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Rajagriha was the capital of the great Magadh empire. Magadh empire has been a great empire, in terms of power, grandeur, prosperity, population and the size of its armed forces, since ancient times.
When the Greek emperor Alexander, who was ambitious of conquering the world, heard of the great armies of Magadh, he lost hopes of conquering India and returned from Punjab.
Rajagriha city has other names also-Magadhpur, Kshitipratishthita Nagar, Chanakpur, Rishabhpur, Kushagrapur etc.
Of these Kushagrapur and Rajagriha have been more popular.
Kushagrapur faced frequent fire hazards, therefore king Prasenjit, father of emperor Shrenik, founded a new city about 2 Kos (4 miles) away from Kushagrapur and named it Rajagriha.
Rajagriha city is surrounded and protected by five hills, therefore it is also called Girivraj.
This city exists even today and is popularly known as Rajagiri. It is a popular pilgrimage centre of Jains.
Bhagavan Mahavir spent 20 monsoon stays here. Emperor Shrenik, his sons Abhaya Kumar and Konik, and his queens including Chelna were devout followers of Bhagavan.
Tathagat Gautam Buddha also frequented this city.
Although the old glory of Rajagriha city has vanished, it still has its religious importance.
Antakriddasha Mahima
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