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Home · CORE by PRERANA · Ancient India · 5. Mahajanapadas
CORE ANCIENT INDIA · TOPIC 5

5. Mahajanapadas

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5. Mahajanapadas

5.1 Background

  • In the Later Vedic period tribes settled on land and became janapadas (territories). In the 6th century BCE larger and stronger janapadas grew by conquering their neighbours and were called Mahajanapadas ("great realms").

  • This was the period of the Second Urbanisation (the first was the Harappan). Iron tools, rice farming, trade and punch-marked coins supported towns and kingdoms in the middle Ganga plain.

  • Archaeologically the period is linked with Northern Black Polished Ware (NBPW), which marks the growth of cities.

Sources

Source

Information

Anguttara Nikaya (Buddhist)

Lists sixteen Mahajanapadas; the list most used in textbooks

Mahavastu (Buddhist)

A similar list of the sixteen

Bhagavati Sutra (Jain)

Also gives a list of sixteen, with some different names (such as Vanga and Malaya)

Panini's Ashtadhyayi

Mentions many janapadas of the north-west

5.2 The Sixteen Mahajanapadas

Schematic map of the Mahajanapadas

Maha-janapada

Capital

Region

Key Points

Anga

Champa

Bhagalpur and Munger (Bihar)

Conquered by Bimbisara of Magadha; Champa was a trade centre

Maga-dha

Rajagriha (Girivraja);

later

Pataliputra

South Bihar

Became the most powerful; Rajagriha had hills for defence and nearby iron

Kashi

Varanasi

Varanasi region

Famed for cloth and learning; absorbed by Kosala

Kosala

Shravasti (north); Saketa/

Ayodhya (south)

Eastern Uttar Pradesh

King Prasenajit; Buddha spent many rainy seasons at Shravasti

Vajji

Vaishali

North Bihar

A confederation of eight clans, including the Licchavis; a republic

Malla

Kushinara and Pava

Gorakhpur region

A republic; the Buddha died at Kushinara

Chedi

Shuktimati

Bundelkhand

Linked with the Shishupala of the Mahabharata

Vatsa

Kaushambi

Near Prayagraj

King Udayana; a rich trade centre on the Yamuna

Kuru

Indraprastha

Delhi-Meerut region

Once powerful (Mahabharata) but weak by the Buddha's time

Pan-chala

Ahichchhatra (north); Kampilya (south)

Rohilkhand

Kanyakubja (Kannauj) was a part

Matsya

Viratanagara

Jaipur-Alwar region

A small kingdom of little importance by then

Sura-sena

Mathura

Around Mathura

Home of Krishna in tradition; early supporters of Buddhism

Assaka (Ash-maka)

Potali / Potana

Banks of the Godavari

Only Mahajanapada in South India

Avanti

Ujjain (north); Mahishmati (south)

Malwa

King Chanda Pradyota; strong because of iron mines; later taken by Shishunaga

Gan-dhara

Taxila

Peshawar and Rawalpindi region

Trade and learning centre (Taxila); Pukkusati was its ruler in Bimbisara's time

Kam-boja

Rajapura

North-west (Hindu Kush region)

Famous for horses



Remember

  • Only one of the sixteen, Assaka, was in the south, on the Godavari.

  • Vajji and Malla were republics; the others were monarchies.

  • Four powerful states: Magadha, Kosala, Vatsa and Avanti. Magadha finally defeated the other three.

5.3 Monarchies and Republics

Feature

Monarchies

Republics (Gana-sanghas)

Head

Hereditary king (Raja)

Elected chief (often called Raja or Ganapramukha); some had a council of such chiefs

Assembly

Royal court and advisers

Assembly of clan leaders in a Santhagara (hall); decisions after debate and vote

Examples

Magadha, Kosala, Vatsa, Avanti

Vajji (Licchavi), Malla, Shakya, Koliya

Fate

Grew into empires

Mostly conquered by Magadha; Ajatashatru defeated the Vajjis



Other republics outside the sixteen

Republic

Capital / Area

Notes

Shakyas

Kapilavastu

Home of the Buddha; Lumbini was in their land

Koliyas

Ramagrama

Neighbours of the Shakyas; the Buddha's mother belonged to this clan

Bhaggas

Sumsumara-giri

Near Vatsa

Bulis

Allakappa

Held a share of the Buddha's relics

Kalamas

Kesaputta

Where the Buddha taught the Kalama Sutta

Moriyas

Pipphalivana

Linked with the ancestors of the Mauryas in Buddhist tradition

Videhas

Mithila

Part of the Vajji confederation; King Janaka in the Later Vedic age

5.4 Polity, Economy and Society

  • Kings kept standing armies and officials and collected regular taxes: bali (tribute), bhaga (a share of produce, about one-sixth) and tolls.

  • Fortified capitals were built; wealth from trade and agriculture strengthened the kings.

  • Trade routes: the Uttarapatha (north-west to Pataliputra and the east) and the Dakshinapatha (towards the Deccan).

  • Guilds (shrenis) of artisans and merchants grew; rich merchants were called Shresthis and Gahapatis (householders).

  • New cities: Rajagriha, Shravasti, Champa, Kaushambi, Ujjain, Varanasi, Vaishali and Taxila.

  • The monarchies favoured Brahmanical rule, while the republics gave more support to Buddhism and Jainism; both Mahavira and the Buddha were born in republican clans.



Quick Recall

  • Anguttara Nikaya: the list of 16 Mahajanapadas; Assaka was the only southern one (Godavari).

  • Magadha: Rajagriha, then Pataliputra; Kosala: Shravasti; Vatsa: Kaushambi; Avanti: Ujjain; Kashi: Varanasi; Gandhara: Taxila.

  • Republics: Vajji (Vaishali) and Malla (Kushinara and Pava), plus Shakya, Koliya and others.

  • Four strong states: Magadha, Kosala, Vatsa, Avanti; Magadha won.

  • Second Urbanisation: iron, NBPW and punch-marked coins.

  • Taxes: bali, bhaga (one-sixth), tolls; guilds (shrenis) and shresthis.
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