Magadha

Magadha , ancient Indian kingdom, situated within the area of the modern states of Bihar and Jharkhand . Its capital was Pataliputra (now Patna ). The kingdom rose to prominence in the mid-7th cent. BC and rapidly extended its frontiers, especially under the rule of Bimbisara (c.540-c.490). Magadha fell (c.325) to Chandragupta , who made the kingdom the nucleus of the Mauryan empire. After a period of obscurity, it recovered importance in the 4th cent. AD as the power-base of the Gupta dynasty. Buddhism and Jainism first developed in Magadha, and the Buddha used the Magadhi dialect of Sanskrit.

Magadha. One of the major kingdoms of ancient India at the time of the Buddha Śākyamuni, it was located south of the Ganges and included much of present-day Bihar in its core territory, with its capital first at Rājagṛha and later Pāṭaliputra. Magadha was ruled by King Bimbisāra during most of the Buddha's lifetime but the king died from mistreatment at the hands of his son and successor, Ajātaśatru. Bimbisāra himself was a devoted follower of the Buddha and Magadha can perhaps be considered the heartland of the early Buddhist movement. Later, especially under Ajātaśatru, many of the smaller neighbouring states were conquered and assimilated into what became the Magadhan Empire. The area continued to be at the centre of political and religious life in India even after the demise of the empire itself.