The Haryanka dynasty was the ruling dynasty of

Magadha Magadha was a region and kingdom in ancient India, based in the eastern Ganges Plain. It was one of the sixteen Mahajanapadas during the Second Urbanization period. The region was ruled by several dynasties, which overshadowed, conquered, and ...

, according to the

Buddhist Buddhism, also known as Buddhadharma and Dharmavinaya, is an Indian religion and List of philosophies, philosophical tradition based on Pre-sectarian Buddhism, teachings attributed to the Buddha, a wandering teacher who lived in the 6th or ...

text Mahavamsa between 544 BC and 413 BC though some scholars favour a later chronology (5th century BCE to first half of 4th century BCE). Initially, the capital was

Rajagriha Rajgir, old name Rajagriha, meaning "The City of Kings," is an ancient city and university town in the Nalanda district of Bihar, India. It was the capital of the Haryanka dynasty, the Pradyota dynasty, the Brihadratha dynasty, the Mauryan Em ...

. Later, it was shifted to

Pataliputra Pataliputra (IAST: ), adjacent to modern-day Patna, Bihar, was a city in ancient India, originally built by Magadha ruler Ajatashatru in 490 BCE, as a small fort () near the Ganges river.. Udayin laid the foundation of the city of Pataliput ...

, near present-day

Patna Patna (; , ISO 15919, ISO: ''Paṭanā''), historically known as Pataliputra, Pāṭaliputra, is the List of state and union territory capitals in India, capital and largest city of the state of Bihar in India. According to the United Nations, ...

India India, officially the Republic of India, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, seventh-largest country by area; the List of countries by population (United Nations), most populous country since ...

during the reign of Udayin.

Bimbisara Bimbisāra (in Buddhist tradition) or Shrenika () and Seniya () in the Jain histories ( or ) was the King of Magadha (V. K. Agnihotri (ed.), ''Indian History''. Allied Publishers, New Delhi 262010p. 166f. or ) and belonged to the Haryanka d ...

is considered to be the founder of the dynasty. According to the Mahavamsa, Bimbisara was appointed king by his father, Bhattiya, at the age of fifteen. This dynasty was succeeded by the Shaishunaga dynasty.

Governance

The governance structure of Haryanka dynasty is mentioned in ancient texts. They mention ''gramakas'' (village headmen) who headed village assemblies and ''mahamatras'' (high-ranking officials) who had executive, judicial and military functions. Historically, this period coincided with the

Achaemenid conquest of the Indus Valley Around 535 BCE, the Persian king Cyrus the Great initiated a protracted campaign to absorb parts of India into his nascent Achaemenid Empire. In this initial incursion, the Persian army annexed a large region to the west of the Indus River, con ...

during the rule of

Darius I Darius I ( ; – 486 BCE), commonly known as Darius the Great, was the third King of Kings of the Achaemenid Empire, reigning from 522 BCE until his death in 486 BCE. He ruled the empire at its territorial peak, when it included much of West A ...

from about 517/516 BCE.

Rulers

Bimbisara

Bimbisara reigned from 544 to 492 BCE, according to the Mahavamsa chronology. The extent of his kingdom is mentioned in '' Mahavagga''. His advisors included Sona Kolivisa, Sumana (flower gatherer), Koliya (minister), Kumbhaghosaka (treasurer) and Jīvaka (physician). He was given the title of ''Seniya''. Both Jain and Buddhist texts claim the king was a follower of their respective religions. '' Uttaradhyayana Sutra'' says he was a follower of

Mahavira Mahavira (Devanagari: महावीर, ), also known as Vardhamana (Devanagari: वर्धमान, ), was the 24th ''Tirthankara'' (Supreme Preacher and Ford Maker) of Jainism. Although the dates and most historical details of his lif ...

, whereas ''

Sutta Nipata The ' () is a Buddhist scripture, a sutta collection in the Khuddaka Nikaya, part of the Sutta Pitaka of the Pali Canon of Theravada Buddhism. ''Sutta Nipata'' is a collection of discourses of Buddha. It is part of an early corpus of Buddh ...

'' depicts him and his wife,

Khema Khema (Pali: Khemā; Sanskrit: Kṣemā) was a Buddhist ''bhikkhuni'', or nun, who was one of the top female disciples of the Buddha. She is considered the first of the Buddha's two chief female disciples, along with Uppalavanna. Khema was ...

, as followers of

Buddha Siddhartha Gautama, most commonly referred to as the Buddha (),* * * was a wandering ascetic and religious teacher who lived in South Asia during the 6th or 5th century BCE and founded Buddhism. According to Buddhist legends, he was ...

. The latter further mentions he deputed Jīvaka to assist Buddha's ''

Sangha Sangha or saṃgha () is a term meaning "association", "assembly", "company" or "community". In a political context, it was historically used to denote a governing assembly in a republic or a kingdom, and for a long time, it has been used b ...

''. He also married Chellana and Kosala Devi, sister of Pasenadi. According to George Turnour and N.L. Dey, the name of the father of Bimbisara was Bhatiya or Bhattiya, but the

Purana Puranas (Merriam-Webster's Encyclopedia of Literature
(1995 Editio ...

s refer him as Hemajit, Kshemajit, Kshetroja or Ksetrauja and the Tibetan texts mention him as Mahapadma.

Ajatashatru

Ajatashatru reigned from 493 to 462 BCE, according to the Mahavamsa chronology. He married Vajira, Kosala's princess. In some sources, Bimbisara was imprisoned and killed by his son and successor, Ajatashatru, under whose rule the dynasty reached its largest extent. Ajatashatru was contemporary with

and

Gautama Buddha Siddhartha Gautama, most commonly referred to as the Buddha (),* * * was a śramaṇa, wandering ascetic and religious teacher who lived in South Asia during the 6th or 5th century BCE and founded Buddhism. According to Buddhist lege ...

. Ajatashatru fought a war against the

Vajjika League The Vajjika (Pāli: ) or Vrijika () League, Confederacy, or Sangha, also called simply Vajji (Pāli: ) or Vriji (), was an ancient Indo-Aryan league which existed during the later Iron Age period in the north-eastern Indian subcontinent. Na ...

, ruled by the Lichhavis, and conquered them.

Udayin

Udayin or Udayabhadra is mentioned in Buddhist and Jain texts as the successor of Ajatashatru. The ''Puranas'', however, mention him as the fourth king after Darshaka.

Later rulers

''Puranas'' mention Nandivardhana and Mahanandin as successors of Udayin. According to Buddhist tradition, Anurudhha, Munda and Nagadarshaka were his successors. However, Jain texts mention that Udayin was killed by an assassin of rival kingdom. Being childless, he was succeeded by Nanda who was selected by his ministers.

List of Rulers

According to Mahavamsa: *

(544–492 BCE) * Ajatashatru (492–460 BCE) * Udayin (460–444 BCE) *Anuruddha (444–440 BCE) *Munda (440–437 BCE) *Darshaka (437 BCE) * Nāgadāsaka (437–413 BCE)

Chronology

Historian K. T. S. Sarao — who favors the Buddhist "

short chronology The chronology of the ancient Near East is a framework of dates for various events, rulers and dynasties. Historical inscriptions and texts customarily record events in terms of a succession of officials or rulers: "in the year X of king Y". Com ...

" — has dated Bimbisara's reign to c. 457-c.405 BCE, Ajatashatru's reign to c. 405-373 BCE, and Udayin's reign to c. 373-357 BCE, i.e., only a short time before the Nanda dynasty which preceded

Chandragupta Maurya Chandragupta Maurya (Sanskrit: elp:IPA/Sanskrit, t̪͡ɕɐn̪d̪ɾɐgupt̪ɐ mɐʊɾjɐ (reigned 320 BCE – c. 298 BCE) was the founder and the first emperor of the Maurya Empire, based in Magadha (present-day Bihar) in the Indian ...

. Sarao has suggested that the kingdom of Magadha became divided after Udayin's death: with the "suspicious" lists of different successors listed in various texts possibly having ruled in different locations simultaneously instead of one after another, until the kingdom was re-unified. Similarly, Keay — another proponent of the Short Chronology — states that there is great uncertainty about the royal succession for this period, probably because there was a period of "court intrigues and murders," during which "evidently the throne changed hands frequently, perhaps with more than one incumbent claiming to occupy it at the same time" until Mahapadma Nanda was able to secure the throne.

Decline

According to the Mahavamsa, Haryanka dynasty was overthrown by their ''Amatya'' (minister), Shishunaga who then established Shaishunaga Dynasty. However, Jain texts mention that Udayin was killed by an assassin of rival kingdom. Being childless, he was succeeded by Nanda who was selected by his ministers.

References

Citations

Sources

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Haryanka Dynasty Dynasties of Magadha Kingdoms of Bihar States and territories established in the 6th century BC 6th-century BC establishments in India 5th-century BC disestablishments in India 5th century BC in India States and territories disestablished in the 5th century BC