Dhana Nanda

Dhana Nanda Biography

Dhana Nanda was the last ruler of Nanda dynasty. He was one of nine sons of Mahapadma Nanda, who simultaneously ruled Magadha. The prominent among them was Ugrasena Nanda and the youngest one was Dhana Nanda. He is known for establishing a huge army of 200,000 infantry, 20,000 cavalry, 2000 war chariots and 3000 war elephants. As per Jain belief, Durdhara was his daughter who was married to the great warrior and emperor, Chandragupta Maurya. But as per records, it was Maurya who dethroned him. He ruled Nanda Samrat during the period, c. 329 BC – c. 321 BC. He is referred to as Agrammes or Xandrames in Greek accounts.

Dhana Nanda inherited throne from his father Mahapadma Nanda. Only a few records are available about his early works. He was addicted to hoarding treasure and collected a huge treasure near the River Ganges. An autocratic ruler he imposed huge taxes on different things everyday making poor people’s life miserable. He was so greedy and addicted to treasure that he hid big gold blocks in the bed of river Ganga. He was not concerned about the foreign attacks on India and never offered support to Chandragupta Maurya in this regard too. Therefore there was public outrage against him. But as a powerful king with huge army, he was able to extend his kingdom to Bengal and Sind.  

He is known for insulting Chanakya, the minister of Chandragupta Maurya. But later through tactics, Maurya defeated Dhana Nanda and in 321 BC, Chandragupta was crowned as the king where Chanakya was appointed as his Prime Minister. He was highly unpopular among his subjects and for the same reason it was easy for Maurya to defeat him. Some accounts suggest that Nanda accepted Buddhism and went for an exile.

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Updated: September 24, 2017