16 Mahajanapadas: Rulers, Achievements, and Timelines

• Laid in Afghanistan & Some part of Jammu & Kashmir

• Situated on the banks of the river Godavari near modern
• Paithan in Maharashtra.

VATSA

Kaushambi

• Central Malwa and the adjoining areas of Madhya Pradesh.
• The Vatsa capital is located 64 km from Allahabad at Kaushambi (modern Kosam) on the bank of the Yamuna.

AVANTI

• The Avanti’’s king Pradyota is famous in legends, and had relations with Udayan, the ruler of Vatsa.

• Uneven roads, excessive dust, vicious talks and ‘Yakshas’. Belonging to the Yadava clan which is also associated with Krishna.

• Eastern parts of Bundelkhand and adjoining areas.

• Non-monarchical, Kushinara is identified with Kasia in Gorakhpur district and Pava is possibly identical with Pawapuri in Patna district.

Indraprastha

• Delhi-Meerut region. Tribal polity.

(W. Panchala), Kampilya

(S. Panchala)

• Modern Kampil in Farrukhabad district.
• Tribal polity

• Associated with modern Jaipur- Bharatpur-Alwar region of Rajasthan.
• Tribal polity

• From north of the Ganga and up to as far as the Nepal hills.
• A confederation of eight clans (atthakula), of whom the Videhans, the Lichchhavis, the Jnatrikas and the Vrijjis were the most important.
• A flourishing non-monarchical state in the time of mahajanapada and Gautama Buddha.

GANDHARA

Taxila

• Extended up to the Kabul valley. Gandhara king Pukkusati exchanged gifts with Bimbisara in Magadha and went on foot to see the Buddha.
• According to the Greek historian Herodotus, Gandhara formed the twentieth province of the Achaemenid empire of Persia.

• Modern districts of Munger and Bhagalpur, Bihar. Noted for its wealth and commerce.

KASHI

Banaras

• Initially, the most powerful of them played an important part in the subversion of the Videhan monarchy.
• Leading centre of textile manufacture in the time of the Buddha; the ‘kashaya’ (orange brown) robes of the Buddhist monks are said to have been manufactured here.

KOSHALA

Shravasti

• Ayodhya on the Saryu, Saketa adjoining it and Shravasti (modern Sahet-Mahet) on the borders of the Gonda and Bahraich districts of Uttar Pradesh, were three important Koshalan cities.

MAGADHA

Rajagriha / Girivraja

• Modern Patna and Gaya districts, Bihar; bounded on the north and west by the rivers Ganga and Son respectively.
• Did not follow the varna system, hence Brahmanical texts make derogatory remarks for Magadha and Buddhist texts hold it high in regard as being the place of Buddha’s enlightenment (Gaya).

• Most urban settlements in the Mahajanapadas era were inhabited by merchants and artisans (organized into a ‘sartha’ guild).
• Practice of trade and crafts was hereditary.
• Most important cities of the Mahajanapadas time were settled on the banks of the rivers and trade routes.
• Trade was facilitated through use of money called ‘nishka’ and ‘satamana’ (mentioned in Vedic texts; no archaeological evidence)
• Agriculture in the Mahajanapadas period was made easier with the use of iron tools like axes, adzes, knives, razors, nails, sickles etc.
• Paddy transplantation was practiced in the Mahajanapadas. Besides, barley, cotton, pulses, millets and sugarcane were also produced in the Mahajanapadas period.
• 1/6th of the farm produce in the Mahajanapadas was to be paid to the royal agent as tax and there were no intermediate landlords.
• Rich peasants in the Mahajanapadas were called ‘grihapatis’.
• Vessa meant Merchants Street.
• ‘Balisadhakas’ in the Mahajanapadas collected the compulsory taxe called ‘bali’ from peasants and ‘vaishyas’ only.

• People lived in three types of villages:

1. The first category had various castes and communities living together and it was headed by ‘Bhojaka’.

2. The second type was suburban and was dominated by craftsmen and linked the rural to urban.

3. The third category was villages in the outskirts of the countryside and consisted of fowlers, hunters etc. who lived a comparatively backward life.

• Writing had started and was used for book keepings in trade, taxation and the large size of the army.
• Lower varnas were subject to many discriminations.
• Severe punishments were awarded by royal agents.

• ‘Jatakas’ or stories of previous lives of Buddha mention that land grants were given in favor of great religious leaders.
• The king was primarily a warlord.
• The King was the highest administrative official who was supported by other officials called Mahamatras who performed functions of Mantrin (minister) and Senanayaka (Commander), judge and chief accountant etc.
• Another class of officers performing similar functions were called ‘Aayuktas’.
• Administration of the village was under village headman called as gramabhojaka, gramini or gramika.
• Large, professional and permanent army.

• Kashi, Koshala, Magadha and the Vajjian confederacy—remained significant in the sixth century BC.
• These states fought for control for about a hundred years.
• Eventually Magadha emerged victorious and became the center of political activity in north India.

REASONS OF THE RISE OF MAGADHA

• Strategic geography (Rajgir and Patliputra), abundance of resources (iron, alluvial soil, of Gangetic plain).
• Greater use of elephants in wars.
• Progressive attitude of Magadh society.
• Service of competent, enterprising and ambitious rulers like Bimbisar and Ajatshatru etc.

HARYANKAS

• The first important ruler of Magadha, Bimbisara was a patron of Buddhism, yet his lineage is not discussed in Buddhist sources.
• Bimbisar’s capital was Rajagriha or Girivraja. He is described as Seniya, i.e., the one ‘with an army’.
• Dynastic marriages promoted goodwill between Bimbisara and contemporary rulers of Koshala and Vajji.
• Bimbisara sent his personal physician Jivaka to Ujjain to win the friendship of Pradyota, the king of Avanti.
• Bimbisara’s aggression was towards Anga Mahajanapadas, it was annexed to Magadha.
• Administrative machinery had become complex and the power of the state strong as Buddhist literature talks of 80,000 gramikas (village heads).

• Ajatshatru killed his father- Bimbisar and ascended to throne.
• Adopted expansionist policy & defeated Koshala and Vaishali.
• Both Bimbisar and Ajatshatru were contemporaries of the Buddha.

• Udayin (460 BC – 444 BC)
• As per the Mahavamsa, the Sri Lankan Buddhist chronicle, Ajatashatru’s son Udayabhadra (Udayin) succeeded Ajatasattu and ruled for the next sixteen years.
• He moved his capital to the bank of Ganges which was known as Pataliputra and built a fort near the confluence of the Ganga and Son at Patna.
• The last ruler of Haryanka dynasty, Nagadasaka was overthrown by his amatya (i.e., viceroy, at Banaras) Shishunaga supported by popular frustration against Haryanka’s quick parricidal succession.

• During the reign of Shishunaga, Magadha annexed the Avanti (Ujjain) and many other janapadas into the fold of the Magadha empire.
• Shishunaga shifted his capital to Vaishali while his son Kalashoka shifted back to Patliputra.
• Kalashoka hosted the 2nd Buddhist Council in 383 BC at Vaishali.

• Mahapadma Nanada, who was from a ‘shudra’ lineage, laid the foundation of the Nanda dynasty in Magadha.
• Mahapadma Nanada, being a great conqueror, controlled the entire area between river Beas in the west and Bay of Bengal in the east.
• Puranas refer to him as “destroyer of all Kshatriyas” i.e., Sarvaksatrantaka and Ekarat (sole suzerain).
• He overthrew Ikshvakus, Panchalas, Kashish, Haihayas, Kalingas (Hathigumpha inscription of king Kharavela), Ashmakas, Kurus, Maithili, Shurasenas, and Vitihotras and part of Mysore (Mysore inscriptions of the 12th century).
• Presence of Jain ministers like Kalpaka, Sakatala, etc. in his court indicates his leaning towards Jainism.
• Nandas proved to be the greatest rulers of the Magadha empire and Dhanananda was the last of the Nanda rulers.
• He was a contemporary of Alexander of Macedon.
• Later Nandas were weak & unpopular among the people. It led to the decline of the Nanda dynasty and Maurya took their place.

• Founder of the Achaemenid empire of Persia (Iran), Cyrus 2nd invaded the region west of river Indus, during Bimbisar’s reign in Magadha, and succeeded in establishing control over Gandhara, Kamboja, and Madra.
• His grandson Darius 1st conquered Punjab and Sindh.
• As a result, Indo-Iranian trade, influences of language, art and architecture increased.
• Bell-shaped capital, Ashokan inscriptions and introduction of Kharosthi script are products of this influence.

• After defeating Darius III, the last Achaemenid emperor, Alexander crossed the Hindukush and entered north-western India which was an Achaemenid province in 327 BC.
• Ambhi (Omphis), the king of Takshashila, submitted to Alexander.
• Battle of Hydaspes (Jhelum):
• Porus, who ruled the territory between the Jhelum and the Ravi, was defeated and captured after initial resistance.
• Alexander, impressed by Porus’ resistance, reinstated him in power.
• Alexander’s army refused to cross river Beas (Hyphasis) to fight further and thus a clash between the tired Macedonian mercenaries and the huge army of the Nandas did not happen.
• After establishing a few Greek settlements in north-west India, Alexander died in 323 BC in Babylon.

• Direct contact between India and Greece (Europe).
• Accounts by Alexander’s historians provide information about that period.
• Seeds of Indo-Bactrian and Parthian States in India.
• Greek influences on the Gandhara School of Art and Architecture.
• New land & sea routes were discovered by Alexander