Emperor Nandavardhana was the last in the dynasty of Shishnaga to rule Magdha. He ruled by tyranny and debauchry. His aim was to destroy the nearby fiefdoms and Kingdoms mainly to take their women. Nandvardhana had insatiable hunger for woman.
Once he was touring his kingdom ontensibly for the purpose of stydying the condition and welfare of his subjects. In a rural area he happened to see a woman of exquistie beauty. He had never seen such bewitching feminine face. But she was not lady of any high family. She was the wife of lowly cremation ground sweeper.
The passion mad king got the sweeper killed by the soldiers and took the woman by force. Her name was Mahamaya. She could not protest but her heart was filled with hatred for the evil king. Now Mahamaya lived in the palace.
She turned out to be no ordinary woman. Mahamaya had a scheming mind. She had made up her mind to take revenge for the killing of her husband. Very soon she took control of the palace. Mahamaya was endowed with talent to manipulate others and had a sweet tongue. All the inmates of the palace came under her power. The king was her slave. She deliberately got the king take to drinking more than before. The king under her influence was becoming less and less effective as a ruler.
Although she made several attempts to eliminate the king but could not succeed. Mahamaya then gave birth to a son. Now she concentrated all her attention into the upbringing of her son. Her aim was to make her son a tool to avenge the murder of her original husband. He filled the mind of her son with evil thoughts about the king, Nandvardhana who she portrayed as a killer who did not deserve to live.
The boy grew up hating Nandvardhana. He took a vow to wipe out the evil at the first opportunity he got. The boy loved his mother. He could do anything to make her happy. If the death of King Nandavardhana could bring her joy, he would glady kill him.
One day he beheaded the king at night when he was alone in the palace. Cunning Mahamaya spread the rumour that some rebels had killed the king. With her maniputive skills she was able to put her son on the throne by the title name ‘Mahapadma Nanda’.
The new king quickly got all the faithfuls of the old king arrested on the charge of being involved in the murder of his father. They were all sentenced to death.
Thus the rule of Nanda dynasty began. Mahapadma proved a good commander and tactician who make Magadha a great empire. After initial good work Mahapadma went astray. Merry making became his only occupation. It gave chance to the officials to rule the land with arrogance. The only rule that prevailed was exploitation of the masses. Mahapadma was taking to the ways of his slain father.
Mahapadma began to repeat all the evil acts of his father. His palace was teeming with beautiful women forcibly lifted by him on his fance. He was putting a no stop to it to the chagrin of his mother. She could she Mahapadma born again in her son.
There was a small kingdom called Pippalvana near Patliputra. Sarvathasiddhi. Suryavana was its king. His queen Maura was a beauty. Some how Mahapadma came to know of her charms. Now he wanted her. The idea to possess her became his obsession. One day he commanded on of his commanders to bring Maura into his service.
The commander set out with a small force. Whaen he reached Pippalvena the king Suryavana had gone on a hunting trip. Magadha soldiers laid a siege to the palace. The commander informed the guards that they had come to take away Queen Maura at the order of the Emperor Mahapadma of Magadha.
The guards were shocked. One of them relayed the matter to the commander of the contingent that guarded the queen. They opted for a battle. Outcome of the battle was never in doubt. The small army of Pippalvana could not last long.
When king Suryavana was returning to the palace he saw a messenger coming towards him on his horce. The king noticed that the soldier was badly injured. It woried Suryavana.
The soldier briefly narrated what had happend at the palace. The king was shocked. He raced his force towards his palace. His hunting companions did the same. The entire party galloped horses raging in fury.
They reached the palace and the fort too late. Magadha flag was already flutteing over the palace and the fort gate. Suryavana’s brave soldiers lay all around dead or gravely wounded along with the enemy casualties.
Magadha soldiers were just coming out with Queen Maura. Suryavana challenged them. The battle didn’t last long. Suryadev had only a dozen soldiers who had gone for hunting with him. Magadha commander had scores of soldiers. Suryavana was taken prisoner and put in a dungeon that had no exit do or by the orders of Mahapadma Nanda.
There was a sceret that only Maura and Suryavana knew. The queen was pregnant. This fact the two were certain of although no signs had yet appeared. Suryavana was able to convey a mesage to his queen that she must do every thing and make every compromise to see it that their child grew up normally if inded she turned out to be carrying one.
Maura had no doubt that she was carrying the child. So, she did not protest when she was asked to join the king’s harem and become his consort.
In due course she gave birth to a son. The son was broughtup as the prince since every one thought that he was the son of Mahapadma Nanda. When the succession war for Patliputra throne began other princes and their mothers raised the question of genuineness of the prince born by Maura. To escape torments Maura left Patliputra with her son.
She told her son true story and the prince accepted Suryavana as his true sire.
Maura took her son to Pippalvana. But it was now in the possession of the sons of the other queen of Saryavana. They refused to accepted Maura’s claim.
She had to return to Patliputra. Thae prince got married as a commoner. But other sons of Nanda kept tracking them and trying to eleminate him. They succeeded in killing him and his fief father-in-law. The wife had given birth to several sons. All got eliminated by Nandas except Chandragupta. To save Chandragupta she was living anonymously near the capital city. Her son Chandragupta could not be properly educated in those circumstances. It is believed that Chandragupta adopted ‘Maurya’ surnam after his grand mother Maura. Some others believe that Chandragupta’s mother came from ‘Mura’ tribe to give her like the surname ‘Maura’.
It was at this point of time that young Chandragupta had come across Chanakya in the wilds after the later got insulted by Dhanananda, the king of Magadha.
How Dhanananda came to power was also an interesting story. It was said that as Mahapadma Nanda grew older he became more and more hungry for women. Even his prime minister could do nothing. Administration was disintegrating.
Mahapadma only listened to slave traders who used to bring wines from far off lands for him and traded in slaves as will. They began to bring slave beauties for the king and earned good money and rewards.
One of the slave traders was the favourite of the king. He used to bring good things for the rotten king from foreign lands of east. One day he arrived at the place. He was allowed in as the guards knew the slave trader was special one.
He announced to the king that he had brought best of wines from an exquisite land and two beauties likes of which the king might never have seen. The king looked very impressed and anxious to see those items. The slave trader promised that he would present the things at midnight. He requested the king to be alone in his chamber for the exclusive show.
The corrupt king nodded his head.
At midnight as promised Mahapadma was alone in his chamber eagerly waiting for his slave trader. At last he arrived accompanied by a servant carrying and two figures veiled to silk material.
The slave treader bowed to the king. At his signal the servant removed the cover from a tray that held two or three shapely flaggons and a silver wine glass.
Slave trader said, “Your Majesty! It is the best wine of the world brought in your service by your humble servant.”
The king waved his hand, “You will rewarded. Don’t worry. Now let me see what those silk veils hide.”
The trader bowed and signalled the figures to reveal themselves. The figures dropped the veils in a well rhearsed way. Two extremly beautiful and jewel bedeked feminine faces with joy. He leered at them. The girls were in scanty tight dress which out lined all their physical attributes of curves and bulges. The kings breathed heavy making wheezing sound from his ancient wind pipe.
The slave trader proudly clapped his hands. One of the girls picked up a flaggon from the tray. Another held silver glass in her delicate fingers.
The flaggon was gently tilted to pour down a thin streak of rubyred brew. The king watched the act mesmerised while his lips drooled.
The glass holder cat-walked to the king with the drink to the king, her whole body swaying teasingly. She put the rim of the glass ot the lips of the king. He took a sip and closed his eyes in delight.
The flaggon holder walked up to stand by the side of the other girl. The flaggon girl’s lips were gleaming like rose petals. The king looked thirstily at them and made her sit by his side.
She willingly sat down and poured more brew in the glass held by the other girl. The king obled at the bulges of the standing girl before turning his attention again to the rosy lips.
The rosy lips had come increasingly closer to the king. The king could not help kissing those divine lips. The kiss lingered on.
Suddenly the king coughed. His eyes became red. His body began to turn blue as the royal mouth squeezed out foamy matters. The four other watched with some interest. Then the king’s whole body shivered and collapsed on the bed. He was dead.
The slave trader said to the girls, “Well done. The tyrant didn’t deserve to live. Let us go girls. Our job is finished.”
The girls agian wore their veils and the four trooped out of chamber. At the outer gate of the palace the man said, “The king is resting. Do not disturb him. He has ordered to be awakened in the morning only.”
The four infact were spies of a kingdom that had been destroyed by Mahapadma. The four who took part in the macabre act had lost near and dear ones to the atrocities of the Magadha king.
In the early morning hours prime minister arrived to report an urgent matter to the king. As soon one had applied the promise kiss of death on the king. The minister felt little grief. He too was fed up with the corrupt Mahapadma. Now he could put the administration back on right path. He closed the chamber and ordered no one to enter.
The minster went to the elder prince Dhanananda and said, “My respects to king Dhanananda.”
“King?” Dhanananda stared at the prime minister. The prime minister gave him the news of the demise of his father.
The two departed to complete all the formalities.
