Magadha also called the Kingdom of Magadha or the Magadha Empire, was a kingdom and empire, and one of the sixteen Mahajanapadas, 'Great Kingdoms' of the Second Urbanization, based in southern Bihar in the eastern Ganges Plain, in Ancient India. Magadha was ruled by the Brihadratha dynasty, the Haryanka dynasty, the Shaishunaga dynasty, the Nanda dynasty, the Mauryan dynasty, the Shunga dynasty and the Kanva dynasty. It lost much of it territories after being defeated by the Satavahanas of Deccan in 28 BC and was reduced to a small principality around Pataliputra. Under the Mauryas, Magadha became a pan-Indian empire, covering large swaths of the Indian subcontinent and Afghanistan.
The Mahājanapadas were sixteen kingdoms or aristocratic republics that existed in ancient India from the sixth to fourth centuries BCE, during the second urbanisation period.
Anga was an ancient Indo-Aryan tribe of eastern India whose existence is attested during the Iron Age. The members of the Aṅga tribe were called the Āṅgeyas.
Chetaka or Chedaga was the consul of the Licchavi tribe during the 5th century BCE.
Kaushambi district is a district in the state of Uttar Pradesh in India. Manjhanpur is the district headquarters. The district was carved from Prayagraj district on 4 April 1997. Manauri Bajar connects Prayagraj and Kaushambi districts by railway over a bridge on SH-95. Manjhanpur is south-west of Prayagraj on the north bank of the Yamuna river, about 55 kilometres (34 mi) from the city. It is surrounded by Chitrakoot district on the south, Pratapgarh district on the north, Prayagraj district on the east and Fatehpur district on the west. Kaushambi is part of Prayagraj division. The nearest railway station, in Bharwari, connects with Delhi, Prayagraj, Kolkata, Gaya and Kanpur.
Vatsa or Vamsa was one of the sixteen Mahajanapadas of Uttarapatha of ancient India mentioned in the Aṅguttara Nikāya.
Avanti, was an ancient Indian Mahajanapada, roughly corresponding to the present-day Malwa region. According to the Buddhist texts, the Anguttara Nikaya, Avanti was one of the solasa mahajanapadas of the 6th century BCE. The janapada was divided into two parts by the Vindhyas, the northern part had its capital at Ujjayini and the southern part had its centre at Mahishmati.
Vikramaditya was a legendary king mentioned in ancient Indian literature, featuring in traditional stories including those in Vetala Panchavimshati and Singhasan Battisi. Many describe him as ruler with his capital at Ujjain. "Vikramaditya" was also a common title adopted by several monarchs in ancient and medieval India, and the Vikramaditya legends may be embellished accounts of different kings. According to popular tradition, Vikramaditya began the Vikrama Samvat era in 57 BCE after defeating the Shakas, and those who believe that he is based on a historical figure place him around the first century BCE. However, this era is identified as "Vikrama Samvat" after the ninth century CE.
Somadeva Bhatta was an 11th century writer from Kashmir, and author of the Kathasaritsagara.
The Kathāsaritsāgara is a famous 11th-century collection of Indian legends, histories and folk tales as retold in Sanskrit by the Shaivite Somadeva.
Ratnavali is a Sanskrit drama about a beautiful princess named Ratnavali, and a great king named Udayana. It is attributed to the Indian emperor Harsha (606–648). It is a Natika in four acts. One of the first textual references to the celebration of Holi, the festival of Colours have been found in this text.
The Vetala Panchavimshati, or Betal Pachisi, is a collection of tales and legends within a frame story, from India. Internationally, it is also known as Vikram-Vetala. It was originally written in Sanskrit.
Kāvya refers to the Sanskrit literary style used by Indian court poets flourishing between c.200 BCE and 1200 CE.
Pradyota dynasty, also called Prthivim Bhoksyanti, was a ruling dynasty of Avanti, founded by Pradyota, after his father Punika, a minister in the court of the king of Ujjaini, the northern part of the former Avanti kingdom, and placed his own son on the throne in 546 BCE.
Svapnavasavadattam is a Sanskrit play in six acts written by the ancient Indian poet Bhāsa.
Bṛhatkathā is an ancient Indian epic, said to have been written by Guṇāḍhya in a poorly-understood language known as Paiśācī. The work no longer exists but several later adaptations — the Kathāsaritsāgara (कथासरित्सागर), Bṛhatkathāmañjarī (बृहत्कथामंजरी) and Bṛhatkathāślokasaṃgraha (बृहत्कथाश्लोकसंग्रह) in Sanskrit, as well as the Peruṅkatai and Vasudevahiṃḍi in vernaculars — make commentary on the piece.
Udayin also known as Udayabhadra was a king of Magadha in ancient India. According to the Buddhist and Jain accounts, he was the son and successor of the Haryanka king Ajatashatru. Udayin laid the foundation of the city of Pataliputra at the confluence of two rivers, the Son and the Ganges. He shifted his capital from Rajagriha to Pataliputra due to the latter's central location in the empire.
Pratijnayaugandharayana is a Sanskrit play in four acts written by the ancient Indian poet Bhāsa. It is the oldest extant political play of India and the prequel to Bhāsa's Svapnavasavadattam. These plays were written by Bhāsa on the account of Udayana, king of Vatsa (Kaushambi).
Vina-Vasavadatta is an Indian Sanskrit-language play attributed to Shudraka. The first eight acts of the play survive; its last portion is now lost.
