The rivers of around Pataliputra or Palibothra | Bihar Articles

By: Admin

When the capital of India was Pataliputra or Palibothra it was situated on the Ganges at the junction of the Erranaboas or Aldos River. The former name has already been identified with the Sanskrit “Hiranyabahu” an epithet which has been applied both to the Gandak and to the Son. But the latter name can only refer to the Hi-le-an of the Chinese traveller which was to the north of the Ganges and was therefore undoubtedly the Gandak. Indeed this river still joins the Ganges immediately opposite to Patna that is “the city” or metropolis as its proper name (patina) implies while the junction of the Son is some nine or ten miles above Patna. But as there is good reason for believing that the Son once joined the Ganges at Bakipur or Bankipur immediately above Patna it is quite possible that the Erranaboas may have been intended for the Son and the Aldos for the Gandak. According to Megasthenes Palibothra were eighty stadia or nearly nine miles in length and fifteen stadia or one mile and two thirds in breadth. It was surrounded with a deep ditch and was enclosed by lofty wooden walls pierced with loop holes for the discharge of arrows.

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Backdrop (Ancient history of Bihar)

It was followed immediately by the conquest of Gangetic India and in 315 B c the rule of Chandra Gupta was acknowledged over the whole northern peninsula from the Indus to the mouths of the Ganges. The authorities differ as to the length of Chandra Gupta's reign which some make thirty four years and others only twenty four. This difference may perhaps have originated in two distinct reckonings of the date of his accession the one party counting from the death of Nanda Mahapadma in BC 325 and the other party from the conquest of India in BC 315. Some assumption of this kind is clearly necessary to reconcile the different authorities unless indeed we take the only alternative of adopting the one and of rejecting the other.

Towards the close of the 4th century before our era when Alexander's successors were at peace with each other the great Seleukos having consolidated his own dominions turned his arms towards the East with the intention of recovering the Indian provinces of Alexander.

But the plains of Northern India were no longer divided amongst a set of petty chiefs whose gallant but useless resistance had scarcely checked the great Macedonian's advance. For the Mauryan prince who now wielded the sceptre of the East could bring into the field that vast army of six hundred thousand men whose very numbers had before daunted even the stout hearts of the soldiers of Alexander. The main object of this expedition was therefore impossible. Where a successful advance cannot be made an honourable retreat becomes a decided advantage and this Seleukos secured for himself by yielding to Chandra Gupta the doubtful allegiance of the provinces to the west of the Indus for a valuable present of five hundred elephants. These friendly relations were cemented at the time by a matrimonial alliance and were afterwards continued by the embassy of Megasthenes to the Indian court at Palibothra.