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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 Pataliputra at the confluence of two rivers, the Son River and the Ganges. He shifted his capital from Rajgir to Pataliputra 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 (–345 BCE), Nanda Empire (), the Maurya Empire (–180 BCE), the Gupta Empire (–550 CE), and the Pala Empire (–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, during the Maurya Empire (–180 BCE) it was among the first cities in the world to have a highly efficient form of Self-Government. 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. Discovery Of The Exact Site Of Asoka's Classic Capital, 1892 Extensive archaeological excavations have been made in the vicinity of modern Patna."Patna". Encyclopædia Britannica. Encyclopædia Britannica Online. Encyclopædia Britannica Inc., 2013. Web. 13 Dec. 2013 <>. Excavations early in the 20th century around Patna revealed clear evidence of large fortification walls, including reinforcing wooden trusses.Valerie Hansen Voyages in World History, Volume 1 to 1600, 2e, Volume 1 pp. 69 Cengage Learning, 2012
One traditional etymology Encyclopaedia of Religion and Ethics, p.677 holds that the city was named after the plant. Folklore, Vol. 19, No. 3 (30 September 1908), pp. 349–350 Indeed, according to the Mahāparinibbāṇa Sutta (Sutra 16 of the Dīgha Nikāya), 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 a certain Raja Sudarsan. Journal of Francis Buchanan (1812), p.182 As it was originally known as (" village"), some scholars believe that is a transformation of , " town". Language, Vol. 4, No. 2 (June, 1928), pp. 101–105 Pataliputra was also called Kusumapura (city of flowers).
The city of Pataliputra was formed by fortification of a village by Haryanka ruler Ajatashatru, son of Bimbisara.
Its central location in North India led rulers of successive dynasties to base their administrative Capital city here, from the Nanda dynasty, Maurya dynasty, Shunga dynasty and the Gupta dynasty down to the Pala Empire.. Situated at the confluence of the Ganges, Gandaki River and Son River rivers, Pataliputra formed a "water fort, or jaldurga".The Pearson Indian History Manual, Pearson Education India, A94. Its position helped it dominate the riverine trade of the Indo-Gangetic plains 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, 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 Ashoka, 35 years after the first session held in Vaisali and the Third Buddhist council.
Jain and Hindu sources identify Udayabhadra, son of Ajatashatru, as the king who first established Pataliputra as the capital of Magadha. The Sangam Tamil epic Akanaṉūṟu mentions Nanda kings ruling Pataliputra. The Song of Songs and Ancient Tamil Love Poems: Poetry and Symbolism By Abraham MariaselvamAkanaṉūṟu Verses 261 and 265
During the reign of Emperor Ashoka 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 Maurya dynasty, Chandragupta Maurya and Ashoka.
The city prospered under the and a Greek ambassador, Megasthenes, 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:
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 after the conquests of Alexander the Great.
Pataliputra's decline had probably begun well before Xuanzang's time. At least at Kumrahar, archaeological evidence seems to suggest a gradual decline beginning in the 300s, with fewer and less elaborate structures between this period and 600. After that, there are no traces of human activity for a thousand years, and the site seems to have been abandoned.
One likely contributing factor was a shift in the course of the Ganges. As early as Faxian's visit around the year 400, he wrote that Pataliputra was one yojana (about 10 km) south of the Ganges. The Varaha Purana, from post-Gupta times, indicates that the confluence of the Gandak and the Ganges was then about 10 km north of the present location. Since Pataliputra derived a lot of its prosperity from river-based commerce, being separated from the river probably dampened its economy. A general decline in international trade toward the end of the Gupta period would have had a similar effect.
A catastrophic flood likely also devastated the city at some point in the late 500s. A later Jain work, the Titlhogali Painniya, records a traditional account of a disastrous flood on the Son River destroying Pataliputra at some point. This account describes this flood as happening during the month of Bhādrapada, or September, after 17 days and nights of heavy rain. The flooding on the Son apparently caused the Ganges to overflow as well, and Pataliputra was inundated on multiple sides. The account describes widespread destruction in Pataliputra, although it also says that the city was rebuilt afterwards.
A third possible contributing factor is deliberate destruction by invading Huna people in the early 500s. A thick layer of ashes found at the 80-pillar hall at Kumrahar suggests that the building may have been destroyed by fire, possibly corroborating this theory.
While Pataliputra is mentioned in contemporary sources, archaeologists have not found any evidence from the Pala period at Pataliputra. At least at Kumrahar, there are no traces of human settlement until the 1600s.
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..
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