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Pataliputra (
IAST The International Alphabet of Sanskrit Transliteration (IAST) is a transliteration scheme that allows the lossless romanisation of Indic scripts as employed by Sanskrit and related Indic languages. It is based on a scheme that emerged during ...
: ), adjacent to modern-day Patna, was a city in
ancient India According to consensus in modern genetics, anatomically modern humans first arrived on the Indian subcontinent from Africa between 73,000 and 55,000 years ago. Quote: "Y-Chromosome and Mt-DNA data support the colonization of South Asia by m ...
, originally built by Magadha ruler
Ajatashatru Ajatasattu (Pāli ) or Ajatashatru (Sanskrit ) in Buddhist tradition, or Kunika () and Kuniya () in the Jain histories, (c. 492 to 460 BCE or early 5th century BCE) was one of the most important kings of the Haryanka dynasty of Magadha in East ...
in 490 BCE as a small fort () near the Ganges river.. Udayin laid the foundation of the city of Pataliputra at the confluence of two rivers, the
Son A son is a male offspring; a boy or a man in relation to his parents. The female counterpart is a daughter. From a biological perspective, a son constitutes a first degree relative. Social issues In pre-industrial societies and some curren ...
and the Ganges. He shifted his capital from Rajgriha to Patliputra due to the latter's central location in the empire. It became the capital of major powers in ancient India, such as the Shishunaga Empire (c. 413–345 BCE), Nanda Empire (c. 460 or 420–325 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 Megasthenes ( ; grc, Μεγασθένης, c. 350 BCE– c. 290 BCE) was an ancient Greek historian, diplomat and Indian ethnographer and explorer in the Hellenistic period. He described India in his book '' Indica'', which is now lost, but h ...
, 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. Afterwards,
Sher Shah Suri Sher Shah Suri ( ps, شیرشاه سوری) (1472, or 1486 – 22 May 1545), born Farīd Khān ( ps, فرید خان) , was the founder of the Sur Empire in India, with its capital in Sasaram in modern-day Bihar. He standardized the silver coin ...
(1538–1545) revived Pataliputra, which had been in decline since the 7th century CE, and renamed it ''Paṭna''. The location of the site was first identified in modern times in 1892 by Laurence Waddell, published as ''Discovery Of The Exact Site Of Asoka's Classic Capital''. Extensive archaeological excavations have been made in the vicinity of modern Patna. Excavations early in the 20th century around Patna revealed clear evidence of large fortification walls, including reinforcing wooden trusses.


Etymology

The etymology of Pataliputra is unclear. "Putra" means son, and "" is a species of rice or the plant '' Bignonia suaveolens''. One traditional etymology holds that the city was named after the plant. Indeed, according to the ''
Mahāparinibbāṇa Sutta The ''Mahāparinibbāṇa Sutta'' is Sutta 16 in the ''Digha Nikaya'', a scripture belonging to the Sutta Pitaka of Theravada Buddhism. It concerns the end of Gautama Buddha's life - his parinibbana - and is the longest sutta of the Pāli Can ...
'' ( Sutta 16 of the ''
Dīgha Nikāya The Digha Nikaya (dīghanikāya; "Collection of Long Discourses") is a Buddhist scriptures collection, the first of the five Nikāyas, or collections, in the Sutta Pitaka, which is one of the "three baskets" that compose the Pali Tipitaka of ...
''), Pāṭaliputta was the place "where the seedpods of the Pāṭali plant break open". Another tradition says that means the son of , who was the daughter of Raja Sudarshan. As it was known as (" village") originally, some scholars believe that is a transformation of , " town". Pataliputra was also called Kusumapura (city of flowers).


History

There is no mention of Pataliputra in written sources prior to the early
Jain Jainism ( ), also known as Jain Dharma, is an Indian religion. Jainism traces its spiritual ideas and history through the succession of twenty-four tirthankaras (supreme preachers of ''Dharma''), with the first in the current time cycle being ...
and Buddhist texts (the Pali Canon and Āgamas), where it appears as the village of Pataligrama and is omitted from a list of major cities in the region.. Early Buddhist sources report a city being built in the vicinity of the village towards the end of the Buddha's life; this generally agrees with archaeological evidence showing urban development occurring in the area no earlier than the 3rd or 4th Century BCE. In 303 BCE, Greek historian and ambassador
Megasthenes Megasthenes ( ; grc, Μεγασθένης, c. 350 BCE– c. 290 BCE) was an ancient Greek historian, diplomat and Indian ethnographer and explorer in the Hellenistic period. He described India in his book '' Indica'', which is now lost, but h ...
mentioned Pataliputra as a city in his work Indika. Diodorus, quoting
Iambulus __NOTOC__ Iambulus or Jambulus ( grc, Ἰάμβουλος, ''Iamboulos'') was an ancient Greek merchant and the likely author of a utopian novel about the strange forms and figures of the inhabitants of the " Islands of the Sun". His name seems not ...
mention that the king of Pataliputra had a " great love for the Greeks ". The city of Pataliputra was formed by fortification of a village by
Haryanka The Haryanka dynasty was the third ruling dynasty of Magadha, an empire of ancient India, which succeeded the Pradyota dynasty and Barhadratha dynasty. Initially, the capital was Rajagriha. Later, it was shifted to Pataliputra, near the pres ...
ruler
Ajatashatru Ajatasattu (Pāli ) or Ajatashatru (Sanskrit ) in Buddhist tradition, or Kunika () and Kuniya () in the Jain histories, (c. 492 to 460 BCE or early 5th century BCE) was one of the most important kings of the Haryanka dynasty of Magadha in East ...
, son of
Bimbisara Bimbisāra (in Buddhist tradition) or Shrenika () and Seniya () in the Jain histories (c. 558 – c. 491 BCE or during the late 5th century BCE) was a King of Magadha (V. K. Agnihotri (ed.), ''Indian History''. Allied Publishers, New Delhi 2 ...
. Its central location in north eastern India led rulers of successive dynasties to base their administrative
capital Capital may refer to: Common uses * Capital city, a municipality of primary status ** List of national capital cities * Capital letter, an upper-case letter Economics and social sciences * Capital (economics), the durable produced goods used fo ...
here, from the
Nandas The Nanda dynasty ruled in the northern part of the Indian subcontinent during the fourth century BCE, and possibly during the fifth century BCE. The Nandas overthrew the Shaishunaga dynasty in the Magadha region of eastern India, and expanded ...
, Mauryans,
Shungas The Shunga Empire (IAST: ') was an ancient Indian dynasty from Magadha that controlled areas of the most of the northern Indian subcontinent from around 185 to 73 BCE. The dynasty was established by Pushyamitra, after taking the throne of the M ...
and the
Guptas The Gupta Empire was an ancient Indian empire which existed from the early 4th century CE to late 6th century CE. At its zenith, from approximately 319 to 467 CE, it covered much of the Indian subcontinent. This period is considered as the Gold ...
down to the Palas. Situated at the confluence of the Ganges, Gandhaka and
Son A son is a male offspring; a boy or a man in relation to his parents. The female counterpart is a daughter. From a biological perspective, a son constitutes a first degree relative. Social issues In pre-industrial societies and some curren ...
rivers, Pataliputra formed a "water fort, or ''jaldurga''". Its position helped it dominate the riverine trade of the
Indo-Gangetic plain The Indo-Gangetic Plain, also known as the North Indian River Plain, is a fertile plain encompassing northern regions of the Indian subcontinent, including most of northern and eastern India, around half of Pakistan, virtually all of Bangla ...
s during Magadha's early imperial period. It was a great centre of trade and commerce and attracted merchants and intellectuals, such as the famed
Chanakya Chanakya ( Sanskrit: चाणक्य; IAST: ', ; 375–283 BCE) was an ancient Indian polymath who was active as a teacher, author, strategist, philosopher, economist, jurist, and royal advisor. He is traditionally identified as Kauṭi ...
, from all over India. Two important early Buddhist councils are recorded in early Buddhist texts as being held here, the second session of the Second Buddhist council in the reign of Ashoka, 35 years after the first session held in Vaisali and the Third Buddhist council. Jain and Brahmanical sources identify Udayabhadra, son of
Ajatashatru Ajatasattu (Pāli ) or Ajatashatru (Sanskrit ) in Buddhist tradition, or Kunika () and Kuniya () in the Jain histories, (c. 492 to 460 BCE or early 5th century BCE) was one of the most important kings of the Haryanka dynasty of Magadha in East ...
, as the king who first established Pataliputra as the capital of Magadha. The Sangam Tamil epic
Akanaṉūṟu The ''Akananuru'' (, literally "four hundred oemsin the akam genre"), sometimes called ''Nedunthokai'' (''lit.'' "anthology of long poems"), is a classical Tamil poetic work and one of the Eight Anthologies (''Ettuthokai'') in the Sangam liter ...
mentions Nanda kings ruling Pataliputra.


Capital of the Maurya Empire

During the reign of Emperor
Ashoka Ashoka (, ; also ''Asoka''; 304 – 232 BCE), popularly known as Ashoka the Great, was the third emperor of the Maurya Empire of Indian subcontinent during to 232 BCE. His empire covered a large part of the Indian subcontinent, s ...
in the 3rd century BCE, it was one of the world's largest cities, with a population of about 150,000–400,000. The city is estimated to have had a surface of 25.5 square kilometers, and a circumference of 33.8 kilometers, and was in the shape of a parallelogram and had 64 gates (that is, approximately one gate every 500 meters). Pataliputra reached the pinnacle of prosperity when it was the capital of the great
Mauryan Emperors The Maurya Empire, or the Mauryan Empire, was a geographically extensive Iron Age historical power in the Indian subcontinent based in Magadha, having been founded by Chandragupta Maurya in 322 BCE, and existing in loose-knit fashion until ...
,
Chandragupta Maurya Chandragupta Maurya (350-295 BCE) was a ruler in Ancient India who expanded a geographically-extensive kingdom based in Magadha and founded the Maurya dynasty. He reigned from 320 BCE to 298 BCE. The Maurya kingdom expanded to become an empi ...
and Ashoka. The city prospered under the
Maurya The Maurya Empire, or the Mauryan Empire, was a geographically extensive Iron Age historical power in the Indian subcontinent based in Magadha, having been founded by Chandragupta Maurya in 322 BCE, and existing in loose-knit fashion until 1 ...
s and a Greek ambassador,
Megasthenes Megasthenes ( ; grc, Μεγασθένης, c. 350 BCE– c. 290 BCE) was an ancient Greek historian, diplomat and Indian ethnographer and explorer in the Hellenistic period. He described India in his book '' Indica'', which is now lost, but h ...
, resided there and left a detailed account of its splendour, referring to it as "Palibothra":
Strabo in his Geographia adds that the city walls were made of wood. These are thought to be the wooden palisades identified during the excavation of Patna. Aelian, although not expressly quoting Megasthenes nor mentioning Pataliputra, described Indian palaces as superior in splendor to Persia's Susa or
Ecbatana Ecbatana ( peo, 𐏃𐎥𐎶𐎫𐎠𐎴 ''Hagmatāna'' or ''Haŋmatāna'', literally "the place of gathering" according to Darius I's inscription at Bisotun; Persian: هگمتانه; Middle Persian: 𐭠𐭧𐭬𐭲𐭠𐭭; Parthian: 𐭀𐭇 ...
: Under Ashoka, most of wooden structure of Pataliputra palace may have been gradually replaced by stone. Ashoka was known to be a great builder, who may have even imported craftsmen from abroad to build royal monuments. Pataliputra palace shows decorative influences of the Achaemenid palaces and Persepolis and may have used the help of foreign craftmen. Which may be the result of the formative influence of craftsmen employed from Persia following the disintegration of the
Achaemenid Empire The Achaemenid Empire or Achaemenian Empire (; peo, wikt:𐎧𐏁𐏂𐎶, 𐎧𐏁𐏂, , ), also called the First Persian Empire, was an History of Iran#Classical antiquity, ancient Iranian empire founded by Cyrus the Great in 550 BC. Bas ...
after the conquests of
Alexander the Great Alexander III of Macedon ( grc, Ἀλέξανδρος, Alexandros; 20/21 July 356 BC – 10/11 June 323 BC), commonly known as Alexander the Great, was a king of the ancient Greek kingdom of Macedon. He succeeded his father Philip II to ...
.


Capital of later dynasties

The city also became a flourishing Buddhist centre boasting a number of important monasteries. It remained the capital of the Gupta dynasty (3rd–6th centuries) and the
Pala Dynasty The Pāla Empire (r. 750-1161 CE) was an imperial power during the post-classical period in the Indian subcontinent, which originated in the region of Bengal. It is named after its ruling dynasty, whose rulers bore names ending with the suffi ...
(8th-12th centuries). When Faxian visited the city in 400 A.D, he found the people to be rich and prosperous; they practised virtue and justice. He found that the nobles and householders of the city had constructed several hospitals in which the poor of all countries, the destitute, the crippled and the diseased can get treatment. They could receive every kind of help gratuitously. Physicians would inspect the diseases, and order them food, drink, and medicines. The city was largely in ruins when visited by Xuanzang. In a fanciful 1559 book about world geography, the Italian Caius Julius Solinus briefly mentions a powerful Indian kingdom of ''Prasia'' with a capital at Palibotra. Afterwards,
Sher Shah Suri Sher Shah Suri ( ps, شیرشاه سوری) (1472, or 1486 – 22 May 1545), born Farīd Khān ( ps, فرید خان) , was the founder of the Sur Empire in India, with its capital in Sasaram in modern-day Bihar. He standardized the silver coin ...
made Pataliputra his capital and changed the name to modern Patna.


Structure

Though parts of the ancient city have been excavated, much of it still lies buried beneath modern Patna. Various locations have been excavated, including
Kumhrar Kumhrar or Kumrahar is the area of Patna where remains of the ancient city of Pataliputra were excavated by the Archaeological Survey of India starting from 1913. It is located 5 km east of Patna Railway Station. Archaeological remains of ...
,
Bulandi Bagh Bulandi Bagh is an area of the archaeological site of Pataliputra (north of railway station of the modern city of Patna). It is mainly known for the discovery of the monumental Pataliputra capital, unearthed in 1895 by L.A. Waddell, as well as t ...
and
Agam Kuan Agam Kuan ( hi, अगम कुआं ,"unfathomable well") is an ancient well and archaeological site in Patna, India. It is said to date back to the period of Mauryan emperor, Ashoka (304–232 BCE). Circular in shape, the well is lined with ...
. During the Mauryan period, the city was described as being shaped as parallelogram, approximately 2.5 kilometers (1.5 miles) wide and 15 kilometers (9 miles) long. Its wooden walls were pierced by 64 gates. Archaeological research has found remaining portions of the wooden palisade over several kilometers, but stone fortifications have not been found.


Excavated sites of Pataliputra

*
Kumhrar Kumhrar or Kumrahar is the area of Patna where remains of the ancient city of Pataliputra were excavated by the Archaeological Survey of India starting from 1913. It is located 5 km east of Patna Railway Station. Archaeological remains of ...
*
Bulandi Bagh Bulandi Bagh is an area of the archaeological site of Pataliputra (north of railway station of the modern city of Patna). It is mainly known for the discovery of the monumental Pataliputra capital, unearthed in 1895 by L.A. Waddell, as well as t ...
*
Agam Kuan Agam Kuan ( hi, अगम कुआं ,"unfathomable well") is an ancient well and archaeological site in Patna, India. It is said to date back to the period of Mauryan emperor, Ashoka (304–232 BCE). Circular in shape, the well is lined with ...


As dynastic capital

File:Magadha Expansion (6th-4th centuries BCE).png, Pataliputra served as the capital of the
Haryanka dynasty The Haryanka dynasty was the third ruling dynasty of Magadha, an empire of ancient India, which succeeded the Pradyota dynasty and Barhadratha dynasty. Initially, the capital was Rajagriha. Later, it was shifted to Pataliputra, near the pres ...
and the Shishunaga dynasty of Magadha File:Nanda Empire, c.325 BCE.png, Pataliputra served as the capital of the Nanda Empire File:Maurya Empire, c.250 BCE 2.png, Pataliputra served as the capital of the Maurya Empire File:Sunga map.jpg, Pataliputra served as the capital of the Shunga Empire File:GuptaEmpire300-550.png, Pataliputra served as the capital of the Gupta Empire File:Asia 800ad.jpg, Pataliputra served as the capital of the Pala Empire


Main recovered artifacts

File:Masarh_lion_sculpture.jpg, The
Masarh lion The Masarh lion is a stone sculpture found at Masarh, a village near Arrah town in the Bhojpur district in the Indian state of Bihar.Page 88: "It is carved out of Chunar sandstone and it also bears the typical Mauryan polish. But it is undoubtedly ...
, 3rd century BCE Lohanipur torso.jpg,
Lohanipur torso The Lohanipur torso is a damaged statue of polished sandstone, dated to the 3rd century BCE ~ 2nd century CE, found in Lohanipur village, a central Division of Patna, ancient Pataliputra, Bihar, India. There are some claims however for a later d ...
. File:Portion of Asokan pillar, found in Pataliputra, Modern Bihar - 3 A.D..JPG, Portion of pillar, found in Pataliputra. Patna griffin.jpg, Pataliputra
griffin The griffin, griffon, or gryphon (Ancient Greek: , ''gryps''; Classical Latin: ''grȳps'' or ''grȳpus''; Late and Medieval Latin: ''gryphes'', ''grypho'' etc.; Old French: ''griffon'') is a legendary creature with the body, tail, and back ...
statuette. Winged Griffin - Chunar Sandstone - Circa 3rd Century BCE - Kumhrar - Patna - ACCN 5583-A25303 - Indian Museum - Kolkata 2014-02-14 9264.JPG, Winged griffin. Patna Yakshas.jpg, Pataliputra Yakshas, with Mauryan inscriptions. File:Pataliputra Kumrahar coping stone with vines.jpg, Kumrahar coping stone with vines. File:Pataliputra lotus motif.jpg, Pataliputra lotus motifs. File:Mauryan Hall pillar.jpg, Polished pillar from Pataliputra. File:Pataliputra pillar mason marks with rubbing.jpg, Mason marks at the base of a pillar.Foreign Influence on Ancient India, de Krishna Chandra Saga
p.41
/ref> Charriot wheel Bulandi Bagh Pataliputra Mauryan period.jpg, Charriot wheel, Bulandi Bagh, Mauryan period. Bulandi Bagh female figure Sunga period.jpg, Bulandi Bagh female statuette, Sunga period. Pataliputra Buddhist railing with coping stone.jpg, Buddhist railing, Sunga period.


See also

*
Azimabad Azimabad ( hi, अज़ीमाबाद, ur, ) was the name of modern-day Patna during the eighteenth century, prior to the British Raj. Today, Patna is the capital of Bihar, a state in North India. In ancient times, Patna was known as Pata ...
*
Names of Patna Since its origin in 600 BC, the city of Patna ( hi, पटना) has gone through many name changes. The article lists various name of Patna used throughout its history. The article could also be taken as ''Toponymy of Patna''. Pataligram One ...
*
History of Patna Patna, the capital of Bihar state, India, is one of the oldest continuously inhabited places in the world and the history of Patna spans at least three millennia. Patna has the distinction of being associated with the two most ancient religions ...


References


Sources

* *


Further reading

* Bernstein, Richard (2001). ''Ultimate Journey: Retracing the Path of an Ancient Buddhist Monk (Xuanzang) who crossed Asia in Search of Enlightenment''. Alfred A. Knopf, New York. {{Patna Division topics History of Patna Buddhist pilgrimage sites in India Former populated places in India Former capital cities in India Indo-Aryan archaeological sites Ancient Indian cities Maurya Empire