Pāṭaliputra (
Devanagari: पाटलिपुत्र), modern-day
Patna, was a city in ancient India, originally built by
Ajatashatru in 490 BC as a small
fort (Pāṭaligrama) near the River
Ganges, and later the capital of the ancient
Mahājanapadas kingdom of
Magadha.
Its key central location in
north central India led rulers of successive dynasties to base their administrative
capital here, from the
Nandas,
Mauryans,
Sungas and the
Guptas down to the
Palas. In the
Lord Buddha's day it was a village known as
Pataligrama. He visited it shortly before his death and prophesied it would be great but would face destruction either by fire, water, or civil war.Two important councils were held here,
the first at
the death of the Buddha and the second in the
reign of Asoka . During the reign of Emperor Asoka in the 3rd century BCE, it was the world's largest city, with a population of 150,000-300,000. Pataliputra reached the pinnacle of prosperity when it was the capital of the great
Mauryan Emperors,
Chandragupta Maurya and
Ashoka the Great. The city prospered under the
Mauryas and a Greek ambassador
Megasthenes resided there and left a detailed account of its splendour. The city also became a flourishing Buddhist centre boasting a number of important monasteries. It remained the capital of the
Gupta dynasty (III–VI centuries CE) and the
Pala Dynasty (VIII-XII centuries CE). The city was largely in ruins when visited by
Hsüan-tsang, and suffered further damage at the hands of
Muslim raiders in the XII century
. Afterwards
Sher Shah Suri made Pataliputra his capital and changed the name to modern
Patna.
Though parts of the city have been excavated, much of it still lies buried beneath modern
Patna. During the Mauryan period, the city was described as being shaped as parallelogram, approximately 1.5 miles wide and 9 miles long. Its wooden walls were pierced by 64 gates. These were thought to have been converted to strong stone walls during the time of Ashoka. Situated at the confluence of the
Ganges and
Gandhaka rivers, Pataliputra soon came to dominate the riverine trade of the
Indo-Gangetic plains during Magadha's early imperial period. It was a great center of trade and commerce and attracted merchants and intellectuals, such as the famed
Chanakya, from all over India.
There is an on-going campaign of the people of
Bihar to rename Patna with its original name, Pataliputra.
Etymology
The etymology of Pāṭaliputra is unclear. "Putra" means son, and "pāţali" is a species of rice or the plant
Bignonia suaveolens. One traditional etymology holds that the city was named after the plant. Another tradition says that Pāṭaliputra means the son of Pāṭali, who was the daughter of Raja Sudarshan. As it was known as Pāṭali-grama originally, some scholars believe that Pāṭaliputra is a transformation of Pāṭalipura, "Pāṭali town".
Gallery
Excavated Sites of Pataliputra
See also
