Dictionary of Pali Proper Names v2.c31.80

v2.c31.80

Magadha.—One of the four chief kingdoms of India at the time of the Buddha, the others being Kosala, the kingdom of the Vaṃsas and Avanti. Magadha formed one of the sixteen Mahājanapadas¹ and had its capital at Rājagaha or Giribbaja where Bimbisāra, and after him Ajātasattu, reigned. Later, Pāṭaliputta became the capital. By the time of Bimbisāra, Aṅga, too, formed a part of Magadha, and he was known as king of Aṅga-Magadha.² But prior to that, these were two separate kingdoms, often at war with each other.³ Several kings of Magadha are mentioned by name in the Jātakas—e.g., Arindama and Duyyodhana. In one story⁴ the Magadha kingdom is said to have been under the suzerainty of Aṅga. In the Buddha’s day, Magadha (inclusive of Aṅga) consisted of eighty thousand villages⁵ and had a circumference of some three hundred leagues.⁶