Series II - Magadha Empire - Pandya - Chera - Chola

The approximate extent of the Magadha state in the 5th century BC.
Magadha Empire 684 BC–AD 550.Magadha (मगध) formed one of the sixteen so-called Mahājanapadas (Sanskrit, 'great country') or regions in ancient India. The core of the kingdom was the portion of Bihar lying south of the Ganges, with its capital at Rajagriha (modern Rajgir). Magadha expanded to include most of Bihar and Bengal with the conquest of Licchavi and Anga respectively.[1] The ancient kingdom of Magadha is mentioned in Ramayana, Mahabharata, Puranas, and heavily mentioned in Buddhist and Jaina texts. The first reference to the Magadha occurs in the Atharva-Veda where they are found listed along with the Angas, Gandharis and the Mujavats as a despised people. Two of India's major religions started from Magadha; Gautama Buddha in the 6th or 5th century BCE was the founder of Buddhism, which later spread to East Asia and South-East Asia, while Mahavira founded Jainism. Two of India's greatest empires, the Maurya Empire and Gupta Empire, along with others, originated from Magadha.

The Nanda Empire at its greatest extent under Dhana Nanda circa 323 BC. The Nanda dynasty ruled Magadha during the 5th and 4th centuries BC. It is said to have been established by an illegitimate son of the king Mahanandin of the previous Shishunaga dynasty. Mahapadma Nanda died at the age of 88 and, therefore, he ruled the bulk of the period of this dynasty, which lasted 100 years. At its greatest extent, the Nanda Empire extended from Bihar and Bengal in the east to parts of Punjab in the west.[1] The Nanda Empire was later conquered by Chandragupta Maurya, who founded the Maurya Empire.

The Maurya Empire when it was first founded by Chandragupta Maurya circa 320 BC, after conquering the Nanda Empire when he was only about 20 years old.

Chandragupta extended the borders of the Maurya Empire towards Seleucid Persia after defeating Seleucus circa 305 BC. Chandragupta extended the borders of the empire southward into the Deccan Plateau circa 300 BC.^[5]

Ashoka the Great
extended into Kalinga during the Kalinga War circa 265 BC, and established superiority over the southern kingdoms.

Mauryan Empire at its peakSouthern Kingdoms Before Common Era
Pandyas And Cholas had alternating holds.

The Pandyan kingdom (Tamil: பாண்டியர்) was an ancient Tamil state in South India of unknown antiquity. Pandyas were one of the three ancient Tamil kingdoms (Chola and Chera being the other two) who ruled the Tamil country from pre-historic times until end of the 15th century. They ruled initially from Korkai, a sea port on the southern most tip of the Indian peninsula, and in later times moved to Madurai.

The Chera dynasty (Tamil: சேரர் Malayalam: േചര ) was one of the ancient Tamil dynasties who ruled the southern India from ancient times until around the fifteenth century CE. The Early Cheras ruled over the Malabar Coast, Coimbatore, Karur and Salem Districts in South India, which now forms part of the modern day Kerala and Tamil Nadu states of India. The other two major Tamil dynasties were the Cholas in the eastern Coromandel Coast and Pandyas in the south central peninsula. These dynasties began ruling before the Sangam era (100BCE - 200CE) during which the Tamil language, arts and literature flourished.

Chola Dynasty Tamil: சோழர் குலம was a Tamil dynasty that ruled primarily in southern India. The dynasty originated in the fertile valley of the Kaveri River. Karikala Chola was the most famous among the early Chola kings, while Rajaraja Chola, Rajendra Chola and Kulothunga Chola I were famous emperors of the medieval Cholas., issued around 250 BCE by the Mauryan emperor Ashoka, mention the Cholas as recipients of his Buddhist prozelitism:

"The conquest by Dharma has been won here, on the borders, and even six hundred yojanas (5,400–9,600 km) away, where the Greek king Antiochos rules, beyond there where the four kings named Ptolemy, Antigonos, Magas and Alexander rule, likewise in the south among the Cholas, the Pandyas, and as far as Tamraparni (Sri Lanka)." (Edicts of Ashoka, 13th Rock Edict, S. Dhammika).