The name Patna is believed to be adapted from Patan, the name of the Hindu goddess Patan devi. Another theory considers it to be derived from Patliputra, the original name for Patna. Patliputra was started by Ajatsatru as a fort at the junction of 4 rivers, particularly the Ganges and Sone. This was to defend the Magadh kingdom from the Licchavis army that used to cross the Ganges river and harass the citizens on the other side of the river.
Patna has received various names depending on the ruler of the city, Pataligram, Pataliputra, Kusumpur, Pushpapura, Azimabad and present day Patna. Another highlight is that it has “Putra” attached to Patli. A story tells that Patli was a princess who gave birth to a child and the parents decided to live there in the same place where the child was born, which is why it was known as Patliputra. However, no city in India has this unique name of having a suffix of Putra. Putra in Sanskrit is son.
Initially, the fort was maintained by some soldiers. One of them especially liked roses and planted some. Hence the fort came to be known as Patligram and later Kusumpur Again Patli and Kusum is another name for the pink flower, while gram is a people in the Hindi / Sanskrit language.
Another interesting story is that while hunting in the jungles of Bihar Sharif, King Ajatsatru crossed the river to Vaishali, where people made fun of his physical features. “How could the son of the beautiful Bimbisar and Chella be so ugly?” This really upset Ajatsatru and he decided to destroy Vasishali. Ajatsatru, being a good military strategist, decided to turn this region into a fort to defend himself and attack the Licchavis of Vaishali. He must have decided to make a city on the banks taking into account the vicinity of the river and the Ganges.
Later, the city was built under the leadership of the trusted ministers of Ajatsatru, Sunidh and Vaskar. The credit goes to Udayin, the son of Ajatsatru, for having built Patliputra in a famous city and using it as his capital of Magadh. Gargi-Samhita, Yug Puran, Vayu Puran mention that Udayin magnificently built Kusumpur. In recent years it became the great capital of Magadh and India which reached its highest peak during the rule of Ashoka the Great.
The current name of Patna was given by Sher Shah Suri, whose grave is located in Sasaram, a place near Patna and is a well-known tourist spot for locals and foreigners alike. Patna is now the capital of Bihar.