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   KRISHNA
                 (The historical background)
                   MAHA PADMANANDA

Maha Padma Nanda was the son of king Mahanandor Nandi Vardhana of Shishunga dynasty which ruled over Magadha kingdom during c.413 B.C.E. to c.345 B.C.E. It seems that once he fell in love with a royal house maid , who was perhaps a woman belonging to the barber community of the Nagas . The Nagas who were a very powerful community/tribe of the Himalayas who perhaps came down and settled in a small Republic called 'Moria' adjecent to the Magadha kingdom . The work allotted to this maid was bringing water from a nearby pond for bathing purposes of the Royal Family . The barber community is traditionally associated with the bathing of the noble people. So she was called Jala or Jara . This maid perhaps brought lotus flowers also from the pond . So she was called 'Jalaja' or 'Jaraja' . There is a story in the Indian folk-lore about a servant maid entering the bath room while the king was taking his bath. On seeing the great personality of the king taking his bath the servant maid was shocked and the water- pot, full of water fell down on the ground . The king might have rushed to holdd her from falling , leading to his union with the maid, which proved to be fatal not only to himself but to his entire family. The maid later gave birth to a son who was called 'Jara Santha'(Son of Jara) . The son was loved and cared for. But when he grew up to be a young man he killed his father, and occupied the throne under the pretext that he was acting as a guardian of the queen and her children (Perhaps numbering eight) . But slowly he killed all of them and declared himself as the King. But since he was an illegitimate son born to a shudra woman the Brahmans refused to solemnize his coronation . He became very angry and embraced Jainism . The Jain priests took him under their care . The king changed his name from'Jara Santha' to Maha(Matha)Padma(Jalaja)Nandan(Santhan) . So historical documents described him as Maha Padma Nanda where as the Puranas and Mahabharata retained his name as Jara Santha or Jara Sandha . During the time of his coronation it seems he made a vow/pratigna to the effect that he would destroy all the Kshatriyas of the Aryavarta(North India) . The Jain priests provided him with their divine protection . Some drums were arranged all around his capital . If anybody who is looking suspicious enters the capital the soldiers who were in charge of the drums start beating the drum . This would alert some expert lady- warriors of the Naga community and they would annihilate the suspicious looking person or persons within minutes. This was a kind of circular protection provided to the king during day and night without any break. Jara Santha it seems was kind to his people but was merciless when it came to war . "Maha Padma Nanda as he was called by the historians defeated the Panchalas,Kasis,Haihayas,Kalingas,Asmakas,Kurus,Maithilas,Sura Senas and the vitihotras to name a few . He expanded his territory to the south of the Deccan plains ." The Satvahanas/Satkaranis,the Cholas,the Pandyans and the Cheras and the Hoyasalas were all Nagas and his trusted commanders . They were all Jains who worshipped Lord Shiva,they were all his faithful Vassals for a long time . Maha Padma Nanda died at the age of 88 and his eight sons ruled over for 12 years But historically his sons are known as Nava Nandas.But historians till date could not locate any details about the ninth Nanda.Did he exist and if so what happened to him is a million dollar question not answered till date.

                                                 "The Puranas treat the Nanda Dynasty as consisting of two generations only . Maha Padma Nanda and his eight sons of whom one was named Sumalya . These two generations are supposed to have reigned for a century, which cannot possibly be true. The Jains still doing greater violence to reason,extend the duration of the dynasty to 155 years .

"Some powerful motive must have existed for the distortion of history of the so called 'Nine Nandas',in all forms of tradition,but it is not easy to make even a plausible guess at the nature of that motive ." (Reference:- Google book:Mahanadis son-Maha Padma Nanda) "Maha Padma Nanda vanquished the old dynasties of the north but not as was customary, to extract tribute from them and to be recognized as the most powerful samrat or the chakravati,but in order to dethrone them and declare himself as an 'ekachatra' the only emperor in the entire land ."

                                                        The collapse of Kshatriya dynasties under the rigorous power-politics of Maha Padma Nanda who is explicitly denigrated as the son of Shudra, and the support extended to followers of non-Vedic Philosophers, all has been described as negative signs in the Puranas . Nanda`s      coronation took place perhaps in 382 B.C.E/364 B.C.E . (According to R.K. Mukerjee) .
                                            "Maha Padma Nanda built up a vast army of 20,000 in infantry,2000 cavalry,2000 war chariots and 3000 war elephants . Dhana Nanda was the king at the time of Alexander's invasion . Alexander had only 20,000 infantry and 2000 horses (after his fight with king Porous)."
                                                 Dhana Nanda was a nick name given to him because of his lust for gold . It appears that he emassed a great wealth of gold,diverted the flow of ganga for sometime,dug a hole and hid all the gold and then allowed the river to flow on its natural path,there by hiding a mountain of gold under wayer of the ganga ("Dhana Nanda"-his being addicted to hoarding treasure --------- He collected riches to the amount of eighty crores in a rock in the bed of the river Ganges . He ruled from 392 B.C. - 321 B.C.")
     (Reference: Magadha Kingdom - Wikipedia)

"Like Parasurama he is said to have annihilated all the kshatriyas of his time and became the mightiest and the most powerful of all the of all the kings of Aryavarta . He had 8 sons according to the puranic tradition,the eldest of whom Sumalya ascended the throne after his father along the rest of his brothers . It is said that they were dethroned by a Brahmin named Chanakya who placed an illegitimate son of Maha Padma Nanda by the name Chandra Gupta on the throne of Magadha ."This solves the mystery over the ninth Nanda and the reason why Jain Scholars extended the period of rule by the Nanda Dynasty by about 56 years . It also said that Jara Sandha was a cousin of the 22nd Thirthankara by name: Neminatha .What happened to the ninth child is a divine mystery. — Preceding unsigned comment added by Bksatyanarayana (talk • contribs) 08:30, 17 July 2012 (UTC)Reply