Information on Magadha
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Magadha was an ancient Indian kingdom in southern Bihar, and was counted as one of the sixteen Mahajanapadas, 'Great Countries' of ancient India. Magadha played an important role in the development of Jainism and Buddhism, and two of India's greatest empires, the Maurya Empire and Gupta Empire, originated in Magadha.
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Magadha was an ancient kingdom located on the Indo-Gangetic plains in eastern India and spread over what is today the modern state of Bihar. At the height of its power, it claimed suzerainty over the entire eastern part of the country (roughly the area of England) and ruled from its capital at Pataliputra (modern Patna, Bihar). In 326 BCE, when Alexander the Great was camped at the river Beas on the westernmost part on India, his army mutinied; they refused to march further east. They had heard about the great Magadha kingdom and were unnerved by stories of its might. Unwillingly, Alexander turned back (and was to die en route). But this was not the first time that the might of Magadha had forced kings westwards. One of the earliest references to Magadha is in the epic Mahabharata, where we see the entire Yadava clan abandoning their homeland on the Gangetic plains to migrate south-westwards towards the desert-ocean land to avoid constant battles with their eastern neighbour, Magadha.
Ancient Magadha, & Jarasandha
The Magadha kingdom did not seem to have been liked by the vedic people. In the Atharva Veda, a charm against virulent fever speaks somewhat sarcastically of banishing the fever to the people of Magadha, inter alia.
In the Mahabharata, Magadha is the mightiest kingdom in the country, stronger even than the Kurus (of whom the epic is all about). Magadha controlled the entire eastern part of the country through alliances with smaller vassal states. It was constantly at war with its western neighbours, the Yadavas of Mathura, who ultimately migrated far west to the sea coast near the Rann of Kutchh (modern Gujarat) because they could no longer afford the resources needed to protect their kingdom from the regular onslaughts of the Magadha king, Jarasandha. This flight meant that Magadha's borders extended right up to the Kuru-Panchal kingdoms, where lived the Pandavas and the Kauravas. Jarasandha had powerful allies around his main kingdom: to the southwest was the vassal state of Chedi (to the south of which was another ally, Vidarbh), to the east were the allies of Anga and Vanga, and further east was the friendly country of Pragjyotishpur (modern Assam), ruled by a demon whose borders extended right up to China. This entire stretch of land looked to Jarasandh as their overlord.
The capital of Magadha was Girivraj (modern Rajgir, Bihar). This city was sorrounded by rings of mountains and was, therefore, difficult to lay siege to. Jarasandh had imprisoned 99 minor kings, and had intended to offer a big human sacrifice after the 100th king was captured but before he could do so, he was defeated in a wrestling match by the Pandava Bheem, and ripped apart into two. Jarasandh's son was placed on the throne but was later to die fighting for the Pandavas in the Kurukshetra war. After the Kurukshetra war, the power of Magadha seems to have diminished somewhat because there are references to it being annexed by a south-western neighbour, Avanti. It continued to be an important kingdom, however, and was counted among the 16 principal states of ancient India.