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(mŭ´gäd )
, ancient Indian kingdom, situated within the area of the modern states of Bihar and Jharkhand. Its capital was Pataliputra (now Patna). The kingdom rose to prominence in the mid-7th cent. and rapidly extended its frontiers, especially under the rule of Bimbisara (c.540—c.490). Magadha fell (c.325) to Chandragupta, who made the kingdom the nucleus of the Mauryan empire. After a period of obscurity, it recovered importance in the 4th cent. as the power-base of the Gupta dynasty. Buddhism and Jainism first developed in Magadha, and the Buddha used the Magadhi dialect of Sanskrit.
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