Mahajanapadas

Introduction
• Later Vedic texts, the epics, and the Puranas name many ancient kings and
• dynasties.
• Angutara Nikaya, a Buddhist scripture mentions 16 great kingdoms or
Mahajanapadas at the beginning of the 6th century BCE in India. They emerged
during the Vedic Age. The history of the emergence of Mahajanapadas can be
linked to the development of eastern Uttar Pradesh and western Bihar during the
6th to 4th century BCE where agriculture flourished due to the availability of
fertile lands and iron production increased due to availability of iron ore in large
quantities. This resulted in the expansion of the territories of the Janapadas (due
to the use of iron weapons) and later addressed as 16 highly developed regions
or the Mahajanapadas.
Emergence
• The Janapadas were the major kingdoms of Vedic India. During that period,
Aryans were the most powerful tribes and were called ‘Janas’. This gave rise to
the term Janapada where Jana means ‘people’ and Pada means ‘foot’.
• By the 6th century BCE, there were approximately 22 different Janapadas.
Socio-economic developments chiefly due to the use of iron tools in agriculture
and military, along with religious and political developments led to the rise of
the Mahajanapadas from small kingdoms or Janapadas. The people gained
a strong allegiance to the territory or Janapada they belonged to rather than
the tribe or the jana. This period is also known as the era of second
urbanisation, first being the Harappan civilisation.
• During that period, the political centre shifted from the west of the Indo-
Gangetic plains to the eastern side of it. This was due to better fertility of the
land because of more rainfall and rivers. Also, this region was closer to iron
production centres.
List
1. Kasi
2. Kosala
3. Anga
4. Magadha
5. Vajji
6. Malla
7. Chedi/Cheti
8. Vatsa
9. Kuru
10. Panchala
11. Matsya
12. Surasena/Shurasena
13. Assaka
14. Avanti
15. Gandhara
16. Kamboja
Nature
• In the course of time, smaller or weak kingdoms, and the republics
were eliminated by the stronger rulers. Vajji and Malla were Gana-
Sanghas. The Gana-Sanghas had a government by assembly and
within the assembly they had oligarchy. In the 6th century only 4
powerful kingdoms remained:
1.Magadha (Important rulers: Bimbisara, Ajatashatru)
2.Avanti (Important ruler: Pradyota)
3.Kosala (Important ruler: Prasenjit)
4.Vatsa (Important ruler: Udayana)
• Later, all of them were annexed to or became part of Magadha.
General Facts- Anga
• Champa
• Munger and Bhagalpur
• Anga Mahajanapada finds reference in the Mahabharata and Atharva
Veda.
• During the rule of Bimbisara, it was taken over by Magadha Empire.
• It is situated in present-day Bihar and West Bengal.
• Its capital Champa was located at the confluence of the Ganga and the
Champa rivers.
• It was an important commercial centre on the trade routes and merchants
sailed from here to Suvarnabhumi (South East Asia).
Magadha
• Girivraja/ Rajagriha and Patuliputra
• Gaya and Patna
• Magadha finds mention in the Atharva Veda.
• It was located in present-day Bihar close to Anga, divided by river
Champa.
• Later, Magadha became a centre of Jainism and the first Buddhist
Council was held in Rajagriha.
Kasi/Kashi
• Kasi
• Banaras
• It was located in Varanasi.
• This city got its name from rivers Varuna and Asi as cited in the
Matsya Purana.
• Kasi was captured by Kosala.
Vatsa
• Kausambi
• Allahabad
• Vatsa is also known as Vamsa.
• Located on the banks of the Yamuna.
• This Mahajanapada followed the monarchical form of governance.
• The capital was Kausambi/Kaushambi (which was at the confluence of
Ganga and Yamuna).
• This was a central city for economic activities.
• Trade and business prospered in the 6th century. After the rise of Buddha,
the ruler Udayana made Buddhism a state religion.
Kosala
• Shravasti (northern), Kushavati (southern)
• Eastern Uttar Pradesh
• It was located in modern Awadh region of Uttar Pradesh.
• The area also included Ayodhya, an important city associated with
the Ramayana.
• Kosala also included the tribal republican territory of Sakyas of
Kapilavastu. Lumbini in Kapilavastu is the birthplace of Gautama
Buddha.
• Important king – Prasenajit (Buddha’s contemporary)
Shurasena
• Mathura
• Western Uttar Pradesh
• This place was a centre of Krishna worship at the time of
Megasthenes.
• There was a dominance of the Buddha’s followers also.
• Important king – Awantipura (Disciple of Buddha).
• Its capital Mathura was on the banks of the Yamuna.
Panchala
• Ahichchatra and Kampilya
• Western Uttar Pradesh
• Its capital for northern Panchala was Ahichchatra (modern Bareilly)
and Kampilya (modern Farrukhabad) for its southern regions.
• The famous city of Kannauj was situated in the Kingdom of
Panchala.
• Later the nature of governance shifted from monarchy to republic.
Kuru
• Indraprastha
• Meerut and Southeastern Haryana
• The area around Kurukshetra was apparently the site for Kuru
Mahajanapada.
• It moved to a republic form of governance.
• The epic poem, the Mahabharata, tells of a conflict between two
branches of the reigning Kuru clan.
Matsya
• Viratanagara
• Jaipur
• It was situated to the west of the Panchalas and south of the Kurus.
• The capital was at Viratanagara (modern Bairat).
• It is situated around present-day Jaipur, Alwar and Bharatpur area of
Rajasthan.
• Founder – Virata
Chedi
• Sothivati
• Bundelkhand region
• This was cited in the Rigveda.
• The capital was Sothivati/Shuktimati/Sotthivatinagara
• It located in the present-day Bundelkhand region (Central India).
• King – Shishupala. He was killed by Vasudeva Krishna during the
Rajasuya sacrifice of the Pandava king Yudhishthira.
Avanti
• Ujjaini or Mahismati
• Malwa and Madhya Pradesh
• Avanti was significant in relation to the rise of Buddhism.
• The capital of Avanti was located at Ujjaini (northern part) and
Mahismati (southern part).
• It was situated around present-day Malwa and Madhya Pradesh.
• Important king – Pradyota.
• Father-in-law of Udayana (King of the Vatsas).
Gandhara
• Taxila
• Rawalpindi
• he capital was at Taxila (Takshashila).
• Present-day location – Modern Peshawar and Rawalpindi, Pakistan and
the Kashmir valley.
• Gandhara is cited in the Atharva Veda.
• The people were highly trained in the art of war.
• It was significant for international commercial activities.
• Important king – Pushkarasarin.
• Gandhara was conquered by Persians in the latter part of the sixth
century BCE.
Kamboja
• Poonch
• Rajouri and Hajra (Kashmir), NWFP (Pakistan)
• The capital of Kamboja was Poonch.
• It is situated in present-day Kashmir and Hindukush.
• Several literary sources mention that Kamboja was a republic.
• Kambojas had an excellent breed of horses.
Asmaka or Assaka
• Potali/Podana
• Banks of Godavari
• It was located on the banks of Godavari.
• It was the only Mahajanapada situated to the south of the Vindhya
Range and was in Dakshinapatha.
• It included the region of Pratisthan or Paithan.
Vajji
• Vaishali
• Bihar
North of Ganga in the division of Tirhut was the state of the Vajjis.
• It included eight clans, the most powerful being the Lichchhavis
(Capital – Vaishali), Videhans (Capital – Mithila), Jnatrikas (based in
Kundapura).
• Mahavira belonged to the Jnatrikas clan.
• The Vajjis were defeated by Ajatashatru.
Malla
• Kusinara
• Deoria and Uttar Pradesh
• It finds a reference in Buddhist and Jain texts and in the
Mahabharata.
• Malla was a republic.
• Its territory touched the northern border of the Vajji state.
• Capitals – Kusinara and Pava.
• Both capitals are important in the history of Buddhism. The Buddha
took his last meal at Pava and went to Mahaparinirvana at Kusinara.
Political Structure
• Most of the states were monarchies but some were republics known as Ganas or Sanghas. These Ganasanghas were oligarchies
where the king was elected and he ruled with the help of a council. Vajji was an important Mahajanapada with a Sangha form of
government.
• The founders of Jainism and Buddhism came from republican states.
• Each Mahajanapada had a capital city.
• Most of them had forts built around them for protection from other kings.
• Regular armies were maintained by these new kings or Rajas.
• They also collected taxes from the people. Usually, the tax on crops was 1/6th of the produce. This was known as Bhaga or
share.
• Even craftsmen, herders, hunters and traders were taxed.
• Changes in agriculture
• There were two major changes in agriculture:
1. The growing use of iron ploughshares. This increased production.
2. The farmers began transplanting paddy. This means that instead of scattering seeds on the soil, saplings were grown and
planted in the fields. This greatly increased the production but work also increased manifold.