Arihant Education Foundation’s Arihant College of Arts, Commerce and Science, Camp, Pune

Dr. Radharani Banerjee. HOD, Faculty of Humanities (Arts) FYBA, History Notes (CBCS)

Mahajanapadas

The Janapadas were the major kingdoms of Vedic India. Aryans were the most influential tribes and were called as ‘janas’. This gave rise to the term Janapada where Jana means ‘people’ and Pada means ‘foot’.

By the 6th century B.C. there were approximately 22 different Janapadas. With the development of iron in parts of UP and Bihar, the Janapadas became more powerful and turned into Mahajanapadas. There were sixteen such Mahajanapadas during 600 B.C. to 325 B.C. in Indian Sub-continent. There were two types of states: Monarchical and Republican. Malla, Vajji, Kamboja and Kuru were Republican states while Magadha, Kosala, Vatsa, Aanti, Anga, Kashi, Gandhara, Shursena, Chedi and Matsya were monarchical in nature.

The society in Vedic period was rural, where smallest political unit was a Vis. However, some later Vedic texts detail about the Janapadas such as Kuru, Panchala, Matsya, Kunti, Jayminiya, Kashi, Magadha, Anga, Kamboja etc. The rise of Janapadas is mainly attributed to the establishment of settled agriculture communities. The development of an agriculture- based economy led to the increase in crops and cattle wealth coupled with use of Iron in technology. The society was totally divided into 4 Varna. Based upon occupation, new labour class and landed classes emerged. The landed class was known as Gahapatis. The traded flourished and the towns, which were either located on traded routes such as Mathura or located, near the banks of rivers such as Magadha developed. This transition also saw an emergence of taxing, standing army, territorial powers etc.

There were 16 Mahajanpadas during 600 B.C. to 325 B.C. which are mentioned in early Buddhist (Anguttara Nikaya, Mahavastu) and Jain literature (Bhagvati Sutta), those were as follows-

Name of the Capital Location Mahajanapada Included the modern districts of Anga Champa Munghyr and Bhagalpur in Bihar. Earlier Rajgriha, later Covered the modern districts of Patna, Magadha Patliputra Gaya, and parts of Shahabad. Covered the modern districts of Deoria, Malla Capitals at Kusinara and Pawa Basti, Gorakhpur and Siddarthnagar in eastern UP. Situated north of the river Ganga in Vajji Vaishali Bihar. Covered modern day districts of Kosala Sravasti Faziabad, Gonda, Bahraich of eastern Uttar Pradesh. Located in the region around Varanasi Kashi Varanasi (modern Banaras). Covered present day Bundelkhand Chedi Shuktimati region. Kuru Indraprastha Covered modern Haryana and Delhi. Covered modern districts Allahabad, Vatsa Kaushambi Mirzapur. Ahichhatra(Uttara Panchala) Covered the area of present western UP Panchala and Kampilya( Dakshina up to the east of river Yamuna up to Panchala) Kosala janapada. Covered the areas of Alwar, Bhartpur Matsya Viratanagara and Jaipur in Rajasthan. Sursena Mathura Covered the area around Mathura. Covered the western India (modern Avanti Ujjaini and Mahishmati Malawa). Situated in the southern part of the India Ashmaka Potana between the rivers Narmada and Godavari. Capital at Rajapura in modern- Covered the area of Hindukush (modern Kamboja day Kashmir Hazara districts of Pakistan) Covered the western part of Pakistan Gandhara Taxila and eastern Afghanistan.

Among them Magadha, Vatsa, Avanti and Kosala were the most prominent ones. Out of these four, Magadha emerged as the most powerful kingdom. The causes of Magadha’s success were as following:

1. Availability of rich iron deposits which were used in making weapons 2. Its location at the rich and fertile Gangetic plain 3. Use of elephants in military warfare against its neighbours.

Magadhan Empire:

• The Magadha Empire ruled in India from 684 BC- 320 BC. • It is also mentioned in the Mahabharata and the Ramayana. • It was the most powerful amongst the sixteen mahajanapadas. • The empire was established by king Brihadratha. • Rajgaha (or Rajgir) was the capital of Magadha but was later shifted to Pataliputra in the fourth century BCE. • Iron was used to manufacture tools and weapons. • The elephants found in its forests were used in the army. • The riverine route of Ganga and its tributaries made communication cheap and convenient. • The implementation of policies by the efficient bureaucracy of ruthless and ambitious kings like Bimbisara, Ajatasattu and Mahapadma Nanda made Magadha prosperous. • The first king of Magadha was Bimbisara and he belonged to the Haryanka dynasty. • Avanti was Magadha’s main rival but later entered into an alliance. • Marriages helped in building political alliances and king Bimbisara married a lot of princesses from nearby kingdoms.

The Haryanka Dynasty:

• It was the second dynasty to rule over Magadha after the Brihadratha dynasty. • It was succeeded by the Shishunga dynasty. • The dynasty was founded by king Bhattiya, the father of Bimbisara. • The dynasty ruled over Magadha from 6th century BCE to 413 BCE. • The kings of Haryanka dynasty are: • Bhattiya • Bimbisara • Ajatasattu • Udayabhadra • Anuruddha • Munda • Nagadasaka

Bimbisara:

• Bimbisara ruled over Magadha for 52 years, starting from around 544 BC to 492 BC. • He followed an aggressive policy of expansion and fought many wars with neighbouring states of Kasi, Kosala and Anga. • Bimbisara was a contemporary of Gautama Buddha and Vardhaman Mahavir. • His religion is not very clear. While Buddhist texts mention him as a disciple of Buddha, Jain scriptures describe him as the follower of Mahavir and refer to him as King Shrenika of Rajgir. • Bimbisara was later imprisoned by his son Ajatasattu who annexed the throne of Magadha. Bimbisara later died during imprisonment.

Ajatashatru:

• Ajatashatru ruled Magadha from 492- 460 BC. • He fought 16 years with Vaishali until finally defeating the kingdom with help of catapults. • He expanded the kingdom of Magadha by capturing Kasi and Vaishali. • He fortified the capital city Rajgir. As it was surrounded by five hills, it became almost impregnable.

Udayin:

• Udayin or Udayabhadra was the successor of Ajatashatru. • His reign lasted from 460 B.C.- 444 B.C. • He built the fort at Patna (Pataliputra) as it was central to the Magadhan kingdom. • Udayin was succeeded by the Shishunagas. • The Shishunagas added the kingdom of Avanti to Magadha. • They were later succeeded by the Nanda dynasty.

The Nanda Dynasty:

• The dynasty lasted from 345 BCE- 321 BCE. • Mahapadma Nanda, the first king of the Nanda dynasty, added Kalinga to the Magadhan Empire. • He was considered to be so powerful and ruthless that even Alexander did not wish to fight against him. • The Nanda dynasty became immensely wealthy. They started irrigation projects and standardized trade measures across their kingdom. • Harsh and inflexible taxation system, however, made the Nandas unpopular. • The last Nanda king, Dhana Nanda, was overthrown by Chandragupta Maurya.

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