Shishunaga Dynasty - Fourth ruling dynasty of Magadha

Source: Schwartzberg, J. E. (1992), A Historical Atlas of South Asia: University of Oxford Press Background. Made with GIMP CC BY-SA 3.0

Shishunaga

One of the major rulers of that dynasty was Shishunaga, who ruled the kingdom from Vaishali after deposing the former Haryanka ruler Nagadhakashaka and moved the capital to Vaishali from Pataliputra. He initially started as the governor of Varanasi or as an officer in the government. According to mahavamsatika purana, it is also said that he was son of former Licchavi ruler of Vaishali and was made governor by Nagadhakshaka. His major achievement was the conquest and defeat of Pradyota dynasty of Avanti. He made his son Kalakosha also known as kakavarna, the governor of Varanasi. He later succeeded him and also defeated Vatsa and Kosala.

Kalakosha

Kalakosha or Kakavarna, according to purana, succeeded the Shishunaga who finally transferred capital back to Pataliputra. From then on it remained the capital for various other dynasties that ruled from Magadha. He established a strong rule and a sound revenue system for the kingdom. His rule was marked with peace and prosperity and better administrative mechanism. He organised the second Buddhist council after the mahaparinirvana of Buddha and it discussed 10 points according to Vinaya and Threvadava Buddhism while according to Mahadeva it was only about 5 points on the deviation, whereby there was a split in Buddhist Monastic order. Though Kalakosha tried his best it did not get sorted. The difference continued. According to Mahabodhi vamsa, Kalakosha had 10 sons and is said to have ruled along with all 10 of them, but it was only Nandivardhana who succeeded him.

Nandivardhana

Nandivardhana’s rule followed in line with that of his predecessors and his kingdom was on an expansion spree. It’s said that he was succeeded by his son Mahanandin as the last ruler of Shishunaga Dynasty. Mahanandin is said to have ruled for 10 years from 355-345BC. According to some claims, he was assassinated by Ugrasena Nanda also known as Mahapadma Nanda, the progenitor of Nanda Dynasty. Its also said that he was the son of Sudra wife of Mahanandin according to Harshacharita, puranic sources and various other accounts available. 

The many available records about this kingdom are of a patchy nature. Thus the major sources of this dynasty come from Puranas, Buddhist, and Jain chronicles making the dating of the individuals and drafting comparative studies difficult for scholars. With the available sources it was after Ajathasatru, the many weak rulers of Haryanka dynasty, and frequent invasions from Avanti, that people were forced to replace the reign with Shishunaga dynasty. The end of Magadha Avanti conflict with Magadha emerging victorious actually made Shishunaga stronger and most powerful amongst his contemporaries. The dynasty was tolerant to all faiths. The fact that the Second Buddhist Council or Sangha happened in Vaishali was evident during the rule of Kalakosha. The major administrative affairs followed the predecessors and made changes depending on the circumstances.