{
 "id": "epexeyjkc6",
 "slug": "nanda-army",
 "title": "Nanda army",
 "updated": "2026-10-15",
 "topic_path": [
  {
   "id": "society",
   "label": "Society and history",
   "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/topics/society"
  },
  {
   "id": "society.history",
   "label": "History and archaeology",
   "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/topics/society.history"
  },
  {
   "id": "society.history.asia",
   "label": "Asian history",
   "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/topics/society.history.asia"
  },
  {
   "id": "society.history.asia.india",
   "label": "India and South Asia",
   "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/topics/society.history.asia.india"
  },
  {
   "id": "society.history.asia.india.maurya",
   "label": "Maurya Empire (322 to 185 BC)",
   "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/topics/society.history.asia.india.maurya"
  },
  {
   "id": "society.history.asia.india.maurya.rulers-dynasties-and-events",
   "label": "Rulers, dynasties, and events",
   "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/topics/society.history.asia.india.maurya.rulers-dynasties-and-events"
  }
 ],
 "geo": [
  {
   "id": "geo.ind.t500.society.history.asia.india.maurya",
   "label": "India · 500 BC to AD 999: Maurya Empire (322 to 185 BC)",
   "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/geo/geo.ind.t500.society.history.asia.india.maurya",
   "path": [
    {
     "id": "geo.ind",
     "label": "India",
     "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/geo/geo.ind"
    },
    {
     "id": "geo.ind.t500",
     "label": "India · 500 BC to AD 999",
     "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/geo/geo.ind.t500"
    },
    {
     "id": "geo.ind.t500.society",
     "label": "Society and history",
     "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/geo/geo.ind.t500.society"
    },
    {
     "id": "geo.ind.t500.society.history",
     "label": "History and archaeology",
     "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/geo/geo.ind.t500.society.history"
    },
    {
     "id": "geo.ind.t500.society.history.asia",
     "label": "Asian history",
     "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/geo/geo.ind.t500.society.history.asia"
    },
    {
     "id": "geo.ind.t500.society.history.asia.india",
     "label": "India and South Asia",
     "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/geo/geo.ind.t500.society.history.asia.india"
    },
    {
     "id": "geo.ind.t500.society.history.asia.india.maurya",
     "label": "Maurya Empire (322 to 185 BC)",
     "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/geo/geo.ind.t500.society.history.asia.india.maurya"
    }
   ]
  }
 ],
 "excerpt": "The Nanda army (नंद सेना) was the large standing army of the Nanda dynasty of Magadha, kept at Pataliputra in the fourth century BC and reportedly numbering 200,000 infantry and 3,000 elephants.",
 "snippet": "The Nanda army (नंद सेना) was the large standing army of the Nanda dynasty of Magadha, kept at Pataliputra in the fourth century BC and reportedly numbering 200,000 infantry and 3,000 elephants.",
 "node": "society.history.asia.india.maurya.rulers-dynasties-and-events",
 "markdown": "# Nanda army\n\nThe Nanda army (नंद सेना) was the large standing army of the Nanda dynasty of Magadha, kept at the capital [Pataliputra](https://www.edgepedia.org/pataliputra) (modern Patna) in the fourth century BC. It was built up under the dynasty's founder [Mahapadma Nanda](https://www.edgepedia.org/mahapadma-nanda), who continued a policy of systematic expansion through conquest,<sup>[1](https://www.britannica.com/topic/Nanda-dynasty)</sup><sup> • </sup><sup>[2](https://www.amarchitrakatha.com/history_details/the-downfall-of-the-nandas/)</sup> and according to the Marathi Vishwakosh the army passed to [Chandragupta Maurya](https://www.edgepedia.org/chandragupta-maurya) when he deposed the last Nanda king.<sup>[3](https://vishwakosh.marathi.gov.in/19334/)</sup> \n\n| Fact | Detail |\n|---|---|\n| Founder of the dynasty | Mahapadma Nanda<sup>[1](https://www.britannica.com/topic/Nanda-dynasty)</sup><sup> • </sup><sup>[2](https://www.amarchitrakatha.com/history_details/the-downfall-of-the-nandas/)</sup> |\n| Capital | Pataliputra, where modern Patna stands<sup>[2](https://www.amarchitrakatha.com/history_details/the-downfall-of-the-nandas/)</sup> |\n| Last holder | Dhana Nanda<sup>[4](https://www.worldhistory.org/Chandragupta_Maurya/)</sup><sup> • </sup><sup>[2](https://www.amarchitrakatha.com/history_details/the-downfall-of-the-nandas/)</sup> |\n\n## Founding and history\n\nMahapadma Nanda founded the Nanda dynasty and with it the large army that sustained its conquests. Brahmanical and Jaina traditions and classical scholarship hold that he had a low social origin.<sup>[1](https://www.britannica.com/topic/Nanda-dynasty)</sup> According to [Encyclopædia Britannica](https://www.edgepedia.org/encyclop-dia-britannica), the Puranas describe him as the \"destroyer of all Kshatriyas,\" overthrowing the Ikshvakus, Pancalas, Kashis, Haihayas, Kalingas, Ashmakas, Kurus, Maithilas, Shurasenas, and Vitihotras.<sup>[1](https://www.britannica.com/topic/Nanda-dynasty)</sup> The Marathi Vishwakosh likewise records that his empire was vast, his treasury full, and that he kept a very large army in full readiness.<sup>[3](https://vishwakosh.marathi.gov.in/19334/)</sup>\n\n## Structure, functions, and principal holders\n\nThe classical figures vary by author: Curtius gives 200,000 infantry, 20,000 cavalry, 2,000 chariots, and 3,000 elephants;<sup>[4](https://www.worldhistory.org/Chandragupta_Maurya/)</sup> Pliny gives the same figures for the army of the last Nanda king;<sup>[5](https://warhistory.org/article/the-mauryan-empire-military)</sup> the Marathi Vishwakosh reports the Greek chroniclers' figures of 20,000 cavalry, 200,000 soldiers, 2,000 chariots, and 3,000 elephants, or 6,000 elephants according to some accounts.<sup>[3](https://vishwakosh.marathi.gov.in/19334/)</sup>\n\nThe army served the dynasty's expansion: Mahapadma consolidated the empire through ruthless conquests, continuing the Shaishunaga policy of systematic enlargement of Magadhan power.<sup>[1](https://www.britannica.com/topic/Nanda-dynasty)</sup> \n\n## Military style\n\nThe Ganga valley, where Pataliputra lay, is elephant country, and the dominant power of India in this period was based there, controlling the eastward flow of horses and the westward flow of elephants.<sup>[6](https://www.cambridge.org/core/journals/comparative-studies-in-society-and-history/article/abs/megasthenes-on-the-military-livestock-of-chandragupta-and-the-making-of-the-first-indian-empire/1EC48FFF9D6567A5CEAF486A16EC36F3)</sup>\n\n## Political influence\n\nThe army's size shaped the course of [Alexander the Great](https://www.edgepedia.org/alexander-the-great)'s Indian campaign. Dhanananda was known to the Greeks as Xandrames or Agrammes, and knowledge of his Magadhan might added to the despair of the already war-weary Macedonian troops on India's north-west, contributing to their refusal to press further into India.<sup>[4](https://www.worldhistory.org/Chandragupta_Maurya/)</sup> A popular history account states that when [Alexander](https://www.edgepedia.org/alexander) invaded India, his troops refused to advance farther east toward the Nanda realm and that the army withdrew from India; accounts connect their reluctance in part with reports of powerful eastern kingdoms.<sup>[2](https://www.amarchitrakatha.com/history_details/the-downfall-of-the-nandas/)</sup>\n\nThe army also underpinned the dynasty's conquests across northern India, which the Puranas present as the overthrow of the [Kshatriya](https://www.edgepedia.org/kshatriya) powers listed above.<sup>[1](https://www.britannica.com/topic/Nanda-dynasty)</sup>\n\n## End or later history\n\nPliny's account records that the last Nanda king's army of 200,000 infantry, 20,000 cavalry, 2,000 chariots, and 3,000 elephants was overwhelmed by Chandragupta's force of 600,000 infantry, 30,000 cavalry, and 9,000 elephants.<sup>[5](https://warhistory.org/article/the-mauryan-empire-military)</sup> [Megasthenes](https://www.edgepedia.org/megasthenes), an eyewitness to Chandragupta's reign from ca. 321 BC, described the Mauryan force as a standing army drawing regular pay and supplied by the government with arms.<sup>[6](https://www.cambridge.org/core/journals/comparative-studies-in-society-and-history/article/abs/megasthenes-on-the-military-livestock-of-chandragupta-and-the-making-of-the-first-indian-empire/1EC48FFF9D6567A5CEAF486A16EC36F3)</sup><sup> • </sup><sup>[7](https://www.cristoraul.org/ENGLISH/readinghall/CR-PDF-LIBRARY/CHANDRAGUPTA-MAURYA.pdf)</sup>\n\n## Assessment and legacy\n\nThe classical figures for the army's size are the main basis for its reputation. They come from Greek and Roman writers, and the Marathi Vishwakosh records that some accounts give 6,000 elephants.<sup>[3](https://vishwakosh.marathi.gov.in/19334/)</sup> Whatever the exact numbers, the army's reported strength was large enough to deter the Macedonian advance and to serve as the base from which [Chandragupta](https://www.edgepedia.org/chandragupta) built the first India-wide empire.<sup>[4](https://www.worldhistory.org/Chandragupta_Maurya/)</sup><sup> • </sup><sup>[6](https://www.cambridge.org/core/journals/comparative-studies-in-society-and-history/article/abs/megasthenes-on-the-military-livestock-of-chandragupta-and-the-making-of-the-first-indian-empire/1EC48FFF9D6567A5CEAF486A16EC36F3)</sup>\n\n## References\n\n1. [Nanda dynasty | Britannica](https://www.britannica.com/topic/Nanda-dynasty)\n2. [The Downfall Of The Nandas | Amar Chitra Katha](https://www.amarchitrakatha.com/history_details/the-downfall-of-the-nandas/)\n3. [नंद वंश – मराठी विश्वकोश](https://vishwakosh.marathi.gov.in/19334/)\n4. [Chandragupta Maurya | World History Encyclopedia](https://www.worldhistory.org/Chandragupta_Maurya/)\n5. [The Mauryan Empire Military | WarHistory.org](https://warhistory.org/article/the-mauryan-empire-military)\n6. [Megasthenes on the Military Livestock of Chandragupta and the Making of the First Indian Empire | Comparative Studies in Society and History](https://www.cambridge.org/core/journals/comparative-studies-in-society-and-history/article/abs/megasthenes-on-the-military-livestock-of-chandragupta-and-the-making-of-the-first-indian-empire/1EC48FFF9D6567A5CEAF486A16EC36F3)\n7. [Chandragupta Maurya (book PDF)](https://www.cristoraul.org/ENGLISH/readinghall/CR-PDF-LIBRARY/CHANDRAGUPTA-MAURYA.pdf)\n\n---\n*Topic: Encyclopedia › Society and history › History and archaeology › Asian history › India and South Asia › Maurya Empire (322 to 185 BC) › Rulers, dynasties, and events*\n\n*Initially written Sep 23, 2026 · Reviewed: Sep 30, 2026 · Edited: Sep 30, 2026; Oct 15, 2026 · Last review: Sep 30, 2026*\n\n*Copyright 2026 EdgeChat AI, a subsidiary of Biostate AI.*\n\nLicense: Edgepedia Community License 1.0, https://www.edgepedia.org/edgepedia/license\n",
 "same_as": [],
 "url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/nanda-army",
 "markdown_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/nanda-army.md",
 "license": {
  "name": "Edgepedia Community License 1.0",
  "url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/edgepedia/license",
  "summary": "Free with credit, commercial use included. AI training is open to everyone. For other uses, organizations over USD 100M in revenue or 100M monthly users license separately.",
  "spdx": "LicenseRef-Edgepedia-Community-1.0"
 },
 "credit": "\"Nanda army\", Edgepedia (EdgeChat), https://www.edgepedia.org/nanda-army. Edgepedia Community License 1.0.",
 "credit_md": "\"[Nanda army](https://www.edgepedia.org/nanda-army)\", Edgepedia (EdgeChat), [https://www.edgepedia.org/nanda-army](https://www.edgepedia.org/nanda-army). [Edgepedia Community License 1.0](https://www.edgepedia.org/edgepedia/license).",
 "credit_html": "\"<a href=\"https://www.edgepedia.org/nanda-army\">Nanda army</a>\", Edgepedia (EdgeChat), <a href=\"https://www.edgepedia.org/nanda-army\">https://www.edgepedia.org/nanda-army</a>. <a href=\"https://www.edgepedia.org/edgepedia/license\">Edgepedia Community License 1.0</a>.",
 "speakable": "The Nanda army was the large standing army of the Nanda dynasty of Magadha, kept at Pataliputra in the fourth century BC and reportedly numbering 200,000 infantry and 3,000 elephants."
}