“”The Dharma is actually beyond the sphere of the ‘one who came to the world’ human form of Buddha. It is like the character of the Buddha’s mind, the excellent knowledge and special wisdom/prajñā. This is the primary topic of the Buddha’s Dharma teachings. However, the source of the Dharma is the Buddha, so he is the role model for practitioners to attain the same state. However, after Buddha passed away, like most people after someone passes away, they missed him and wanted to commemorate him” –17th Karmapa (Day 6, Origin of Secret Mantra teaching, August 2024)
“Birds do not gather
at fruitless trees and at dry lakes.
Likewise, everyone avoids
places where aristocratic power has degenerated.”
–Ju Mipham Rinpoche in Ornament on the Basis of Royal Rule
Introduction
In Day 6 of Origins of Secret Mantra teachings, the 17th Karmapa moved on to a different topic from the previous Day 5 teaching on the connection between secret mantra and Early Buddhist texts and practice, to an outline and explanation of the history and landscape of the political power and geography in the Indian sub-continent/central Gangetic plains during the time of the Buddha and after his parinirvana.
When Buddha was born in the 5th century BCE, the Gangetic plains (or Indian sub-continent) was divided into sixteen kingdoms, and the northern areas of that region were not called India or Nepal (with boundaries like today). As time went on the kingdom known as Magadha greatly expanded under the various royal dynasties and became the most powerful and biggest in India, during King Ashoka’s reign (covering areas within Nepal and Afghanistan). Thus, although the Buddha did not have a special connection with the area when he lived and taught, after he passed away the region became central in terms of the main Buddhist pilgrimage sites and teachings.
During the teaching, I learnt a lot about the geographical history of Buddhism in India during Early Buddhism. In particular, the anecdotes about famous Chinese traveller, Xuanzang who praises King Harsha and mentions the text Harshacharita [a biography of the King], which states that the assassin of the last Śaiśunāga Empire King became the founder of the Nanda dynasty. Also, the Maurya empire minister, Chanyaka’s ancient Sanskrit text the Arthaśāstram, on how to rule a kingdom, that seems to have inspired a Tibetan genre of similar texts, including Ju Mipham Rinpoche’s 19th century text the Ornament on the Basis of Ruling as a King (which directs a lot of criticism at the Gelugpa/Quing dynasty rulers in Tibet during that era).
The 17th Karmapa concluded the teaching with an explanation of the various difficulties the Buddhist community/sangha faced after Buddha’s parinirvana, and proposed reasons why the community divided into four main factions, one (or two) conservative groups and two more liberal ones, based on the tendencies and characteristics of the people leading those communities.
On a personal note, it was fascinating to learn how much political conflict and violence there was during Buddha’s time, and afterwards, in that entire region, with many changes of Kings and dynasties and assassination attempts in 200 years. Yet, despite that Buddha and his main disciples managed to teach and spread the Dharma and achieve many amazing results.
Here is my summary (together with the slides presented by the 17th Karmapa). For a short video of part of the teaching on the three jewels and Dharma (with Tibetan and English subtitles) here.
May it be of benefit for study and contemplation and preserving the words and activities of the Gyalwang Karmapa!
Written and compiled by Adele Tomlin, 11th August 2024.
Shakyamuni Buddha’s meeting with two Magadha Kings and the areas he visited and taught in during his lifetime
The 17th Karmapa first explained that according to a 20th Century English scholar, Anthony Kennedy Warder (1924-2013), in the Buddha’s lifetime, the kingdom of Magadha was one of many different Kingdoms in the Indian sub-continent that gradually became extremely powerful after the Buddha’s parinirvana. Also, the Buddha did meet two generations of Kings of Magadha during the 5th Centur BCE, King Bimibisāra and King Ajatashatru [1] but there was no special, or particular connection for those Kings with the Buddha. According to this scholar, those Kings had connections with other spiritual teachers and groups. For example, Warder says that in various Jain religions and texts, the Jain teachers also met the Kings during Buddha’s time, and they were sponsors of them too.
Likewise, according to the English scholar Warder, during the Buddha’s lifetime he went to a minimum of six different kingdoms in that central Indian area, and turned the wheel of Dharma and the time he spent in Magadha was actually a short period of time. For this reason, the primary areas where Buddha initially spread were not in Magadha but outside of Magadha. It was not that Buddha intentionally set out to make a special connection with Magadha itself.
Over the course of the next 150 years, the borders of Magadha expanded and the regions where Buddhism had spread then also came to be under the political power of the kingdom of Magadha. So from that time on, there was a very special connection between Buddhism and Magadha, and a more exclusive relation between the two. The 17th Karmapa said he would explain that more when he discusses the reign of the emperor Ashoka.
The Karmapa then went onto describe how this special connection between the Magadha region and Buddhism developed, explaining the political geography and names of the regions Buddha lived and taught in, so that people would not get confused about these areas of Magadha and Kosala, in particular.
The Sixteen Great kingdoms/Mahajanapadas and the dynasties of Magadha during Buddha’s lifetime
The 17th Karmapa then showed a slide and explained that between the 6th and the 4th century BC approximately, there were sixteen areas in the Indian sub-continent region called the sixteen great kingdoms. This term “sixteen great kingdoms” is found in the Tibetan texts (Dzong Chenpo Chu-Drug). Some of the kingdoms were republics who appointed their leaders, and some were run by Kings. The Karmapa provided a list of the names of those Kingdoms. These kingdoms were recognise in the Tibetan Tengyur and Kangyur.
- Haryanka dynasty during the time of Buddha and his parinirvana
“Among the 16 great kingdoms, in particular, I will speak about the kingdom of Magadha, which was reigned over by several different dynasties. Starting from the time of the Buddha was the Haryanka dynasty.”
The 17th Karmapa then explained that during the Haryanka dynasty, there were the two Kings of Magadha in particular, are important and mentioned in the Buddhist texts during the time when the Buddha was born and alive, King Bimbisāra (in Buddhist tradition- or Shrenika (Śreṇika) and Seniya (Seṇiya) in the Jain histories (c. 558 – c. 491 BCE or c. 472 – c. 405 BCE)) and his son, King Ajatashatru.
The 17th Karmapa explained that during the latter part of Buddha’s life, the King of Magadha was Ajatashatru. And according to Sri Lankan history, Mahāvaṃsa, it was during the 8th year of that King’s reign that Buddha passed into parinirvana.
The way King Ajatashatru took power was by killing his father [due to influence by Devadatta it is said Bimbisāra was assassinated by his son Ajatashatru in c. 493 BCE, who then succeeded him to the throne. However, as per Jainism, Bimbisāra committed suicide after being imprisoned by his son][2].
In any case, Karmapa explained, in particular King Ajatashatru was able to take power by violent means/wars, over Kosala, Vatsa and other major cities and areas in the Indian sub-continent, and these became part of the expanded Magadha kingdom. For example, the capital of Vatsa kingdom was called Koshambi and at the time, it was considered one of the sixth largest cities in India. During the time Buddha taught, the King of Vatsa was called King Uddiyana (in Tibetan Gyalpo Chag-che) and Ajatashatru fought a war against him, and a war against a King called Avanti.
According to Buddhist and Jain histories, after King Bimbisāra’s death his son, Ajatashatru took over and he moved to the capital of Magadha to Pataliputra[3], which is located in present day, Patna, the capital of the state of Bihar. After that, there were several generations of Kings during the Haryanka Dynasty. Nāgadāsaka was the last ruler from 437 to 413 BCE and son of Munda (see slide).
2. The Shushunaga (Śaiśunāga) Dynasty and the King during reign of second Buddhist council
The 17th Karmapa then explained how around 413 BCE the Śaiśunāga (lit.”of Shishunaga”) dynasty was started after residents rebelled against the King Nāgadāsaka’s rule and was overthrown. His minister Śaiśunāga was voted by the people as the new leader[4]. The 17th Karmapa said it is difficult to say who Śaiśunāga was but: “his father was a soldier his mother was an artist and he seemed to be from a line of noble people from Chan-ge.”
The dynasty has several names applied to it. Later, the Śaiśunāga Kings gained control over the powerful western Indian Kingdom of Avanti (in Tibetan called Srong-bye), which was included in the sixteen kingdoms mentioned before. Also called Avantipuri in colloquial language. Not only that, they also conquered the kingdom of Vatsa .
The 17th Karmapa explained that there is debate as to whether the Haryanka dynasty took over Vatsa, because there was conflict between the two kingdoms for many years, but it seems that Vatsa was finally controlled by the Śaiśunāga dynasty.
According to the Sri Lankan history Dipāvaṃsa, the next Śaiśunāga King was called Khalashoka. Some say he was the artistic Ashoka. In an ancient Indian history text the Purunas, he is called Kakarvana. This King became a very important King in Buddhist history, because it was during his reign that the Second Buddhist Council was held in Vaishali [said to be 100 years after Buddha’s parinirvana].
According to 17th Karmapa, some Tibetan histories have confused this King, with the Dharma King Ashoka, and that he would explain more about the Second Buddhist council later.
According to the Sri Lankan Buddhist history, the second King was Khalashoka who had nine or ten sons and they ruled simultaneously (see slide for names presented by the Karmapa in Tibetan):
3. Nanda Dynasty: Xuanzang and the Harṣacarita, and the Greek invasion
In any case, then came the Nanda dynasty (345 -322 BCE). The 17th Karmapa explained that there was was a well-known Indian King called Harsha [Harshavardhana (590–647 CE)], and a biography was written about his life called the Harshacharita (हर्षचरित, Harṣacarita) [composed by his court poet, Bana]. During the 7th Century, this King and text became very famous.
When the famous Chinese traveller, Xuanzang visited India, he writes about this King Harsha and the text, which states that someone slit the throat of the Śaiśunāga King and the assassin became the founder of the Nanda dynasty. This story is contained in the text Harshacharita.
In the ancient Indian history 4th century text Purana, it says the First King was Mahapatnavanda (Tibetan: Pema Chenpo Gawo). According to the great Sri Lankan history, Mahavamsa, it says there are nine Kings of the Nanda dynasty who were all brothers who took turns reigning (see slide).
So, the last king of the Nanda dynasty at the time of his reign was during the period of the Greek King Alexander the Great’s, invasion of India. The King of Magadha was King Danananda. According to histories, it was powerful militarily and economically but in terms of how they were governed, the people did not like the King very much and so it was easy for the next dynasty King Chandragupta to take power.
4. The Maurya Dynasty: King Chandragupta, his minister Chanakya and the Arthaśāstram
The 17th Karmapa then explained how in 326 BC, the great King Alexander the Great invaded Northwest India but his armies were not able to reach Central India due to the passing away of Alexander in 323 BC in Babylon.
Taking advantage of the Greek invasion, then Chandragupta (Tib: Dawa Bepa), with the assistance of a minister named Chanakya, toppled the Nanda dynasty and established the Maurya Dynasty [Ashokan Prakrit: 𑀫𑀸𑀕𑀥𑁂, Māgadhe].
The 17th Karmapa explained how this minister Chanakya wrote a very well-known Sanskrit text, Arthaśāstram on how to govern a Kingdom [composed, expanded and redacted between the 2nd century BCE and 3rd century CE, the Arthaśāstram was influential until the 12th century, and translated into English in the 20th Century].
The 17th Karmapa explained that in Tibet, such texts are called Treatises on How to Rule Kings, such as one written by Jamgon Mipham Rinpoche called The Ornament of Treatises on the Rule of Kings ( Gyelpo Lug-gi Tencho Zhikyongwai Gyen རྒྱལ་པོ་ལུགས་ཀྱི་བསྟན་བཅོས་གཞི་སྐྱོང་བའི་རྒྱན). The Arthaśāstram was that kind of text. There is a root text and a commentary, and the root text was translated into Tibetan and is in the Tibetan Tengyur. Some scholars say they were both written by Chanyaka, some say not.
So, King Chandragupta gained control over Magadha and the Northern Indian sub-continent, eliminated the Greek power and influence there, and reigned for about 24 years. This was followed by the reign of his son, who reigned for 28 years. [Chandragupta’s empire extended throughout most of South Asia, spanning from modern day Bengal to Afghanistan across North India as well as making inroads into Central and South India.]
The spread of Buddhism between Buddha’s parinirvana and King Ashoka’s reign
Following that, in 268 BC, the Magadha region was ruled by the King Ashoka. After the Buddha’s parinirvana until the time of King Ashoka, there are many different assertions about how long that period lasted.
According to the Sri Lankan histories the period between the parinirvana of the Buddha and Asoka ascending to the throne is around 218 years. The Northern Buddhist histories, which were translated into Chinese, they say there were just over 100 years in that time period. There are some other political histories but with many internal contradictions in many of them, and it is difficult to find some reliable evidence. So, the Karmapa stated he would use the Sri Lankan Buddhist histories as the basis.
The Four Sacred Sites of Buddhism (Ney-Chen Zhi) and the spread of Buddhism in the ‘central plains’
The 17th Karmapa explained that the Buddhist sangha is understood by researchers to be monastics, but also included laypeople. But here they are primarily monastics. Some researchers say that Buddhism primarily spread in central plains of India after the Buddha’s parinirvana,
To determine what ‘central’ means we need to understand the four great sites of Buddhism. There are eight great sites, and different numbers of important sites, but these four are considered most important (see slide).
The 17th Karmapa explained that the first and last great sites of the four were in the northern Indian sub-continent region. The site of his enlightenment is in the southern Indian region, and the place Buddha gave his first teaching more in the west. The region of these four great sites could be termed the central ‘land’ or ‘plains of the Dharma of the Indian subcontinent. As Ashoka built four stupas/pillars here, and sometimes these four sites are called the four chaitya. These places gradually became important places of pilgrimage for Buddhists. (44 minutes).
The meaning of the term ‘central region’ and the geographic progression of Buddhism to the West and South-Western regions
These four Buddhist sites were central in terms of the Indian sub-continent/Gangetic plains region at that time. For a region to be considered a central land, there has to be the four-fold community there, monks,nuns, laywomen and men.
It is said that Buddhism then spread from that central region to the south-western region. It was difficult to travel to the south due to the Vindya mountain range, and to the East due to a very hot climate. So the early Buddhist sangha spread mainly to the West and South-west. It is said that it took longer to spread to the western region because the Brahmanical religion was still strong there.
It is said that Buddhism also spread to the southern regions during the time of the Buddha, not just after the parinirvana. For example, in the Theravada, and Northern, Chinese traditions, there were ten great disciples of Buddha, even though we often talk about the eighteen great disciples.
Among these ten was Mahakatyana who was born in the Avanti Kingdom, one of the 16 great Kingdoms. Among the Buddha’s disciplies he was considered very exceptional at explaining the Dharma. After attaining Arhatship it is said he went back to his homeland and taught the Dharma. In the Tibetan tradition this is described in great detail in the chapter on the finer points of discipline.
He had a student who became a monk, Sonakutikana who travelled a very long way to see the Buddha. His Khenpo asked him to ask the Buddha five questions when he met them. In central India it was not permitted to wear clothes made out of leather but in the region where he was from was a higher altitude, so people did wear skins and leather and one of the a questions was whether it was permissible to wear leather and so forth. The area he was from is even further on the west than Avanti, called Aparanta, so it shows that Buddhism had spread far west in India at that time.
In the Tibetan texts on finer discipline, it says he was not the student of Katayana and was born in a place Suparaka, or Supara, which was also in the western region of India. Now, they’ve have also found a Rock inscription in that region where this place is just a little bit north of Mumbai in modern India. This shows that Buddhism had spread to the west coast of India during the Buddha’s lifetime.
Buddhism spreading south: the story of the sixteen students On the Way to the Far Shore
There are also explanations in the Theravada tradition Sutras (the minor discourses) in a Chapter called On the Way to the Far Shore that describes how Buddhism also spread from the central regions to the South. The 17th Karmapa then described one story of a Brahmin sending 16 students to go and see the Buddha teach.
The second longest river in India, after the Ganges, is called Godavari. There was an Indian Brahmin, Bharavi who lived near that river, who had heard about the fame and renown of Buddha. He told sixteen of his students to go and listen to the Buddha preach Dharma. The students went a long and difficult trip to see the Buddha and asked him various questions. The Karmapa showed the long and difficult route from south to east India, Mumbai to Kolkata, in a visual image:
This is described in a text called On The Way to the Far Shore, in a very old script connected to Pāli, and considered to be one of the earliest works in the four Āgamas. Scholars cannot decide if the text is older than King Ashoka’s pillars or not. The main verses were written before the Introductory Verses and the story about the sixteen students is contained in the Introductory Verses, like a background to the text. So scholars say that even though it is written in a very ancient Indian script, it does not categorically show that the Buddha’s teachings had spread to that region during the time when Buddha was alive.
However, there is a clear example of Buddhism going into South-west India, when King Ashoka’s son Mahindra spread the Dharma to Sri Lanka in the Pāli Language. If we think about it carefully actually 100 or 200 years is actually a rather long time and a lot of changes can happen in that time frame.
The difficulties for Buddhism and Buddhist community after the Buddha’s parinirvana
The 17th Karmapa then went on to describe the difficulties Buddhist communities faced preserving the Buddhist teachings, after the parinirvana of Shakyamuni Buddha. During the period of about 100-200 years, there had been several changes in the dynasties of India, after the time of Buddha’s parinirvana.
The Karmapa explained that even though we do not normally think of one hundred or two hundred years as very long, at that time in India, there were many conflicts, wars and changes in ruling dynasties and politics and many types of views and conduct and so on. So there was a situation where many divisions happened. A contemporary Japanese scholar, called Umada Jyoke, who wrote about the difficulties faced in that region after the Buddha’s parinirvana before the Second Council.
The 17th Karmapa then gave an introduction to those challenges and why there was a split in the Buddhist groups/factions after the Buddha passed away up to the period before the Second Council.
The Karmapa stated there are three main things that a religious tradition needs to survive. The teacher, the teachings and followers. In Buddhism, the primary teacher is the presence of the Buddha and his wisdom and teachings. These three are dependent upon each other. After Buddha passed away the primary focus became the Dharma teachings, and his community, the sangha. These are the three jewels.
“The Dharma is actually beyond the sphere of the ‘one who came to the world’ human form of Buddha. It is like the character of the Buddha’s mind, the excellent knowledge and special wisdom/prajñā. This is the primary topic of the Buddha’s Dharma teachings.
However, the source of the Dharma is the Buddha, so he is the role model for practitioners to attain the same state. However, after Buddha passed away, like most people after someone passes away, they missed him and wanted to commemorate him. They wanted to have reminders of the Buddha and since they couldn’t see the Buddha in person anymore. The main source for this were the places where the Buddha’s relics were, and the places where the Buddha had traveled or stayed. In particular, the teachings that the Buddha himself had left behind, the Dharma. These were the primary reminders.
Some accounts say one should take the Vinaya as the Dharma, some say it is the Buddha’s teachings which are the Dharma. So, the question of how to practice the Dharma became the most important question and issue after Buddha had passed away. However, there were many difficulties that Buddhists faced after Buddha passed away.”
[For a short video of this part of the teaching on the three jewels and Dharma (with Tibetan and English subtitles) here.]
The 17th Karmapa then outlined some of these difficulties detailed by the Japanese scholar:
- How to practice the Dharma and attain enlightenment
- Within the Buddhist teachings some areas of the philosophy were still incomplete
The Karmapa elaborated that “during his lifetime the Buddha, primarily emphasized practice and didn’t emphasize philosophy so much. He would teach more according to the time and the person’s abilities”. So some areas of philosophy and practice were not complete, or had to be filled in. The Karmapa compared this to the Kagyu forefathers who also emphasised practice more than study of logic and philosophical tenets.
3. If people had questions about the Buddha’s awareness (yeshe), or the power of the Buddha or his Parinirvana, or if someone had a doubt or question about them. how should one respond to them. (For example, does the Buddha’s awareness become non-existent? What is the level of Buddha’s power? Or is it without measure?)
4. If there was a dispute, disagreements or criticism from non- Buddhists, or internal disagreements among Buddhists how one should respond to them. How to contend with the refuations of Brahmins? How to harmonise and make peaceful the differing views within Buddhist communities?
The Karmapa concluded that the main point here is that after the Buddha passed away, the community faced these challenges and they were not so unified, harmonious and in agreement around a central teacher, the Buddha, as before.
In addition, the Buddhist teachings and communities expanded greatly and became scattered over large areas that were a long distance apart. So it was not easy to be in contact or help each other.
The habits and characteristics of the three main different Buddhist factions: conservative, liberal and very liberal
The 17th Karmapa then discussed how the different habits, characterstics, culture and so on of Buddhists also had a big effect on how Buddhism developed. There was also a wide variety of tenets and philosophical views within the communities. “so naturally there’s like the it was moving in the direction of splitting into different schools and different communities as Buddhism spread.”
- Mahakashyapa and the conservative, Elder Puruna
First, the 17th Karmapa described how the First Council held by Mahakashyapa seemed to have been successful in unifying the Buddhist communities. Most Buddhists supported him and the First Council. According to accounts about him, he was quite conservative in his outlook about practice and discipline of Buddhist teachings. Contemporary scholars refer to it as old-fashioned, or hard-headed tradition. However, the Karmapa explained among the three main various factions Buddhism split into, he was not the most conservative, there was an even more ultra-conservative faction, of Elder Puruna.
2. Ananda and the Middle Way
A more liberal faction in comparison, represented by Ananda, who taught that people should follow the Buddhist Middle Way. Giving up the extremes of austerities and giving up the extreme of luxuries. Also, that some of the minor, subtle rules can be taken up or relaxed according to time and place.
3. Vaspa and the very liberal group
This group was more liberal than Ananda’s group, and included people such as Vaspa, one of the five first disciples of the Buddha. One could say that these were probably the predecessors to the Mahasamgika school.
So after the parinirvana of the Buddha, they developed different ways of interpreting Buddhism in the sangha. If Mahakashyapa is included as a faction, there are four main factions.
All these groups were trying to do their best to maintain and preserve the Buddha’s teachings and discipline. They were not saying they should be discarded. There were two more conservative and two more liberal groups.
The Origin of New Problems in Vinaya Discipline
The 17th Karmapa then explained that in the Vinaya Mamo Sutra , Theravada text, it says:”After my parinirvana, the sangha should gather and relax the minor subtle precepts.”
However, Ananda did not ask Buddha what the subtle, minor precepts were. Because Ananda did not ask the Buddha this, Mahakashyapa criticised him later. During the First Council, the minor precepts were discussed but there was no consenus or unanimity. So, Mahakashyapa said: “As we have not agreed on what the minor and subtle precepts are, then we shouldn’t relax them.”
They thought if they relaxed or abandoned the minor and the subtle precepts, then non- Buddhists would look at them as having abandoned the Buddha’s teachings and that the Dharma would die out like wood after a fire.
So, at that time everyone agreed the four defeats were not minor precepts. However, they thought that if we only keep the four precepts and abandon all others as minor they would not be regarded as serious spiritual practitioners. This was to prevent the Vinaya disciple from becoming too relaxed and to prevent criticism from non-Buddhists.
So the Elder Mahakashyapa, who was the leader of the First Council made the decision not to relax anything. He said “we should follow the rules the Buddha taught and celebrate that.” The 17th Karmapa explained that does not mean Mahakashyapa was rigidly conservative for doing that. One could even say he was not that conservative, because he did exclude certain rules from the Vinaya and was not extremely strict about it.
The Karmapa concluded by summarising the two primary reasons for Buddhism dividing after the First Council :
1) Buddhism spreading to remote lands where new difficulties were encountered
2) In the central regions, the arisal of new social and political situations.
So the Vinaya rules had to be re-examined and applied in dependence on those contexts.”
[1] The Samaññaphala Sutta states that Ajatashatru visited the six teachers to hear their doctrines and at last visited the Buddha, an event Basham estimated to have taken place in 491 BC.
[2] According to Buddhist tradition, the Samaññaphala Sutta deals with his first meeting with the Buddha, where he realized his mistakes with his association to Devadatta and plan to killing his own father. According to the same text, during this meeting, Ajatashatru took protection of the Buddha, the Dhamma and the Sangha. He was mentioned more than once in several other Sutta as an example of strong devotee to the Buddha, the Dhamma, and the Sangha. He erected a vast Stupa on the bones and ashes of the Buddha after the funeral, and Ajatashatru also was present in the first Buddhist council at the Sattapanni (Saptparni) caves Rajgriha.
In Mahayana Buddhism, Ajatashatru plays a significant soteriological role. He appears in the Mahayana Mahaparinirvana Sutra as a being completely overtaken by evil and suffering, and as such the prototype of an ordinary, sinful person who can only be saved by the Buddha’s compassion; the Buddha even declares in this sutra that he will “remain in the world for the sake of Ajatashatru”. This episode, along with the broader theme of the Age of Dharma Decline, informed several Mahayana schools’ emphasis on faith rather than accumulating merit.
[3] It became the capital of major powers in ancient India, such as the Shishunaga Empire (c. 413–345 BCE), Nanda Empire (c. 460 or 420 – c. 325 BCE), the Maurya Empire (c. 320–180 BCE), the Gupta Empire (c. 320–550 CE), and the Pala Empire (c. 750–1200 CE). During the Maurya period (see below), it became one of the largest cities in the world. As per the Greek diplomat, traveler and historian Megasthenes, during the Mauryan Empire (c. 320–180 BCE) it was among the first cities in the world to have a highly efficient form of local self government.
[4] It is said he murdered his father and ruled for twenty-four years.