Nanda 1 -

The iron wheels of Mahapadma’s chariot left grooves in the earth deeper than any king’s had before. They called him Ekarat —the sole sovereign—but behind his back, the Brahmins whispered a different name: Ugrasena , the lord of the terrible army.

Mahapadma Nanda—Nanda 1—smiled for the only time in his reign. He gestured to the granaries, the armories, the canals being dug by paid labor. nanda 1

When he died, they say the river Ganges carried his ashes to the sea without a single hymn. But his iron wheels had already scarred the land deep enough that even the Mauryas, when they came, would ride in the grooves he made. The iron wheels of Mahapadma’s chariot left grooves