16 Mahajanapada and Buddhist Repulic State : In this post, we will read about the Mahajanapada period, this topic will get to read the history of ancient India. If it is related to your syllabus, then you must read it once, we have made the classroom notes of Mahajanapada available to you, after reading, you will not need to read this topic from anywhere after reading it.
These notes will also be useful for other competitive exams from civil service examination, so you must read such notes for great preparation sitting at home.
16 Mahajanapada and Buddhist Repulic State
- Most scholars consider the beginning of the historical period of Indian history to be from the 6th century BC. In the later Vedic period, most of the tribes started establishing their own districts by occupying certain territories, while the process later helped in the establishment of Mahajanapadas.
- This period is often associated with the development of early kingdoms, cities, increased use of iron and coins. Various philosophical ideologies developed during this period including Buddhism and Jainism. In the early texts of Buddhism and Jainism, sixteen kingdoms are mentioned under the name Mahajanapada.
- Although the list of names of the Mahajanapadas is not uniform in these texts, names like Vajji, Magadha, Kaushal, Kuru, Panchala, Gandhara and Avanti are often found. It is clear from this that the said Mahajanapadas must have been counted among the most important Mahajanapadas.
- The Mahajanapada period is termed as the ‘second urbanization’ of Indian history. The first urbanization is called ‘Indus Valley Civilization’.
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- In the 6th century BC, many powerful states developed in India. A list of 16 Mahajanapadas of this time is found in the Buddhist text ‘Anguttarnikaya’ and the Jain text ‘Bhagwatisutra’.
- The Vajji and Malla were republics in the 16 Mahajanapadas, the rest were monarchical states.
The following are the Mahajanapadas mentioned in the Anguttar Nikaya-
1. Anga – This district was in the east of Magadha near modern Bhagalpur (Bihar). Its capital was Champa. In ancient times, the city of Champa was famous for its splendor and trade-commerce.
Another name for Champa is Malini.
2. Magadha – It included the modern districts of Patna and Gaya in southern Bihar. Its capital was Rajagriha or Girivraj. Later the capital of Magadha was shifted to Pataliputra (Patna). Later became the most powerful Mahajanapada of North India
3. Vajji – It was a union of eight castes, the main ones being the Lichchavi, Videha and Jnitrika castes. Vaishali, the capital of the Lichchhavis, was the capital of the Vajji-sangha. First there was a monarchy, later the republic was established.
4. Kasi – Its capital was Varanasi. It progressed a lot during the time of Brahmadatta kings. Probably the kings of Kashi took a major part in the port of Videha kingdom. At this time Videha was a republic.
5. Kosala – This state was almost similar to the present-day state of Awadh. Its capital was Sravasti. Its other towns were Ayodhya and Saket. It is now a village named Sahetamhet, which is in Gonda district in Uttar Pradesh. The kings of Kosala often fought with the kings of Kashi.
6. Malla – The Mallas had two branches. The capital of one was ‘Kushinara’ and that of the other was ‘Pawa’. Before Buddha, there was monarchy here.
7. Chedi – This district was close to the Yamuna and extended from the Yamuna river to Bundelkhand. Its capital was Sotthivati(suktimati), situated on the Ken river. The famous ruler here was Shishupala, who was killed by Krishna.
8. Vatsa – Its capital was Kaushambi, which is situated at a distance of thirty miles from Allahabad and is now called Kosam. During the Buddha period, the Paurava dynasty ruled here, whose ruler was Udyan. Nichakshu made Kaushambi his capital after the destruction of Hastinapur.
9. Kuru : This district included present-day Thanesar, Delhi and Meerut districts. Its capital was Hastinapur, but this kingdom was not particularly powerful.
10. Panchala – It included Bareilly, Badaun, Farrukhabad districts of Uttar Pradesh. Its two parts are North Panchal and South Panchal. The capital of the North Panchala was Ahichchhatra, which is near Bareilly, and the Kampilya of the South Panchala. A famous king here was Durmukh. Matsya – This was the region around Jaipur. Its capital was Viratnagar.
11. Suasena – This kingdom was situated around Mathura. Its capital was Mathura, which the Greek writer called “Methora”, in this state the Yadav clan gained a lot of fame. Avantiputra was the king here during the Buddha period, who was one of the chief disciples of Buddha.
12. Matsya – The capital of Matsya was Viratanagara, which was founded by a king named Virata. Presently it is in Jaipur, Rajasthan.
13. Ashmaka – It was the only Mahajanapada in South India. This state was on the banks of the Godavari river. Its capital was Potan or Paithan.
14. Avanti – This district was situated in the western part of Malwa. Vindhyachal used to divide this district into two parts. The capital of the northern part was Ujjayini and the southern part was Mahishmati. This state often had a fight with the Vatsa state. Iron was found in abundance here
15. Gandhara – It was probably the eastern part of modern Afghanistan. It probably also included parts of Kashmir and western Punjab. Peshawar and Rawalpindi districts were included in it. Its capital was Taxila. Taxila was a major trading city as well as a major center of education.
16. Kamboja – It included the south-western part of Kashmir and parts of Kafiristan (Kapisha). Its capital was Hataka. In ancient times, Kamboja district was famous for its excellent horses. During the time of Buddha, four kingdoms Avanti, Vatsa, Kosala and Magadha became very prominent among the monarchical kingdoms.
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Buddhist Repulic State
- There were many republics in 16 janapadas. Of these, there were 10 republics at the time of Buddha.
| Sr. No. | Mahajanapadas | Capital |
| 1 | Magadha | Giriraja(Rajagriha) |
| 2 | Kasi | Varanasi |
| 3 | Vatsa | Kaushambi |
| 4 | Anga | Champa |
| 5 | Kosala | Sravasti/Ayodhya/Saket |
| 6 | Vajji | Videha and Mithila |
| 7 | Malla | Kushinagara/Pawa |
| 8 | Kamboj | Rajpur/Hatak |
| 9 | Gandhara | Taxila |
| 10 | Surasena | Mathura |
| 11 | Ashmaka | Potana or paitan |
| 12 | Avanti | Northern Avanti Ujjayini and South Mahishmati |
| 13 | Matsya | Viratnagar |
| 14 | Kuru | Indraprastha |
| 15 | Chedi | Shukti(Shuktimati) |
| 16 | Panchala | North Panchal Ahichhatra and South Panchal’s Kampilya |
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