Chandragupta Maurya and His Times c4.32

c4.32

**Evidence of '*Purāṇas*'.** The principal Brahminical text is that of the *Purāṇas*. It will be seen that the *Purāṇas* are more concerned with the origin of the Nanda kings than that of Chandragupta. They are very much concerned at the ending of Kshatriya rule in the country and its displacement by a Śūdra rule under the Nandas whom they openly brand as *adhārmikās*, 'immoral people.' The founder of the Nanda dynasty is described as the 'offspring of a Śūdra woman' (*Śūdrāgarbhodbhavaḥ*) and a 'Mahāpadmapati,' 'exceedingly avaricious', as translated by H. H. Wilson. According to the commentator, the term *Mahāpadma* may mean limitless army or limitless wealth amounting to 100,000 millions [Wilson's *Vishṇu Purāṇa*, p. 184].