Brihadratha ( sa, बृहद्रथ; IAST: Bṛhadratha), also known as ''Maharatha'', was the initiator of his dynasty and also because of his greatness, his dynasty came to be known as ''

Brihadratha dynasty Brihadratha dynasty (Sanskrit: बृहद्रथ; IAST: Bṛhadratha) was the first ruling dynasty of Magadha. Brihadratha was the founder of the dynasty.Misra, V.S. (2007). ''Ancient Indian Dynasties'', Mumbai: Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan, , pp ...

'', the earliest ruling dynasty of

Magadha Magadha was a region and one of the sixteen sa, script=Latn, Mahajanapadas, label=none, lit=Great Kingdoms of the Second Urbanization (600–200 BCE) in what is now south Bihar (before expansion) at the eastern Ganges Plain. Magadha was ruled ...

. He established Magadha on the banks of River

Ganges The Ganges ( ) (in India: Ganga ( ); in Bangladesh: Padma ( )). "The Ganges Basin, known in India as the Ganga and in Bangladesh as the Padma, is an international river to which India, Bangladesh, Nepal and China are the riparian states." is ...

and transferred the power from Chedi (its Neighboring kingdom) to the newly settled Magadha. In his rule and also in the rule of his famous son

Jarasandha Jarasandha was a powerful king of Magadha, a minor antagonist in Mahabharata. He was the son of king Brihadratha, the founder of the Barhadratha dynasty of Magadha. According to popular lore, the descendants of Brihadratha ruled Magadha for 26 ...

, Magadha became the Central Power of

India India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the so ...

. Magadha was the most powerful

Mahajanapada The Mahājanapadas ( sa, great realm, from ''maha'', "great", and ''janapada'' "foothold of a people") were sixteen kingdoms or oligarchic republics that existed in ancient India from the sixth to fourth centuries BCE during the second urba ...

of India. He had a daughter named Shashirekha who was the second wife of Dhrishtadhyumna. Brihadratha was the eldest of the five sons of

Vasu The Vasus () refers to a group of deities in Hinduism associated with fire and light. They are described to be the attendant deities of Indra, and later Vishnu. Generally numbering eight and classified as the Ashtavasu, they are described in the R ...

, (also known as

Uparichara Vasu Uparichara Vasu () is a king featured in Hindu literature, a member of the Chandravamsha (Lunar dynasty). The son of Kruti, he rules over the kingdom of Chedi. He is described to be a friend of Indra and a great devotee of Vishnu in the Puran ...

) the Kuru king of ChediMisra, V.S. (2007). ''Ancient Indian Dynasties'', Mumbai: Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan, , pp.129–36 and his queen Girika. His father was the ruler of Chedi and Brihadratha established Magadha at the border of Chedi Kingdom. He is Mentioned in the Epic

Mahabharat The ''Mahābhārata'' ( ; sa, महाभारतम्, ', ) is one of the two major Sanskrit epics of ancient India in Hinduism, the other being the '' Rāmāyaṇa''. It narrates the struggle between two groups of cousins in the Kuru ...

and Puranas. The name of Brihadratha is also found in the

Rigveda The ''Rigveda'' or ''Rig Veda'' ( ', from ' "praise" and ' "knowledge") is an ancient Indian collection of Vedic Sanskrit hymns (''sūktas''). It is one of the four sacred canonical Hindu texts ('' śruti'') known as the Vedas. Only one ...

(I.36.18, X.49.6).

Name

The name is a combination of ''bṛhat'' meaning 'great' or 'huge', and ''ratha'' meaning 'chariot'. Therefore, the name Brihadratha ( sa, बृहद्रथ; IAST: Bṛhadratha) can be assumed to be meaning "someone with a great/huge chariot".

Life

Brihadratha established his dynasty in

. Ripunjaya was the last in his lineage, who was killed by his minister in 6th century BC. All the Puranas mention his sister Amna, as his successor. Kushagra was succeeded by his son Vrishava (or Rishava). Pushpavanta (or Pushyavanta or Punyavanta) was the son of Vrishava. Pushpavanta was succeeded by his son Satyahita (or Satyadhrita). Satyahita's son was Sudhanvana (or Sudharmana, Dharmatma, or Dhanusha). Dhanusha was succeeded by his son Sarva (or Urja or Jatu or Jahu or Jantu). Sarva was succeeded by his son Sambhava. According to the

Agni Purana The ''Agni Purana'', ( sa, अग्नि पुराण, ) is a Sanskrit text and one of the eighteen major Puranas of Hinduism. The text is variously classified as a Purana related to Shaivism, Vaishnavism, Shaktism and Smartism, but also co ...

, Sambhava was succeeded by his son

, the noted warrior king mentioned in the Mahabharata. However, all other Puranic genealogical lists mention the name of Brihadratha again between either Jantu and Jarasandha or Sambhava and Jarasandha. Jarasandha was succeeded by his son

Sahadeva Sahadeva (Sanskrit: सहदेव) was the youngest of the Pandava brothers, the five principal protagonists of the epic ''Mahabharata''. He and his twin brother, Nakula, were blessed to King Pandu and Queen Madri by invoking the twin gods As ...

who was killed in the Kurukshetra war.

References

Citations

Sources

* {{citation , last=Sen , first=Sailendra Nath , title=Ancient Indian History and Civilization , url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Wk4_ICH_g1EC , year=1999 , orig-year=1988 , publisher=New Age International Publishers , edition=Second , isbn=81-224-1198-3 Magadha Characters in the Mahabharata es:Brijadratha

Name

Life

See also

References

Citations

Sources