ORIGIN OF NAME
The name of this city changed with time. There are few theories regarding the source of the modern name Patna (Devanagari:पटना ):
It is etymologically derived from Patan (Devanagari: पIतन), the name of the Hindu goddess, Patan Devi.
The place appears in the records of the Chinese traveller, Fa Hien, as Pa-lin-fou.
The city has been known by various names during its more than 2,000 years of existence – Patligram, Patliputra, Kusumpur, Pushpapura and the present-day Patna.
Legend ascribes the origin of Patna to a mythological King Putraka who created Patna by magic for his queen Patali, literally "trumpet flower", which gives it its ancient name Pataligrama. It is said that in honour of the queen's first-born, the city was named Pataliputra. Gram is Sanskrit for village and Putra means son. Legend also says that the Emerald Buddha was created in Patna (then Pataliputra) by Nagasena in 43 BCE.
MEDIEVAL ERA
Patna became significant around the year 490 BCE when Ajatashatru, the king of Magadha, wanted to shift his capital from the hilly Rajagrha to a more strategically located place to combat the Licchavis of Vaishali. He chose the site on the bank of the Ganges and fortified the area. Gautama Buddha passed through this place in the last year of his life. He prophesied a great future for this place, but at the same time, he predicted its ruin from flood, fire, and feud.
MAURYAN EMPIRE
Megasthenes, the Greek historian and ambassador to the court of Chandragupta Maurya, gives the first written account of the city. He wrote that the city was situated on the confluence of the rivers Ganga and Arennovoas (Sonabhadra - Hiranyawah) and was 9 miles (14 km) long and 1.75 miles (2.82 km)
