Pataliputra

Pataliputra, located near modern-day Patna in Bihar, was an ancient Indian city originally established as a small fort by the Magadha ruler Ajatashatru around 490 BCE. The city’s foundation was later laid by Udayin at the confluence of the Son and Ganges rivers, who moved his capital from Rajgriha to this more centrally positioned site. Over centuries, it served as the capital for successive major powers, including the Shishunaga, Nanda, Maurya, and Gupta empires. Its location at the meeting of the Ganges, Gandhaka, and Son rivers created a natural water fort, or *jaldurga*, which allowed it to dominate riverine trade across the Indo-Gangetic Plain and attract merchants and intellectuals like Chanakya. During the Mauryan period, Pataliputra became one of the largest cities in the world, with a population estimated between 150,000 and 400,000, covering roughly 25.5 square kilometers with a circumference of 33.8 kilometers. The city was shaped like a parallelogram and featured 64 gates. The Greek ambassador Megasthenes, who resided there, described it as having a highly efficient system of local self-government, one of the earliest known. Excavations in the 20th century near Patna uncovered large fortification walls reinforced with wooden trusses, and the site was first identified in 1892 by Laurence Waddell. The city’s name is traditionally linked to the *pāṭalī* tree, with one etymology holding that it was named where the seedpods of that plant break open. Pataliputra was also known as Kusumapura, or “city of flowers.” It hosted important Buddhist councils, including the second session of the Second Buddhist council and the Third Buddhist council, both under Ashoka’s reign. The Mauryan palace, initially built largely of wood, may have been gradually replaced with stone under Ashoka, showing decorative influences from Achaemenid palaces, possibly due to craftsmen from Persia. The city remained a flourishing Buddhist center and the capital of later dynasties, including the Guptas.