All About INDIA

The Nanda Empire was one of the oldest ancient kingdoms ever flourished in India. The Nanda Dynasty attained its prominence between the fifth and the fourth century BC.

The Nanda Dynasty was established in 424 BC by Mahapadma Nanda, who is famously described as “the destroyer of the Kshatriyas”.  Historians believe that Mahapadma Nanda was the son of a low-caste woman, who successfully defeated the ancient kingdoms of Kuru, Panchalas, Haihayas, Kasis, Asmakas, Kalingas, Surasenas, Maithilas, Vitihotras, etc to form the ancient empire of Nanda and in turn founded the Nanda Dynasty. Upon successful establishment of his rule, Mahapadma began the expansion of his kingdom and extended his territories to the south of the Deccan plains. Later, at its peak, the Nanda Empire stretched from the Punjab in the west to the Bengal in the east and also covered areas up to the Vindhya Range in the south.

The Nanda Dynasty is sometimes described as the first recorded empire builders in India for their great conquests and imbibing a good administrative system into their regime. They are believed to have a large army comprising of 200,000 soldiers, 80,000 cavalry, 8000 war chariots and 6000 elephants. However, this army never had an opportunity to repel the extending boundaries of Alexander’s conquest, as Alexander’s army got frightened of formidable foes and refused to cross Hyphasis River for further annexation.

Under the Nanda regime, permanently appointed officials collected the taxes methodically, as part of their administrative system. The collected revenues replenished the empire’s wealth which was regularly invested for the betterment of the people. Several canals and water harvesting projects were also constructed by the Nanda rulers. The Nanda rulers were amongst the first to incline Indian minds to form an imperial structure essentially based on an agrarian economy.

The Nanda Dynasty flourished till 321 BC, after which the last Nanda ruler, Dhana Nanda, was overthrown by Chandragupta Maurya, which gave birth to the Maurya Dynasty.