Chandragupta Maurya (340 BC – 298 BC) was the founder of the Mauryan Empire and the first emperor to unify India into one
state. He ruled from 322 BC until his voluntary retirement and abdication in favour of his son Bindusara in 298 BC.
Prior to his consolidation of power, most of South Asia was ruled by small states, while the Nanda Dynasty dominated
the Gangetic Plains.
The Nandas are sometimes described as the first empire builders in the recorded history of India. They inherited the large
kingdom of Magadha and wished to extend it to yet more distant frontiers.
Mahapadma Nanda (c. 400-329 BC) was the first king of the Nanda dynasty. He was the son of Mahanandin, a Kshatriya king of
the Shishunaga dynasty and a Shudra mother.
Shishunaga dynasty is the second ruling dynasty of Magadha according to Puranas after Barhadratha dynasty.
Brihadratha, also known as Maharatha, was the founder of the Barhadratha dynasty, the earliest ruling dynasty of Magadha.
According to the Mahabharata and the Puranas, he was the eldest of the five sons of Vasu, the Kuru king of Chedi and
his queen Girika. The name of Brihadratha is also found in the Rigveda.Chedi kingdom was one among the many kingdoms
ruled during early periods by Paurava kings and later by Yadava kings in the central and western India.
The Chedi kingdom was ruled by Sisupala, an ally of Jarasandha of Magadha and Duryodhana of Kuru. He was a rival of Vasudeva
Krishna who was his uncle’s son. He was killed by Vasudeva Krishna during the Rajasuya sacrifice of the Pandava king
Yudhisthira. Bhima’s wife was from Chedi. The city called Suktimati is mentioned as the capital of Chedi. Prominent
Chedis during Kurukshetra War included Damaghosha, Shishupala, Dhrishtaketu, Suketu, Sarabha, Bhima’s wife, Nakula’s wife
Karenumati, Dhristaketu’s sons.
