Here is your paragraph on Pataliputra!
Modern-day Patna, originally built by Shishunaga dynasty’s Ajatashatru, in 490 BC as a small fort (Pataligrama) near the River Ganges and later the capital of the ancient Mahajanapadas kingdom of Magadha.
Its key central location in north central India led rulers of successive dynasties to base their administrative capital here, from the Nandas, Mau’ryans, Sungas and the Guptas down to the Palas.
In the Lord Buddha’s day it was a village known as Pataligarma. He visited it shortly before his death and prophesied it would be great but would face destruction either by fire, water, or civil war. Two important councils were held here, the first at the death of the Buddha and the second in the reign of Asoka.
ADVERTISEMENTS:
During the reign of Emperor Asoka in the 3rd century BC, it was the world’s largest city, with a population of 150,000-300,000. Patliputra reached the pinnacle of prosperity when it was the capital of the great Mauryan kings, Chandragupta Maurya and Ashoka the Great.
The city prospered under the Mauryas and a Greek ambassador Megasthenes resided there and left a detailed account of its splendour. The city also became a flourishing Buddhist centre boasting a number of important monasteries. Known to the Greeks as Palibothra, it remained the capital of the Gupta dynasty (4-6th centuries bee) and the Pala Dynasty (7-12th centuries bee). The city was largely in ruins when visited by Hsiian-tsang, and suffered further damage at the hands of Muslim raiders in the 12th century’31. Afterwards Sher Shah Suri made Patliputra his capital and changed the name to modern Patna.