Emerging From The Depths Of the Mahabharata

Priyanka Rout

Emerging From The Depths Of the Mahabharata

A beautiful kingdom nestled in the Indo-Gangetic plains of India saw its bright morning for the first time in the pages of the Mahabharata. Even the Greeks mentioned the glory of this great kingdom of Magadha after hearing of its mighty legends and even mightier rulers. This kingdom, which was encircled by a ring of mountains, was like a weapon waiting to be unleashed on anybody who dared to approach it.

The lost kingdom of Magadha; Image Source: Books Fact

It was a lovely morning in the kingdom of Magadha. People woke up with the sun and went on to work in their everyday lives with a thought in their minds that inspired them to wake up every day. Spread over a huge area, the kingdom of Magadha boasted of a happy and prosperous life. The king of Magadha was one of the most powerful rulers, constantly trying to expand the territories under his empire and bring the entire world under his feet. Magadha was considered to be one of the mightiest kingdoms, capable enough to even chase away the Yadavas of Mathura. Isn’t this a typical description of Magadha that we have in our minds? Emerging from the depths of mythology, this kingdom is a story untold.

An antique kingdom emerging from the pages of Mahabharata was very much real at one point in time. Located on the lush green Indo-Gangetic plains in the eastern part of the Indian subcontinent, today this ancient kingdom is spread over the modern-day state of Bihar. Monikered as one of the sixteen Mahajanapadas or great countries of India, its capital was Rajgir. When Magadha emerged as a pinnacle of power during ancient times, it went on to claim dominion over the entire eastern part of India including Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, and Bengal along with the ancient regions of Licchavi and Anga. This entire area was similar to that of the area of England.

A story revolves around Alexander and the kingdom of Magadha, which makes us realize how powerful our past is. It is said that when Alexander was camping at the River Beas, his army was quite tired and they refused to carry out any further journey. Alexander and his army had heard of the great empire of Magadha and some of its stories that claimed how mighty they were. Though Alexander wanted to see for himself what Magadha had in store for him, he could never dare to enter the territory. This was not once that the kingdom of Magadha scared such a mighty warrior. In the epic of Mahabharata, the entire Yadava clan had to leave their homeland, Mathura to settle in Dwarka to avoid constant wars with their ferocious neighbor, Magadha.

While this part of history where Jarasandha ruled over the kingdom of Magadha might look quite convincing, there are mentions of some unusual people who lived in Magadha before the commencement of any formal rule in the region. The people of Magadha found their mention for the first time in Artharva Veda, among the other tribes that the Vedic people detested thoroughly. Communities in Magadha like the Rajakumara were given their own assemblies, which were commanded by Gramakas, or local leaders. Their administration was organized into three parts: executive, judicial, and military.

According to the Rigveda, there is a mention of a tribe named Kikata. The ruler of the Kikata tribe, Pramaganda was one of the forefathers of the Magadha empire. The Kikatas were considered to be a hostile tribe that had no regard for Vedic rituals. There are numerous texts where the kingdom of Magadha has found its mention including the Ramayana, the Mahabharata, the Puranas and Jain and Buddhist texts. People of the Vedic era were not very fond of the Magadha empire. In Atharva Veda, the writer talks about how a deadly disease could be spread amongst the people of Magadha so that they can die a painful death. The following verse was written in Atharva Veda:

Over to the Gandharis, the Magavants, the Angas, and the Magadhas, do we deliver the fever, like a servant, like a treasure?

According to famous lore, the capital of Magadha, Girivraj, was surrounded by mountains and therefore, it was difficult for any invader to enter it and lay a siege upon it. Jarasandh had confined 99 minor kings and planned to give a large human sacrifice once the 100th monarch was kidnapped, but he was beaten in a wrestling bout by Pandava Bheem and ripped apart. Jarasandh's son was crowned king, but he died for the Pandavas in the Kurukshetra battle.

Though Magadha was quite prosperous and powerful for its wealth and army, the ruler of Magadha was hated for his harshness and cruelty. As discovered in some of the Buddhist texts, the king of Magadha was quite fond of hiding his wealth in the riverbed of the Ganga river. The wealth and possessions of the Nanda dynasty became so popular that the famous Chinese traveler, Hieun Tsang mentioned it in his travelogue. The tale of Magadha had just started. This empire had centuries to go and grow into one of the most powerful empires in the Indian subcontinent.

The tale of Magadha starts with a historical character named Brihadratha. Known as the initiator of the Brihadratha dynasty, he was one to have established the foundational structure of Magadha on the banks of the Ganges River. To make Magadha his new empire, he transferred all the powers from Chedi to his newly-formed Magadha empire. Considered one of the pivotal powers on the Indian subcontinent, Magadha was the most powerful of all Mahajanapadas. When Brihadratha died, his successor, Jarasandha made sure to make the kingdom so strong that no other ruler could match its royalty and power.

Jarasandha was the son of Brihadratha, and also an antagonist in the famous epic of Mahabharata. The legend behind his birth is quite interesting. It is said that a demoness named Jara found the two halves of a baby’s body under a tree. To save him, she joined both halves. She then carried the baby to the king and thus, the baby was named Jarasandha, or someone who is joined by Jara. Jarasandha grew up to be an able ruler under the tutelage of his father. Under his rule, the kingdom of Magadha flourished in both power and prosperity.

Kamsa, the ruler of Mathura, gained the attention of Jarasandha, and impressed with his bravery, Jarasandha made Kamsa his son-in-law by marrying off both his daughters to him. But soon, Krishna killed Kamsa and as a result, both the daughters of Jarasandha were widowed. Since then, Krishna and Jarasandha became enemies of each other. To get his revenge, Jarasandha attacked the kingdom of Mathura seventeen times, but he was always defeated by Krishna and Balarama. Later on, the Yadava clan decided to move their kingdom from Mathura to Dwarka, where Jarasandha could no longer attack them. One day, in an attempt to destroy the kingdom of Mathura forever, Jarasandha set it on fire, but later on, he got to know that Krishna had shifted his kingdom. Later on, in the war of Kurukshetra, Jarasandha was killed by Bhima in a duel.