Names of Patna

One legend ascribes the origin of the city to a mythological king, Putraka, who created Patna by a magic stroke for his queen Patali, literally trumpet flower, which gives it its ancient name Pataligram. Gram is the Sanskrit word for a village.^[2]

The name Patliputra (Devanagari: पाटलिपुत्र ) is composed (sandhi) of two words, Patali and Putraka (king).^[3] The name Patliputra was given by Ajatashatru, a king of the ancient Indian state of Magadh, who created a fort in Pataligrama near the River Ganga in 490 BCE and later, King Ajatashatru shifted his capital to Patliputra.^[4]

The name Patliputra may also have been derived from Patli, a variety of tree that is found in the city.^[5][6] Indeed, according to the Mahāparinibbāṇa Sutta (Sutta 16 of the Dīgha Nikāya), Pāṭaliputta was the place "where the seedpods of the Pāṭali plant break open".^[7]

The Chinese called the place Palinfou. This name appears in books of Chinese travelers Fa Hien & Hsuan-tsang who visited Patliputra.^[8][9]

This name was mentioned by Megasthenes (350 BCE-290 BCE), the Greek historian, (calling it 'Palibothra'(Devanagari: पलिबोथरा) or 'Palimbotra' (Devanagari: पलिम्बोत्र), in his writings during the 4th century.^[10][11]

Prince Azim-us-Shan, the grandson of Aurangzeb became the Governor of Patliputra in 1703. Earlier to that, Sher Shah Suri had moved his capital from Bihar Sharif to Patliputra. It was Prince Azim-us-Shan who gave it the name Azimabad.

• Azimabad
• Magadh