though it is believed to be derived from the Dravidian-speaking tribe Bang ^[1] The Nanda Empire was later conquered by Chandragupta Maurya, who founded the Maurya Empire. Chandragupta Maurya (चन्द्रगुप्त मौर्य sometimes known simply as Chandragupta (born c The Maurya Empire ( 322 – 185 BCE) ruled by the Mauryan dynasty was a geographically extensive and powerful political and military

The first Nanda, the Mahapadma Nanda has been described as the destroyer of all the Kshatriyas. NANDA (formerly the North American Nursing Diagnosis Association is a professional organization of Nurses to standardize Nursing Terminology that was Kshatriya (क्षत्रिय kṣatriya from क्षत्र kṣatra) is one of the four varnas (social orders in Hinduism He defeated the Ikshvaku dynasty, Panchalas, Kasis, Haihayas, Kalingas, Asmakas, Kurus, Maithilas, Surasenas, Vitihotras, etc. Ikshvaku dynasty was a dynasty founded by Ikshvaku, grandson of Vivasvan or Surya and son of Vaivasvata Manu. Haihayas were the ancient clans who claimed their common ancestry from Yadu He expanded his territory till south of Deccan. The last of the Nandas was Dhana Nanda (called Xandrames or Aggrammes in ancient Greek and Latin sources). Plutarch records that Chandragupta Maurya had stated that he was able to overthrow Dhana Nanda since he was hated and despised by his subjects on account of the wickedness of his disposition:

"Sandrocottus, when he was a stripling, saw Alexander himself, and we are told that he often said in later times that Alexander narrowly missed making himself master of the country, since its king was hated and despised on account of his baseness and low birth. Chandragupta Maurya (चन्द्रगुप्त मौर्य sometimes known simply as Chandragupta (born c "^[2]

The Nandas who usurped the throne of the Shishunaga dynasty were of low origin. Shishunaga (or Shusunaga (c413 - 395 BCE was the founder of the Shishunaga dynasty of the Magadha Empire in the present day northern India. Some sources state that the founder, Mahapadma, was the son of a Shudra mother, others that he was born of a union of a barber with a courtesan. Nandas were the first of a number of dynasties of northern India who were of non-kshatriya origin.

The Nandas are sometimes described as the first empire builders of India. They inherited the large kingdom of Magadha and wished to extend it to yet more distant frontiers. Magadha (मगध formed one of the sixteen Mahājanapadas ( Sanskrit, "great countries" or regions in ancient India. To this purpose they built up a vast army consisting of 200,000 infantry, 20,000 cavalry, 2,000 war chariots and 3,000 war elephants (at the lowest estimates). The Infantry is the oldest and most numerous of the Combat Arms in the Armed forces, and consists The Cavalry (from French cavalerie) is the second oldest of the Combat Arms, and as Soldiers or Warriors who fought mounted on The chariot is the earliest and simplest type of Carriage, used in both peace and war as the chief vehicle of many ancient peoples A war elephant is an Elephant trained and guided by humans for combat ^[3] According to Plutarch however, the size of the Nanda army was even larger, numbering 200,000 infantry, 80,000 cavalry, 8,000 war chariots, and 6,000 war elephants. Lucius Mestrius Plutarchus ( Greek: Μέστριος Πλούταρχος c Dr. Ranajit Pal, however, maintains^[4] that there is no epigraphical support for locating early Magadha in modern Bihar in eastern India. In his scheme Magan in the Baluchistan (western) area was early Magadha and the Susinaks of Magan were the Sishunagas of the texts. He writes that Darius II who was nicknamed No(n)thos was an early Nanda king. Artaxerexes III Ochus who is referred to as Ni(n)din in the Babylonian chronicles was another Nanda[1]. In his view both the Nandas and the Mauryas were active in the Anatolian region and Indo-Iran.

However, the Nandas never had the opportunity to see their army up against Alexander, who invaded India at the time of Dhana Nanda, since Alexander had to confine his campaign to the planes of Punjab, for his forces, overwhelmed by the prospect of facing a formidable foe and exhausted by years of campaigning, mutinied at the Hyphasis River (the modern Beas River) refusing to march any further. Alexander is a common male first name Origin The name in English is taken from the Greek name Ἀλέξανδρος (Alexandros Punjab ( ਪੰਜਾਬ پنجاب, पंजाब پنجاب also Panjab (پنجاب meaning "Land of the Five Rivers") (c This river thus marks the eastern-most extent of Alexander's conquests:

"As for the Macedonians, however, their struggle with Porus blunted their courage and stayed their further advance into India. For having had all they could do to repulse an enemy who mustered only twenty thousand infantry and two thousand horse, they violently opposed Alexander when he insisted on crossing the river Ganges also, the width of which, as they learned, was thirty-two furlongs, its depth a hundred fathoms, while its banks on the further side were covered with multitudes of men-at-arms and horsemen and elephants. For they were told that the kings of the Ganderites and Praesii were awaiting them with eighty thousand horsemen, two hundred thousand footmen, eight thousand chariots, and six thousand fighting elephants. "^[5].

The Nandas made the methodical collection of taxes by regularly appointed officials a part of their administrative system. The treasury was continually replenished, the wealth of the Nandas being well-known. The Nandas also built canals and carried out irrigation projects. Irrigation is an artificial application of water to the soil usually for assisting in growing crops The possibility of an imperial structure based on an essentially agrarian economy began to germinate in the Indian mind. But further development of the Nandas was cut short by Chandragupta Maurya and his mentor Chanakya. Chandragupta Maurya (चन्द्रगुप्त मौर्य sometimes known simply as Chandragupta (born c Chanakya Sanskrit: चाणक्य Cāṇakya) (c 350-283 BC was an adviser and a Prime minister to the first Maurya Emperor Dhana Nanda was dethroned after he was defeated by Chandragupta Maurya, a young adventurer born of a Nanda prince and a maid named "Mura". Dhana Nanda was murdered which finally signaled the advent of the Maurya Empire in 321 BC. The Maurya Empire ( 322 – 185 BCE) ruled by the Mauryan dynasty was a geographically extensive and powerful political and military

List of Nanda rulers

• Mahapadma Nanda (c. Mahapadma Nanda (450 BC - 362 BC was the first king of the Nanda dynasty. 424 BC – ?)
• Pandhuka
• Panghupati
• Bhutapala
• Rashtrapala
• Govishanaka
• Dashasidkhaka
• Kaivarta
• Dhana Nanda (Argames) (? – c. 321 BC)

According to some historians, the duration of 100 years attributed to the Nandas in the Puranas is erroneous, and should be corrected to 22 years.

Footnotes