Magadha - AbsoluteAstronomy.com

Magadha formed one of the sixteen Mahājanapadas

Mahajanapadas

Mahājanapadas , literally "great realms", were ancient Indian kingdoms or countries...

Sanskrit

Sanskrit , is a historical Indo-Aryan language and the primary liturgical language of Hinduism, Jainism and Buddhism.Buddhism: besides Pali, see Buddhist Hybrid Sanskrit Today, it is listed as one of the 22 scheduled languages of India and is an official language of the state of Uttarakhand...

"Great Countries") or kingdoms in ancient India

Kingdoms of Ancient India

Epic India is the geography of Greater India traditionally around early 10th century BC and later on from the Sanskrit epics, viz. the Mahabharata and the Ramayana as well as Puranic literature ....

. The core of the kingdom was the area of Bihar

Bihar

Bihar is a state in eastern India. It is the 12th largest state in terms of geographical size at and 3rd largest by population. Almost 58% of Biharis are below the age of 25, which is the highest proportion in India....

south of the Ganga; its first capital was Rajagriha (modern Rajgir) then Pataliputra (modern Patna

Patna

Paṭnā , is the capital of the Indian state of Bihar and the second largest city in Eastern India . Patna is one of the oldest continuously inhabited places in the world...

). Magadha expanded to include most of Bihar and Bengal

Bengal

Bengal is a historical and geographical region in the northeast region of the Indian Subcontinent at the apex of the Bay of Bengal. Today, it is mainly divided between the sovereign land of People's Republic of Bangladesh and the Indian state of West Bengal, although some regions of the previous...

with the conquest of Licchavi

Licchavi

Licchavi was an ancient kingdom in Nepal, which existed in the Kathmandu Valley from approximately 400 to 750. Centuries earlier, at the start of the Buddhist era a powerful republic known as Licchavi existed in what is today Bihar. There is no conclusive evidence of any ethnic or historic links...

and Anga

Anga

Anga was a kingdom that flourished on the eastern Indian subcontinent in the 6th century BCE until taken over by Magadha in the same century. Counted among the "sixteen great nations" in Buddhist texts like the Anguttara Nikaya, Anga also finds mention in the Jain Vyakhyaprajnapti’s list of...

respectively, followed by much of eastern Uttar Pradesh and Orissa. The ancient kingdom of Magadha is mentioned in the Ramayana

Ramayana

The Ramayana is an ancient Sanskrit epic. It is ascribed to the Hindu sage Valmiki and forms an important part of the Hindu canon , considered to be itihāsa. The Ramayana is one of the two great epics of India and Nepal, the other being the Mahabharata...

, Mahabharata

Mahabharata

The Mahabharata is one of the two major Sanskrit epics of ancient India and Nepal, the other being the Ramayana. The epic is part of itihasa....

, Puranas

Puranas

The Puranas are a genre of important Hindu, Jain and Buddhist religious texts, notably consisting of narratives of the history of the universe from creation to destruction, genealogies of kings, heroes, sages, and demigods, and descriptions of Hindu cosmology, philosophy, and geography.Puranas...

. It is also heavily mentioned in Buddhist and Jain

Jainism

Jainism is an Indian religion that prescribes a path of non-violence towards all living beings. Its philosophy and practice emphasize the necessity of self-effort to move the soul towards divine consciousness and liberation. Any soul that has conquered its own inner enemies and achieved the state...

texts.

The earliest reference to the Magadha people occurs in the Atharva-Veda where they are found listed along with the Anga

Anga

s, Gandharis

Gandhara

Gandhāra , is the name of an ancient kingdom , located in northern Pakistan and eastern Afghanistan. Gandhara was located mainly in the vale of Peshawar, the Potohar plateau and on the Kabul River...

, and Mujavats. Two of India's major religions, Buddhism

Buddhism

Buddhism is a religion and philosophy encompassing a variety of traditions, beliefs and practices, largely based on teachings attributed to Siddhartha Gautama, commonly known as the Buddha . The Buddha lived and taught in the northeastern Indian subcontinent some time between the 6th and 4th...

and Jainism

Jainism

, have roots in Magadha; two of India's greatest empires, the Maurya Empire

Maurya Empire

The Maurya Empire was a geographically extensive Iron Age historical power in ancient India, ruled by the Mauryan dynasty from 321 to 185 BC...

and Gupta Empire

Gupta Empire

The Gupta Empire was an ancient Indian empire which existed approximately from 320 to 550 CE and covered much of the Indian Subcontinent. Founded by Maharaja Sri-Gupta, the dynasty was the model of a classical civilization. The peace and prosperity created under leadership of Guptas enabled the...

, originated from Magadha. These empires saw advancements in ancient India's science

Science

Science is a systematic enterprise that builds and organizes knowledge in the form of testable explanations and predictions about the universe...

, mathematics

Mathematics

Mathematics is the study of quantity, space, structure, and change. Mathematicians seek out patterns and formulate new conjectures. Mathematicians resolve the truth or falsity of conjectures by mathematical proofs, which are arguments sufficient to convince other mathematicians of their validity...

, astronomy

Astronomy

Astronomy is a natural science that deals with the study of celestial objects and phenomena that originate outside the atmosphere of Earth...

, religion

Religion

Religion is a collection of cultural systems, belief systems, and worldviews that establishes symbols that relate humanity to spirituality and, sometimes, to moral values. Many religions have narratives, symbols, traditions and sacred histories that are intended to give meaning to life or to...

, and philosophy

Philosophy

Philosophy is the study of general and fundamental problems, such as those connected with existence, knowledge, values, reason, mind, and language. Philosophy is distinguished from other ways of addressing such problems by its critical, generally systematic approach and its reliance on rational...

and were considered the Indian "Golden Age". The Magadha kingdom included republic

Republic

A republic is a form of government in which the people, or some significant portion of them, have supreme control over the government and where offices of state are elected or chosen by elected people. In modern times, a common simplified definition of a republic is a government where the head of...

an communities such as the community of Rajakumara. Villages had their own assemblies under their local chiefs called Gramakas. Their administrations were divided into executive, judicial, and military functions.

Geography

The kingdom of the Magadha roughly corresponds to the modern districts of Patna

Patna

Paṭnā , is the capital of the Indian state of Bihar and the second largest city in Eastern India . Patna is one of the oldest continuously inhabited places in the world...

, Jehanabad

Jehanabad

Jehanabad is a city and a municipality in and the headquarters of Jehanabad district in the Indian state of Bihar. Earlier, Jehanabad was part of Gaya district. It is 50 km away from both Patna and Gaya.-Demographics:...

, Nalanda

Nalanda

Nālandā is the name of an ancient center of higher learning in Bihar, India.The site of Nalanda is located in the Indian state of Bihar, about 55 miles south east of Patna, and was a Buddhist center of learning from the fifth or sixth century CE to 1197 CE. It has been called "one of the...

, Aurangabad

Aurangabad District, Bihar

Aurangabad district is one of the thirty-eight districts of Bihar state, India. It is currently a part of the Red Corridor.-History:Aurangabad features in traditional records...

, Nawadah and Gaya

Gaya, India

Gaya is the second largest city of Bihar, India, and it is also the headquarters of Gaya District.Gaya is 100 kilometers south of Patna, the capital city of Bihar. Situated on the banks of Falgu River , it is a place sanctified by both the Hindu and the Buddhist religions...

in southern Bihar

Bihar

, and parts of Bengal

Bengal

in the east. It was bounded on the north by the river Ganges, on the east by the river Champa

Champa

The kingdom of Champa was an Indianized kingdom that controlled what is now southern and central Vietnam from approximately the 7th century through to 1832.The Cham people are remnants...

, on the south by the Vindhya mountains and on the west by the river Sone

Son River

Son River of central India is the largest of the Ganges' southern tributaries. A British 1850s diary shows that the river was written in English as Soane.-Course:...

. During the Buddha

Gautama Buddha

Siddhārtha Gautama was a spiritual teacher from the Indian subcontinent, on whose teachings Buddhism was founded. In most Buddhist traditions, he is regarded as the Supreme Buddha Siddhārtha Gautama (Sanskrit: सिद्धार्थ गौतम; Pali: Siddhattha Gotama) was a spiritual teacher from the Indian...

’s time and onward, its boundaries included Anga

Anga

Cultural influences

In about 150 BCE the grammarian Patanjali

Patañjali

Patañjali is the compiler of the Yoga Sūtras, an important collection of aphorisms on Yoga practice. According to tradition, the same Patañjali was also the author of the Mahābhāṣya, a commentary on Kātyāyana's vārttikas on Pāṇini's Aṣṭādhyāyī as well as an unspecified work of medicine .In...

defined the eastern limit of Brahmanical culture as the Kalaka forest, thereby excluding Magadha from the land of the Aryas. The Baudhyana Dharma Sutra (1.2.9) and the Vasistha Dharma Sutra (1.8-12) both set similar limits to the eastern borders of the Aryavarta

Aryavarta

Āryāvarta is a name for Northern India in classical Sanskrit literature. The Manu Smriti gives the name to "the tract between the Himalaya and the Vindhya ranges, from the eastern to the Western Sea"....

. But some three centuries after Patanjali, the Manava Dharma Shastra (2.22) states that the Aryvarta extends from the eastern to the western seas. The change that occurred between Patanjali and Manu

Manu

-Geography:*Manú Province, a province of Peru, in the Madre de Dios Region*Manú National Park, Peru*Manú River, in southeastern Peru*Manu River, Tripura, which originates in India and flows into Bangladesh...

reflects the eastward extension of Brahmanism.

At least until the time of Patanjali, and probably later, the region east of the confluence of the Ganga and Yamuna rivers was not considered Brahmanical. This region of Greater Magadha had a culture and religious beliefs of its own that predated the extension of Brahmanism. Much of the second urbanisation took place here from c. 500 BCE onwards and it was here that Buddhism and Jainism arose. The importance of Magadha's culture can be seen in that both Buddhism and Jainism adopted some of its features, most significantly a belief in rebirth and karmic retribution. Early Jaina and Brahmanical scriptures describe varieties of ascetic practices that are based on shared assumptions. These assumptions included the belief that liberation can be achieved through knowledge of the self. These practices and their underlying assumptions were present in the culture of Greater Magadha at an early date and are likely to have influenced Jainism and other religions. The belief in rebirth and karmic retribution was an important feature in later developments in Indian religion and philosophy.

Recorded History

There is little certain information available on the early rulers of Magadha. The most important sources are the Puranas

Puranas

, the Buddhist Chronicles of Sri Lanka

Sri Lanka

Sri Lanka, officially the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka is a country off the southern coast of the Indian subcontinent. Known until 1972 as Ceylon , Sri Lanka is an island surrounded by the Indian Ocean, the Gulf of Mannar and the Palk Strait, and lies in the vicinity of India and the...

, and other Jain

Jainism

and Buddhist texts, such as the Pāli Canon

Pāli Canon

The Pāli Canon is the standard collection of scriptures in the Theravada Buddhist tradition, as preserved in the Pāli language. It is the only completely surviving early Buddhist canon, and one of the first to be written down...

. Based on these sources, it appears that Magadha was ruled by the Haryanka dynasty

Haryanka dynasty

The Haryanka dynasty was the second ruling dynasty of Magadha, an ancient kingdom in India, which succeeded the Barhadratha dynasty. According to the Puranas, the second ruling dynasty was the Shaishunga dynasty, but an earlier authority, Ashvagosha in his Buddhacharita refers to Bimbisara, who is...

for some 200 years, c. 684 BC

550

Year 550 was a common year starting on Saturday of the Julian calendar. The denomination 550 for this year has been used since the early medieval period, when the Anno Domini calendar era became the prevalent method in Europe for naming years.- Byzantine Empire :* January 16 – Gothic War :...

– 424 BC

424 BC

Year 424 BC was a year of the pre-Julian Roman calendar. At the time, it was known as the Year of the Tribunate of Crassus, Fidenas, Rutilus and Iullus...

.

Siddhartha Gautama himself was born a prince of Kapilavastu

Kapilavastu

Kapilavastu is the name of a region of ancient Shakya kingdom that is considered a holy pilgrimage place for Buddhists. The search for the Buddha's birthplace following the accounts left by Xuanzang and Faxian involved various searches in the late 19th century...

in Kosala

Kosala

Kosala was an ancient Indian region, corresponding roughly in area with the region of Awadh in present day Uttar Pradesh. According to the Buddhist text Anguttara Nikaya and the Jaina text, the Bhagavati Sutra, Kosala was one of the Solasa Mahajanapadas in 6th century BCE and its cultural and...

around the 5th century BCE, during the Haryanka dynasty

Haryanka dynasty

. As the scene of many incidents in his life, including his enlightenment, Magadha is often considered a blessed land. King Bimbisara

Bimbisara

Bimbisara was a King, and later, Emperor of the Magadha empire from 543 BC to his death and belonged to the Hariyanka dynasty.-Career:There are many accounts of Bimbisara in the Jain texts and the Buddhist Jatakas, since he was a contemporary of Mahavira and Gautama Buddha. He was the king of...

of the Haryanka dynasty

Haryanka dynasty

led an active and expansive policy, conquering Anga

Anga

in what is now West Bengal

West Bengal

West Bengal is a state in the eastern region of India and is the nation's fourth-most populous. It is also the seventh-most populous sub-national entity in the world, with over 91 million inhabitants. A major agricultural producer, West Bengal is the sixth-largest contributor to India's GDP...

.

The death of King Bimbisara was at the hands of his son, Prince Ajatashatru

Ajatashatru

Ajatasatru was a king of the Magadha empire in north India. He was the son of King Bimbisara, the Great Monarch of Magadha. He was contemporary to Mahavira and Buddha. He took over the kingdom of Magadha from his father forcefully by imprisoning him...

. King Pasenadi

Pasenadi

Pasenadi was a dynasty ruler of Kosala. He succeeded his father . He was a prominent of Gautama Buddha, who built many Buddhist monasteries.-Life:...

(Prasenajit), king of neighboring Kosala

Kosala

and brother-in-law of King Bimbisara, retook the gift of the Kashi province and a war was triggered between Kosala and Magadha. Ajatashatru

Ajatashatru

was trapped by an ambush and captured with his army. However, King Prasenajit allowed him and his army return to Magadha, and restored the province of Kashi. King Pasenadi

Pasenadi

Pasenadi was a dynasty ruler of Kosala. He succeeded his father . He was a prominent of Gautama Buddha, who built many Buddhist monasteries.-Life:...

also gave his daughter in marriage to the new young king.

Accounts differ slightly as to the cause of King Ajatashatru's war with the Licchavi republic, an area north of the river Ganges. It appears that Ajatashatru sent a minister to the area who for three years worked to undermine the unity of the Licchavis. To launch his attack across the Ganges River, Ajatashatru built a fort at the town of Pataliputra. Torn by disagreements the Licchavis with many tribes that fought with Ajatashatru

Ajatashatru

. It took fifteen years for Ajatashatru

Ajatashatru

to defeat them. Jain texts tell how Ajatashatru used two new weapons: a catapult, and a covered chariot with swinging mace that has been compared to a modern tank. Pataliputra began to grow as a center of commerce and became the capital of Magadha after Ajatashatru's death.

The Haryanka dynasty was overthrown by the Shishunaga dynasty

Shishunaga dynasty

The Shishunaga dynasty was the third ruling dynasty of Magadha, a kingdom in ancient India. But according to the Puranas, this dynasty is the second ruling dynasty of Magadha, which succeeded the Barhadratha dynasty....

. The last ruler of Shishunaga Dynsty, Kalasoka was assassinated by Mahapadma Nanda

Mahapadma Nanda

Mahapadma Nanda was the first king of the Nanda dynasty. He was the son of Mahanandin, a Kshatriya father from the Shishunaga dynasty, with a shudra wife. Sons of Mahanandin from his Kshatriya wives opposed the rise of Mahapadma Nanda, on which he eliminated all of them to claim the throne...

in 424 BC, the first of the so-called Nine Nandas (Mahapadma and his eight sons). The Nanda Dynasty

Nanda Dynasty

The Nanda Empire originated from the region of Magadha in Ancient India during the 5th and 4th centuries BC. At its greatest extent, the Nanda Empire extended from Bengal in the east, to Punjab in the west and as far south as the Vindhya Range...

ruled for about 100 years.

In 326 BC

326 BC

Year 326 BC was a year of the pre-Julian Roman calendar. At the time, it was known as the Year of the Consulship of Visolus and Cursor...

, the army of Alexander the Great approached the boundaries of Magadha. The army, exhausted and frightened at the prospect of facing another giant Indian army at the Ganges, mutinied at the Hyphasis

Beas River

The Beas River is a river in the northern part of India. The river rises in the Himalayas in central Himachal Pradesh, India, and flows for some 470 km to the Sutlej River in the Indian state of Punjab....

(modern Beas

Beas River

) and refused to march further East. Alexander, after the meeting with his officer, Coenus

Coenus

Coenus , a son of Polemocrates and son-in-law of Parmenion, was one of the ablest and most faithful generals of Alexander the Great in his eastern expedition...

, was persuaded that it was better to return and turned south, conquering his way down the Indus to the Ocean.

Around 321 BC

321 BC

Year 321 BC was a year of the pre-Julian Roman calendar. At the time, it was known as the Year of the Consulship of Calvinus and Caudinus...

, the Nanda Dynasty ended and Chandragupta

Chandragupta Maurya

Chandragupta Maurya , was the founder of the Maurya Empire. Chandragupta succeeded in conquering most of the Indian subcontinent. Chandragupta is considered the first unifier of India and its first genuine emperor...

became the first king of the great Mauryan Dynasty and Mauryan Empire with the help of Vishnugupta

Chanakya

Chānakya was a teacher to the first Maurya Emperor Chandragupta , and the first Indian emperor generally considered to be the architect of his rise to power. Traditionally, Chanakya is also identified by the names Kautilya and VishnuGupta, who authored the ancient Indian political treatise...

. The Empire later extended over most of Southern Asia

South Asia

South Asia, also known as Southern Asia, is the southern region of the Asian continent, which comprises the sub-Himalayan countries and, for some authorities , also includes the adjoining countries to the west and the east...

under King Asoka, who was at first known as 'Asoka the Cruel' but later became a disciple of Buddhism and became known as 'Dhamma

Dharma

Dharma means Law or Natural Law and is a concept of central importance in Indian philosophy and religion. In the context of Hinduism, it refers to one's personal obligations, calling and duties, and a Hindu's dharma is affected by the person's age, caste, class, occupation, and gender...

Asoka'. Later, the Mauryan Empire ended and the Gupta Empire

Gupta Empire

began. The capital of the Gupta Empire remained Pataliputra, in Magadha.

Magadha Dynasties

Brihadratha Dynasty, Pradyota Dynasty, Harayanka Dynasty, Śiśunāga Dynasty ruled Magadha from 684 – 424 BC. Afterwards the Nanda Dynasty, Maurya Dynasty, Sunga Dynasty, Kanva Dynasty, Gupta Dynasty expanded beyond Magadha.

Amongst the sixteen Mahajanapadas

Mahajanapadas

Mahājanapadas , literally "great realms", were ancient Indian kingdoms or countries...

, Magadha rose to prominence under a number of dynasties that peaked with the reign of Asoka Maurya, one of India's most legendary and famous emperors.

Brihadratha dynasty

According to the Puranas

Puranas

, the Magadha Empire was established by the Brihadratha Dynasty, who was the sixth in line from Emperor Kuru of the Bharata

Bharata (emperor)

Bharata was a legendary emperor of India, and is referred to in Hindu and Jain mythology. He was son of King Dushyanta and Shakuntala and thus a descendant of the Lunar Dynasty of the Kshatriya caste. Bharata conquered all of greater Greater India, uniting it into a single entity which was named...

dynasty through his eldest son Sudhanush. The first prominent Emperor of the Magadhan branch of Bharathas was Emperor Brihadratha. His son Jarasandha appears in popular legend and is slain by Bhima

Bhima

In the Mahābhārata, Bhima is one of the central characters of Mahabharata and the second of the Pandava brothers...

in the Mahabharatha. Vayu Purana mentions that the Brihadrathas ruled for 1000 years.

Pradyota dynasty

The Brihadrathas were succeeded by the Pradyotas who (according to the Vayu Purana) ruled for 138 years. One of the Pradyota traditions was for the prince to kill his father to become king. During their time, it is reported that crimes were commonplace in Magadha. Tired of the dynastic feuds and the crimes, the people rose up in civil revolt and elected Haryanka

Haryanka dynasty

to become the king. This led to the emergence of the Haryanka dynasty

Haryanka dynasty

According to tradition, the Haryanka dynasty

Haryanka dynasty

founded the Magadha Empire in 684 BC, whose capital was Rajagriha, later Pataliputra, near the present day Patna

Patna

Paṭnā , is the capital of the Indian state of Bihar and the second largest city in Eastern India . Patna is one of the oldest continuously inhabited places in the world...

. This dynasty lasted till 424 BC

424 BC

Year 424 BC was a year of the pre-Julian Roman calendar. At the time, it was known as the Year of the Tribunate of Crassus, Fidenas, Rutilus and Iullus...

, when it was overthrown by the Shishunaga dynasty

Shishunaga dynasty

. This period saw the development of two of India's major religions that started from Magadha. Gautama Buddha

Gautama Buddha

in the 6th or 5th century BC was the founder of Buddhism

Buddhism

, which later spread to East Asia

East Asia

East Asia or Eastern Asia is a subregion of Asia that can be defined in either geographical or cultural terms...

and South-East Asia, while Mahavira

Mahavira

Mahāvīra is the name most commonly used to refer to the Indian sage Vardhamāna who established what are today considered to be the central tenets of Jainism. According to Jain tradition, he was the 24th and the last Tirthankara. In Tamil, he is referred to as Arukaṉ or Arukadevan...

revived and propagated the ancient shamanic religion of Jainism

Jainism

.
Bimbisara

Bimbisara

was responsible for expanding the boundaries of his kingdom through matrimonial alliances and conquest. The land of Kosala

Kosala

fell to Magadha in this way. Bimbisara

Bimbisara

(543–493 BCE ) was imprisoned and killed by his son Ajatashatru

Ajatashatru

(ruled 491–461 BCE) who then became his successor, and under whose rule the dynasty reached its largest extent.

Licchavi

Licchavi

was an ancient republic

Republic

which existed in what is now Bihar

Bihar

state of India

India

India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...

, since the before the birth of Mahavira

Mahavira

(b. 599 BC), Vaishali
Vaishali (ancient city)
Vaiśālī was the capital city of the Licchavi, one of world's first republics, in the Vajjian Confederacy mahajanapada, around the 6th century BC. It was here in 599 BCE the 24th Jain Tirthankara, Bhagwan Mahavira was born and brought up in Kundalagrama in Vaiśālī republic, which make pious &...

was the capital of the Licchavis and the Vajjian Confederacy

Vajji

Vajji or Vrijji was one of the principal Mahajanapadas of ancient India. Both the Buddhist text Anguttara Nikaya and the Jaina text Bhagavati Sutra included Vajji in their lists of solasa Maha-Janapadas. The name of this Mahajanapada was derived from one of its ruling clans, the Vṛjis...

. Its courtesan, Ambapali

Ambapali

Amrapāli, also known as "Ambapālika" or "Ambapali", was a nagarvadhu of the republic of Vaishali in ancient India around 500 BC.. Following the Buddha's teachings she became an arahant...

, was famous for her beauty, and helped in large measure in making the city prosperous. Ajatashatru

Ajatashatru

went to war with the Licchavi

Licchavi

several times. Ajatashatru

Ajatashatru

, is thought to have ruled from 491–461 BCE and moved his capital of the Magadha kingdom from Rajagriha to Patliputra

Patliputra

Pāṭaliputra , modern-day Patna, was a city in ancient India, originally built by Ajatashatru in 490 BC as a small fort near the River Ganges, and later the capital of the ancient Mahājanapadas kingdom of Magadha....

. Udayabhadra eventually succeeded his father, Ajatashatru

Ajatashatru

, under him Patliputra

Patliputra

became the largest city in the world.

Shishunaga dynasty

According to tradition, the Shishunaga dynasty founded the Magadha Empire in 430 BC, whose capital was Rajagriha, later Pataliputra, near the present day Patna

Patna

Paṭnā , is the capital of the Indian state of Bihar and the second largest city in Eastern India . Patna is one of the oldest continuously inhabited places in the world...

in India. This dynasty was succeeded by the Nanda dynasty

Nanda Dynasty

.
Shishunaga (also called King Sisunaka) was the founder of a dynasty of 10 kings, collectively called the Shishunaga dynasty. He established the Magadha empire (in 430 BC). This empire, with its original capital in Rajgriha, later shifted to Pataliputra (both currently in the Indian state of Bihar). The Shishunaga dynasty in its time was one of the largest empires of the Indian subcontinent.

The kingdom had a particularly bloody succession. Anuruddha

Anuruddha

Anuruddha was one of the five head disciples and a cousin of Gautama Buddha.-Early years:Anuruddha was the son of Sukkhodana and brother to Mahanama. Since Sukkhodana was the brother of Suddhodana, king of the Sakyas in Kapilavastu, Anuruddha was cousin to Siddhartha, . He was a kshatriya by...

eventually succeeded Udaybhadra through assassination, and his son Munda succeeded him in the same fashion, as did his son Nagadasaka. Due in part to this bloody dynastic feuding, it is thought that a civil revolt led to the emergence of the Nanda dynasty.

Shishunaga dynasty Rulers

Shishunaga (430 BC), established the kingdom of Magadha,
Kakavarna (394–364 BC),
Kshemadharman (618–582 BC),
Kshatraujas (582–558 BC),
Kalasoka,
Mahanandin (until 424 BC), his empire is inherited by his illegitimate son Mahapadma Nanda.

Nanda dynasty

The Nanda dynasty

Nanda Dynasty

was established by an illegitimate son of the king Mahanandin

Mahanandin

Mahanandin was a king of the Shishunaga dynasty. The dynasty ruled parts of ancient India around the city of Patliputra...

of the previous Shishunaga dynasty

Shishunaga dynasty

. Mahapadma Nanda

Mahapadma Nanda

died at the age of 88, ruling the bulk of this 100-year dynasty. 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. The greatest extent of the empire was led by Dhana Nanda. The Nandas were followed by the Maurya dynasty.

Maurya dynasty

In 321 BC

321 BC

Year 321 BC was a year of the pre-Julian Roman calendar. At the time, it was known as the Year of the Consulship of Calvinus and Caudinus...

, exiled general Chandragupta Maurya

Chandragupta Maurya

founded the Maurya dynasty after overthrowing the reigning Nanda king Dhana Nanda to establish the Maurya Empire

Maurya Empire

The Maurya Empire was a geographically extensive Iron Age historical power in ancient India, ruled by the Mauryan dynasty from 321 to 185 BC...

. During this time, most of the subcontinent was united under a single government for the first time. Capitalising on the destabilization of northern India by the Persian and Greek incursions, the Mauryan empire under Chandragupta would not only conquer most of the Indian subcontinent, but also push its boundaries into Persia and Central Asia

Central Asia

Central Asia is a core region of the Asian continent from the Caspian Sea in the west, China in the east, Afghanistan in the south, and Russia in the north...

, conquering the Gandhara

Gandhara

region. Chandragupta was succeeded by his son Bindusara

Bindusara

Bindusara was the second Mauryan emperor after Chandragupta Maurya. During his reign, the empire expanded southwards. He had two well-known sons, Susima and Ashoka, who were the viceroys of Taxila and Ujjain...

, who expanded the kingdom over most of present day India, barring the extreme south and east.

The kingdom was inherited by his son Ashoka The Great who initially sought to expand his kingdom. In the aftermath of the carnage caused in the invasion of Kalinga

Kalinga (India)

Kalinga was an early state in central-eastern India, which comprised most of the modern state of Orissa/Utkal , as well as the Andhra region of the bordering state of Andhra Pradesh. It was a rich and fertile land that extended from the river Damodar/Ganges to Godavari and from Bay of Bengal to...

, he renounced bloodshed and pursued a policy of non-violence or ahimsa after converting to Buddhism. The Edicts of Ashoka

Edicts of Ashoka

The Edicts of Ashoka are a collection of 33 inscriptions on the Pillars of Ashoka, as well as boulders and cave walls, made by the Emperor Ashoka of the Mauryan dynasty during his reign from 269 BCE to 231 BCE. These inscriptions are dispersed throughout the areas of modern-day Bangladesh, India,...

are the oldest preserved historical documents of India, and from Ashoka's time, approximate dating of dynasties becomes possible. The Mauryan dynasty under Ashoka

Ashoka

Ashok Maurya or Ashoka , popularly known as Ashoka the Great, was an Indian emperor of the Maurya Dynasty who ruled almost all of the Indian subcontinent from ca. 269 BC to 232 BC. One of India's greatest emperors, Ashoka reigned over most of present-day India after a number of military conquests...

was responsible for the proliferation of Buddhist ideals

Buddhism

across the whole of East Asia

East Asia

East Asia or Eastern Asia is a subregion of Asia that can be defined in either geographical or cultural terms...

and South-East Asia, fundamentally altering the history and development of Asia as a whole. Ashoka the Great has been described as one of the greatest rulers the world has seen.

Sunga dynasty

The Sunga dynasty was established in 185 BC, about fifty years after Ashoka's death, when the king Brihadratha

Brihadratha

Brihadratha, also known as Maharatha, was the founder of the Barhadratha dynasty, the earliest ruling dynasty of Magadha. According to the Mahabharata and the Puranas, he was the eldest of the five sons of Vasu, the Kuru king of Chedi. and his queen Girika...

, the last of the Mauryan rulers, was assassinated by the then commander-in-chief of the Mauryan armed forces, Pusyamitra Sunga, while he was taking the Guard of Honour of his forces. Pusyamitra Sunga

Pusyamitra Sunga

Pusyamitra Sunga was the founder and first King of the Sunga Dynasty in Northern India.Pusyamitra Sunga was originally a Senapati of the Mauryan empire. In 185 BCE he assassinated the last Mauryan Emperor during an army review, and proclaimed himself King...

then ascended the throne.

Kanva dynasty

The Kanva dynasty replaced the Sunga dynasty, and ruled in the eastern part of India from 71 BC to 26 BC. The last ruler of the Sunga dynasty was overthrown by Vasudeva of the Kanva dynasty in 75 BC. The Kanva ruler allowed the kings of the Sunga dynasty to continue to rule in obscurity in a corner of their former dominions. Magadha was ruled by four Kanva rulers. In 30 BC, the southern power swept away both the Kanvas and Sungas and the province of Eastern Malwa was absorbed within the dominions of the conqueror. Following the collapse of the Kanva dynasty, the Satavahana

Satavahana

The Sātavāhana Empire or Andhra Empire, was a royal Indian dynasty based from Dharanikota and Amaravati in Andhra Pradesh as well as Junnar and Prathisthan in Maharashtra. The territory of the empire covered much of India from 230 BCE onward...

dynasty of the Andhra kingdom replaced the Magandhan kingdom as the most powerful Indian state.

Gupta dynasty

The Gupta dynasty ruled from around 240 to 550 AD. The Gupta Empire was one of the largest political and military empires in ancient India

Ancient India

Ancient India may refer to:* The ancient history of India, which generally includes the ancient history of the Asian Subcontinent, including:*Science and technology in ancient India**Indian mathematics**Astronomy**List of Indian inventions...

. This period has been called the Golden Age of India and was marked by extensive achievements in science, technology, engineering, art

Indian art

Indian Art is the visual art produced on the Indian subcontinent from about the 3rd millennium BC to modern times. To viewers schooled in the Western tradition, Indian art may seem overly ornate and sensuous; appreciation of its refinement comes only gradually, as a rule. Voluptuous feeling is...

, dialectic, literature

Indian literature

Indian literature refers to the literature produced on the Indian subcontinent until 1947 and in the Republic of India thereafter. The Republic of India has 22 officially recognized languages....

, logic

Indian logic

The development of Indian logic dates back to the anviksiki of Medhatithi Gautama the Sanskrit grammar rules of Pāṇini ; the Vaisheshika school's analysis of atomism ; the analysis of inference by Gotama , founder of the Nyaya school of Hindu philosophy; and the tetralemma of Nagarjuna...

, mathematics

Indian mathematics

Indian mathematics emerged in the Indian subcontinent from 1200 BCE until the end of the 18th century. In the classical period of Indian mathematics , important contributions were made by scholars like Aryabhata, Brahmagupta, and Bhaskara II. The decimal number system in use today was first...

, astronomy, religion, and philosophy

Indian philosophy

India has a rich and diverse philosophical tradition dating back to ancient times. According to Radhakrishnan, the earlier Upanisads constitute "...the earliest philosophical compositions of the world."...

that crystallized the elements of what is generally known as Hindu culture

Culture of India

India's languages, religions, dance, music, architecture, food and customs differ from place to place within the country, but nevertheless possess a commonality....

. The decimal numeral system

Decimal

The decimal numeral system has ten as its base. It is the numerical base most widely used by modern civilizations....

, including the concept of zero

0 (number)

0 is both a numberand the numerical digit used to represent that number in numerals.It fulfills a central role in mathematics as the additive identity of the integers, real numbers, and many other algebraic structures. As a digit, 0 is used as a placeholder in place value systems...

, was invented in India during this period. The peace and prosperity created under leadership of Guptas enabled the pursuit of scientific and artistic endeavors in India.

The high points of this cultural creativity are magnificent architecture, sculpture, and painting. The Gupta period produced scholars such as Kalidasa

Kalidasa

Kālidāsa was a renowned Classical Sanskrit writer, widely regarded as the greatest poet and dramatist in the Sanskrit language...

, Aryabhata

Aryabhata

Aryabhata was the first in the line of great mathematician-astronomers from the classical age of Indian mathematics and Indian astronomy...

, Varahamihira

Varahamihira

Varāhamihira , also called Varaha or Mihira, was an Indian astronomer, mathematician, and astrologer who lived in Ujjain...

, Vishnu Sharma, and Vatsyayana

Vatsyayana

Vātsyāyana is the name of a Hindu philosopher in the Vedic tradition who is believed to have lived during time of the Gupta Empire in India...

who made great advancements in many academic fields. Science and political administration reached new heights during the Gupta era. Strong trade ties also made the region an important cultural center and established it as a base that would influence nearby kingdoms and regions in Burma, Sri Lanka

Sri Lanka

, the Malay Archipelago

Malay Archipelago

The Malay Archipelago refers to the archipelago between mainland Southeastern Asia and Australia. The name was derived from the anachronistic concept of a Malay race....

, and Indochina

Indochina

The Indochinese peninsula, is a region in Southeast Asia. It lies roughly southwest of China, and east of India. The name has its origins in the French, Indochine, as a combination of the names of "China" and "India", and was adopted when French colonizers in Vietnam began expanding their territory...

.

The Gupta period marked a watershed of Indian culture: the Guptas performed Vedic sacrifices to legitimize their rule, but they also patronized Buddhism

Buddhism

, which continued to provide an alternative to Brahmanical orthodoxy. The military exploits of the first three rulers—Chandragupta I

Chandragupta I

The Gupta dynasty first seems to be in eminence with the accession of Chandra Gupta I, son of Ghatotkacha to the throne of the ancestral Gupta kingdom. While his two ancestors were given the title of Maharaja , Chandra Gupta I is described in his inscriptions as Maharajadhiraj signifying a rise in...

(ca. 319–335), Samudragupta

Samudragupta

Samudragupta , ruler of the Gupta Empire , and successor to Chandragupta I, is considered to be one of the greatest military geniuses in Indian history according to Historian V. A. Smith. His name is taken to be a title acquired by his conquests...

(ca. 335–376), and Chandragupta II

Chandragupta II

Chandragupta II the Great, very often referred to as Vikramaditya or Chandragupta Vikramaditya in Sanskrit; was one of the most powerful emperors of the Gupta empire in northern India. His rule spanned c...

(ca. 376–415) —brought much of India under their leadership. They successfully resisted the northwestern kingdoms until the arrival of the Hunas

Huna people

Huna is the name under which the Xionite tribes who invaded northern India during the first half of the 5th century were known.-History:...

, who established themselves in Afghanistan by the first half of the 5th century, with their capital at Bamiyan. However, much of the Deccan

Deccan Plateau

The Deccan Plateau is a large plateau in India, making up the majority of the southern part of the country. It rises a hundred meters high in the north, rising further to more than a kilometers high in the south, forming a raised triangle nested within the familiar downward-pointing triangle of...

and southern India were largely unaffected by these events in the north.

Brihadratha Dynasty

Semi-legendary rulers in Purana accounts.

Brihadratha
Brihadratha
Brihadratha, also known as Maharatha, was the founder of the Barhadratha dynasty, the earliest ruling dynasty of Magadha. According to the Mahabharata and the Puranas, he was the eldest of the five sons of Vasu, the Kuru king of Chedi. and his queen Girika...
Jarasandha
Jarasandha
Jarasandha was a great and legendary king of Magadha. He was the son of a vedic king named Brihadratha. He was also a great devotee of Lord Shiva. But he is generally held in negative light owing to his enmity with the Yadav clan in the Mahābhārata....
Sahadeva
Sahadeva of Magadha
Sahadeva was a ruler of the Barhadratha dynasty of Magadha. In the Mahabharata, he is mentioned as the son of Jarasandha, who was placed on the throne of Magadha by the Pandavas on the former's death in a duel with the Pandava prince BhimaAccording to the Puranas, he was killed in the Kurukshetra...
Somapi (1678–1618 BC)
Srutasravas (1618–1551 BC)
Ayutayus (1551–1515 BC)
Niramitra (1515–1415 BC)
Sukshatra (1415–1407 BC)
Brihatkarman (1407–1384 BC)
Senajit (1384–1361 BC)
Srutanjaya (1361–1321 BC)
Vipra (1321–1296 BC)
Suchi (1296–1238 BC)
Kshemya (1238–1210 BC)
Subrata (1210–1150 BC)
Dharma (1150–1145 BC)
Susuma (1145–1107 BC)
Dridhasena (1107–1059 BC)
Sumati (1059–1026 BC)
Subhala (1026–1004 BC)
Sunita (1004–964 BC)
Satyajit (964–884 BC)
Biswajit (884–849 BC)
Ripunjaya (849–799 BC)

Pradyota dynasty

Ruling 799–684 BC according to calculations based on the Vayu Purana

Vayu Purana

The Vayu Purana is a Shaiva Purana, a Hindu religious text, dedicated to the god Vayu , containing about 24,000 shlokas.-Date:Banabhatta refers to this work in his Kadambari and Harshacharita...

Pradyota
Palaka
Visakhayupa
Ajaka
Varttivarddhana

Haryanka dynasty (545–413 BCE)

Bimbisara
Bimbisara
Bimbisara was a King, and later, Emperor of the Magadha empire from 543 BC to his death and belonged to the Hariyanka dynasty.-Career:There are many accounts of Bimbisara in the Jain texts and the Buddhist Jatakas, since he was a contemporary of Mahavira and Gautama Buddha. He was the king of...

(545–493 BCE), founder of the first Magadhan empire
Ajatashatru
Ajatashatru
Ajatasatru was a king of the Magadha empire in north India. He was the son of King Bimbisara, the Great Monarch of Magadha. He was contemporary to Mahavira and Buddha. He took over the kingdom of Magadha from his father forcefully by imprisoning him...

(493–461 BCE)
Udayabhadra (461–445 BCE)
Aniruddha
Munda
Nagadasaka (437–413 BCE)

Shishunaga dynasty (413–345 BCE)

Shishunaga
Shishunaga
Shishunaga was the founder of the Shishunaga dynasty of the Magadha Empire in the present day northern India. Initially, he was an amatya of the Magadha empire under the Haryanka dynasty. He was placed on the throne by the people who revolted against the Haryanka dynasty rule...

(413–395 BCE), established the kingdom of Magadha
Kakavarna Kalashoka (395–367 BCE)
Mahanandin
Mahanandin
Mahanandin was a king of the Shishunaga dynasty. The dynasty ruled parts of ancient India around the city of Patliputra...

(367–345 BCE), his empire is inherited by his illegitimate son Mahapadma Nanda

Nanda Dynasty (345–321 BCE)

Mahapadma Nanda
Mahapadma Nanda
Mahapadma Nanda was the first king of the Nanda dynasty. He was the son of Mahanandin, a Kshatriya father from the Shishunaga dynasty, with a shudra wife. Sons of Mahanandin from his Kshatriya wives opposed the rise of Mahapadma Nanda, on which he eliminated all of them to claim the throne...

Ugrasena (from 345 BCE), illegitimate son of Mahanandin
Mahanandin
Mahanandin was a king of the Shishunaga dynasty. The dynasty ruled parts of ancient India around the city of Patliputra...

, founded the Nanda Empire
Nanda Dynasty
The Nanda Empire originated from the region of Magadha in Ancient India during the 5th and 4th centuries BC. At its greatest extent, the Nanda Empire extended from Bengal in the east, to Punjab in the west and as far south as the Vindhya Range...

after inheriting Mahanandin's empire
Pandhuka
Panghupati
Bhutapala
Rashtrapala
Govishanaka
Dashasidkhaka
Kaivarta
Dhana (Agrammes, Xandrammes) (until 321 BCE), lost his empire to Chandragupta Maurya
Chandragupta Maurya
Chandragupta Maurya , was the founder of the Maurya Empire. Chandragupta succeeded in conquering most of the Indian subcontinent. Chandragupta is considered the first unifier of India and its first genuine emperor...

after being defeated by him

Maurya Dynasty (324–184 BC)

Chandragupta Maurya
Chandragupta Maurya
Chandragupta Maurya , was the founder of the Maurya Empire. Chandragupta succeeded in conquering most of the Indian subcontinent. Chandragupta is considered the first unifier of India and its first genuine emperor...

(Sandrakottos) (324–301 BC), founded the Mauryan Empire after defeating both the Nanda Empire
Nanda Dynasty
The Nanda Empire originated from the region of Magadha in Ancient India during the 5th and 4th centuries BC. At its greatest extent, the Nanda Empire extended from Bengal in the east, to Punjab in the west and as far south as the Vindhya Range...

and the Macedonian
Ancient Macedonians
The Macedonians originated from inhabitants of the northeastern part of the Greek peninsula, in the alluvial plain around the rivers Haliacmon and lower Axios...

Seleucid Empire
Seleucid Empire
The Seleucid Empire was a Greek-Macedonian state that was created out of the eastern conquests of Alexander the Great. At the height of its power, it included central Anatolia, the Levant, Mesopotamia, Persia, today's Turkmenistan, Pamir and parts of Pakistan.The Seleucid Empire was a major centre...
Bindusara or Amritrochates (301–273 BC)
Ashoka Vardhana
Ashoka
Ashok Maurya or Ashoka , popularly known as Ashoka the Great, was an Indian emperor of the Maurya Dynasty who ruled almost all of the Indian subcontinent from ca. 269 BC to 232 BC. One of India's greatest emperors, Ashoka reigned over most of present-day India after a number of military conquests...

(Ashoka the Great) (273–232 BC), considered the greatest ancient India
History of India
The history of India begins with evidence of human activity of Homo sapiens as long as 75,000 years ago, or with earlier hominids including Homo erectus from about 500,000 years ago. The Indus Valley Civilization, which spread and flourished in the northwestern part of the Indian subcontinent from...

n emperor, first emperor to unify India (after conquering most of South Asia
South Asia
South Asia, also known as Southern Asia, is the southern region of the Asian continent, which comprises the sub-Himalayan countries and, for some authorities , also includes the adjoining countries to the west and the east...

and Afghanistan
Afghanistan
Afghanistan , officially the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan, is a landlocked country located in the centre of Asia, forming South Asia, Central Asia and the Middle East. With a population of about 29 million, it has an area of , making it the 42nd most populous and 41st largest nation in the world...

), adopt Buddhism
Buddhism
Buddhism is a religion and philosophy encompassing a variety of traditions, beliefs and practices, largely based on teachings attributed to Siddhartha Gautama, commonly known as the Buddha . The Buddha lived and taught in the northeastern Indian subcontinent some time between the 6th and 4th...

, grant animal rights
Animal rights
Animal rights, also known as animal liberation, is the idea that the most basic interests of non-human animals should be afforded the same consideration as the similar interests of human beings...

and promote non-violence, a secular administrator,often called the emperor of all ages.
Dasaratha
Dasaratha Maurya
Dasaratha Maurya was the Emperor of the Mauryan dynasty from 232 BCE to 224 BCE.-Accession:According to the Matsya Purana , Dasaratha succeeded his paternal grandfather Ashoka the Great as ruler of the Mauryan empire. was only about twenty years old, when he ascended the throne of the Mauryan...

(232–224 BC)
Samprati
Samprati
Samrat Samprati was an emperor of Maurya dynasty who reigned from c.224–215 BCE. He was the son of Ashoka's blind son, Kunala. He succeeded his cousin, Dasharatha as emperor of the Mauryan Empire and ruled almost the entire present-day Indian subcontinent....

(224–215 BC)
Salisuka
Salisuka
Salisuka Maurya was a ruler of the Indian Mauryan dynasty. He ruled from 215-202 BCE. He was the successor of Samprati Maurya. While Yuga Purana section of the Gargi Samhita mentions him as quarrelsome, unrighteous ruler, he is also called as being of 'Righteous words' but 'unrighteous conduct'...

(215–202 BC)
Devavarman
Devavarman
Devavarman Maurya was a king of the Mauryan empire. He ruled from 202 - 195 BCE. According to the Puranas, he was the successor of Salisuka Maurya and reigned for seven years. He was succeeded by Satadhanvan Maurya.-Notes:...

(202–195 BC)
Satadhanvan
Satadhanvan
Satadhanvan Maurya was a king of the Mauryan dynasty. He ruled from 195-187 BCE. According to the Puranas, he was the successor of Devavarman Maurya and reigned for eight years. During his time, the empire lost some of its territories because of invasions. He was succeeded by Brihadratha...

(195–187 BC), the Mauryan Empire had shrunk by the time of his reign
Brihadrata (187–184 BC), assassinated by Pusyamitra Shunga
Pusyamitra Sunga
Pusyamitra Sunga was the founder and first King of the Sunga Dynasty in Northern India.Pusyamitra Sunga was originally a Senapati of the Mauryan empire. In 185 BCE he assassinated the last Mauryan Emperor during an army review, and proclaimed himself King...

Shunga Dynasty (185–73 BC)

Pusyamitra Shunga
Pusyamitra Sunga
Pusyamitra Sunga was the founder and first King of the Sunga Dynasty in Northern India.Pusyamitra Sunga was originally a Senapati of the Mauryan empire. In 185 BCE he assassinated the last Mauryan Emperor during an army review, and proclaimed himself King...

(185–149 BC), founded the dynasty after assassinating Brihadrata
Agnimitra
Agnimitra
Agnimitra was the second King of the Sunga Dynasty of northern India. He succeeded his father, Pusyamitra Sunga, in 149 BCE...

(149–141 BC), son and successor of Pusyamitra
Vasujyeshtha
Vasujyeshtha
Vasujyetha was the third King of the Sunga Dynasty of Northern India. His reign was not well documented, thus little is known about him. He is credited with successfully completing his grandfather's Ashvamedha and for defeating forces of the Indo-Greek Kingdom along the banks of the Sindhu River...

(141–131 BC)
Vasumitra
Vasumitra
Vasumitra , was the fourth King of the Sunga Dynasty of Northern India...

(131–124 BC)
Andhraka (124–122 BC)
Pulindaka (122–119 BC)
Ghosha
Vajramitra
Bhagabhadra
Bhagabhadra
Bhagabhadra was one of the kings of the Indian Sunga dynasty. He ruled in north, central, and eastern India around 110 BCE. Although the capital of the Sungas was at Pataliputra, he was also known to have held court at Vidisha....

, mentioned by the Puranas
Puranas
The Puranas are a genre of important Hindu, Jain and Buddhist religious texts, notably consisting of narratives of the history of the universe from creation to destruction, genealogies of kings, heroes, sages, and demigods, and descriptions of Hindu cosmology, philosophy, and geography.Puranas...
Devabhuti (83–73 BC), last Sunga king

Kanva Dynasty (73–26 BC)

Vasudeva (c. 73 - c. 66 BCE)
Bhumimitra (c. 66 - c. 52 BCE)
Narayana (c. 52 - c. 40 BCE)
Susarman (c. 40 - c. 26 BCE)

Gupta Dynasty (c. 240–550 AD)

Sri-Gupta I (c. 240–290)
Ghatotkacha
Ghatotkacha (Gupta Ruler)
Ghatotkacha was a pre-imperial Gupta king in northern India, the son of Maharaja Sri-Gupta, who started the Gupta dynasty. His reign is considered insignificant and he is best known as the father of Chandragupta I, the first Gupta emperor....

(290–305)
Chandra Gupta I
Chandragupta I
The Gupta dynasty first seems to be in eminence with the accession of Chandra Gupta I, son of Ghatotkacha to the throne of the ancestral Gupta kingdom. While his two ancestors were given the title of Maharaja , Chandra Gupta I is described in his inscriptions as Maharajadhiraj signifying a rise in...

(305–335), founder of the Gupta Empire
Gupta Empire
The Gupta Empire was an ancient Indian empire which existed approximately from 320 to 550 CE and covered much of the Indian Subcontinent. Founded by Maharaja Sri-Gupta, the dynasty was the model of a classical civilization. The peace and prosperity created under leadership of Guptas enabled the...

, which is often regarded as the golden age
Golden Age
The term Golden Age comes from Greek mythology and legend and refers to the first in a sequence of four or five Ages of Man, in which the Golden Age is first, followed in sequence, by the Silver, Bronze, and Iron Ages, and then the present, a period of decline...

of Indian culture
Samudra Gupta
Samudragupta
Samudragupta , ruler of the Gupta Empire , and successor to Chandragupta I, is considered to be one of the greatest military geniuses in Indian history according to Historian V. A. Smith. His name is taken to be a title acquired by his conquests...

(335–370)
Rama Gupta (370–375)
Chandra Gupta II
Chandragupta II
Chandragupta II the Great, very often referred to as Vikramaditya or Chandragupta Vikramaditya in Sanskrit; was one of the most powerful emperors of the Gupta empire in northern India. His rule spanned c...

(Chandragupta Vikramaditya) (375–415), son of Samudra Gupta, the Gupta Empire achieved its zenith under his reign, the Chinese pilgrim Fa-Hsien describes Indian culture during his reign
Kumara Gupta I
Kumara Gupta I
Kumaragupta I ' was a ruler of the Gupta Empire in 415–455 CE. Like his father and predecessor, Chandragupta II, Kumaragupta was an able ruler. He retained, intact, the vast empire, which extended from Bengal to Kathiawar and from the Himalayas to the Narmada. He ruled efficiently for nearly forty...

(415–455)
Skanda Gupta
Skandagupta
Skandagupta was a Gupta Emperor of northern India. He is generally considered the last of the great Gupta Emperors.-Rule:Skandagupta's antecedents remain unclear. Later official genealogies omit his name, and even the inscriptions of his own age omit the name of his mother...

(455–467)
Kumara Gupta II (467–477)
Buddha Gupta (477–496)
Chandra Gupta III (496–500)
Vainya Gupta (500–515)
Narasimha Gupta (510–530)
Kumara Gupta III (530–540)
Vishnu Gupta (c. 540–550)

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