The rise of majestic Magadha empire

To make one empire rise, the another must fall, but the Magadha Empire stood for more than a millennium as stated in Mahabharata, It was the home of brave warriors, legends, Army and also the religions that started the Origin of Magadha from this place.

We have known Magadha mostly by name of dhananand and chandragupta mauryas specially for their conflicts but do you want to know where the story of magadh empire begins let me tell you the story from the very beginning.

Origin of Magadha

There was a King whose name was MAGADHA, this region got its name from him because of his valour.

In the ancient epic of Mahabharata, there is a story of Uparichara Vasu, in Adivansavatarana Parva.

Now you all must be wondering what is uparichara. Uparichara is a mantle that was given to the King Vasu, that is why he recognised as Uparichara Vasu, and Uparichara means, someone whose progress is unstoppable.

Magadha empire as mentioned in Mahabharata

King Vasu was a great hunter, and a righteous king, the conqueror of the beautiful Chedi kingdom, presently located near the Bundelkhand Division in Madhya Pradesh, India.

Uparichara Vasu was the contemporary of King Shantanu. Mahabharata mentions a fierce warrior named Bhishma who was the son of King Shantanu.

King Shantanu was a legendary figure in Mahabharata. Mahabharata traces the life and events of King Shantanu and his next generations.

Uparichara Vasu had five sons, Brihadratha, Pratyagraha, Mahivahana, Rusamba, and Yadu.

Uparichara made Brihadratha the king of Magadha. After making him the King, Uparichara transited the power of the Chedi empire to Magadha Empire. In spite of that Chedi Empire continued to grow and prosper.

Brihadratha was handsome and invincible, in Mahabharata Rajasuya Arambh Parva, it is noted that, he had three Akshohini sena.

Army of Magadha

The counting system was developed in India way before it came to western senses. You want to know a fact about army strength that no one even talks about in ancient times, the strength of an army was calculated on the basis of formations and Akshohini was a formation. It consisted of 21,870 chariots; 21,870 elephants; 65,610 horses and 109,350 infantries according to Mahabharata. Thus, one Akshohini means the formation of 218,700 warriors.

The real founder of Magadha Empire

Brihadratha was the founder of Brihadratha Dynasty, handsome and invincible, he attained the epitome of prowess and wealth. Jarasandha was the successor of the Brihadratha Dynasty. Having lived his life to the fullest and enjoyed worldly pleasures, Brihadratha wanted to spend the rest of his life in the forest and hence he made Jarasandha, his son, the successor of the Magadha empire.

This forms the starting point of our Historical journey narrated hereby, the journey of Magadha. From this timeline to the next millennium (till the 7th century AD) this empire would become the nucleus state for the many large kingdoms that eventually came to existence in India.

From Brihadratha to Chandragupta and from Ashoka to Samudra Gupta, this kingdom never saw the powerless days, every king who ruled Magadha was ambitious for empire expansions and maintaining the powerful status of the entire region.

Many kings usurped and many dynasties ruled and were dismantled in the regions of Magadha. This great empire not only saw the days of bravery and power but also patronised art forms of various religions and sects.

Jarasandha was the son of Brihadratha, he was one of the most powerful warriors in Mahabharata, the king of Magadha, as mentioned in Mahabharata. The Magadha empire was considered the powerful stronghold of warriors and a force to reckon with.

I bet nobody gives this exclusive detail about doubtable terms and topics and for more such details do read our book The Empire of Braves: Emergence of Magadha as the Formidable Empire