The Nanda Empire originates from the Magadha rulers during the 5th and 4th century BC. The extent of the Nanda Empire was from Punjab in the western part of India, Bengal in the eastern part and went as far as the Vindhya Ranges to the south. Later captured by Chandragupta Maurya, it led to the foundation of the Mauryan Empire. The 10 noted Nanda rulers were Mahapadma Nanda, Pandhuka, Panghupati, Bhutapala, Rastrapala, Govishanaka, Dahasidkhaka, Kaivarta, Mahendra and Dhana Nanda. Origin of Nanda Mahapadma Nanda waged battles in all parts of the northern Indian belt all along the Ganga plains and defeated all the Hindu Kshatriya rulers. He is often referred to as the destroyer of the Kshatriyas. The kings he defeated included Kasis, Panchalas, Kalingas, Haihayas, Kurus, Asmakas, Maithilas, Vitihotras, Surasenas and many more. All his plunders extended his new found kingdom till the Deccan plateaus. He died at the age of 88 ruling for almost all of it. Mahapadma was the son of a low caste sudhra mother and thus their dynasty is deemed to be of low origin. The Nandas were the first non-Kshatriya rulers who started after usurping the Shishungas. Nanda Empire They were the first ‘empire builders’ in Indian history. Inheriting large lands from the Magadha, they tried to extend it further. The Nandas had a huge army of 200,000 infantry, 2,000 war chariots, 20,000 cavalry, and minimum of 3,000 war elephants. However Plutarch described the composition to be far bigger. The Nandas did not happen to face Alexander, the great, since his campaign ended in the Punjab plains when he faced Porus. The army of Alexander already came to know about a huge force waiting for their arrival along the coast of the Ganges River and opposed Alexander when he ordered them to march further. The wish of the later persisted this time and they had to face disease and death. The administration of the Nandas was a very methodical one with a proper tax system in place. Officials were appointed by the ministers and key administrator for this purpose and as a result they gathered a huge amount of wealth. A huge budget was left over for the defense purpose and frequent wars. However the treasure never seemed to diminish but it got subsequently replenished. The Nandas practiced well developed methods of agriculture with the first development of agricultural canals and irrigation project. It was basically an agrarian economy self confined in itself. The fall of the Nanda empire The last Nanda king was Dhana Nanda, who has also been referred to be Aggrammes and Xandrames in Latin and Greek texts. He was defeated and dethroned by Chandragupta Maurya in 321 BC. The fall of the Nanda Empire was due to the wicked disposition of the last ruler and people began to hate their king. Though the Nanda Regime was short lived, they had many contributions to the dynasties that came later. Their methodical rule, except for some rulers, paved the pathway for the golden era during the Gupta period.
