sign in sign up
<<
Home , Ahichchhatra, Ajatashatru, Anga, Ashvamedha, Avanti (Ancient India), Bimbisara

The Emergence of the

Sanjay Sharma

Introduction

In the post-, the centre of activity shifted from the upper valley or to middle and lower Ganga valleys known in the contemporary as majjhimadesha. Painted grey ware pottery gave way to a richer and shinier northern black polished ware which signified new trends in commercial activities and rising levels of prosperity. Imprtant features of the period between c. 600 and 321 BC include, inter-alia, rise of ‘heterodox belief systems’ resulting in an intellectual revolution, expansion of trade and commerce leading to the emergence of urban life mainly in the of Ganga valley and evolution of vast territorial states called the mahajanapadas from the smaller ones of the later Vedic period which, as we have seen, were known as the . Increased surplus production resulted in the expansion of trading activities on one hand and an increase in the amount of taxes for the ruler on the other. The latter helped in the evolution of large territorial states and increased commercial activity facilitated the growth of cities and towns along with the evolution of money economy. The ruling and the priestly elites cornered most of the agricultural surplus produced by the and the (as labourers). The system became more consolidated and perpetual. It was in this background that the two great belief systems, and , emerged. They posed serious challenge to the Brahmanical socio-religious . These belief systems had a primary aim to liberate the lower classes from the fetters of orthodox Brahmanism. By the middle of the sixth century BC, seems to have emerged as the most powerful state by liquidating all the other mahajanapadas. In due course of time it reached the status of an Empire under the Nandas, who prepared a suitable ground before the coming of the mighty Mauryas.

The Mahajanapadas

Buddhist work and Jaina Bhagwati give lists of sixteen mahajanapadas which came into being after the fall of the Videhan under . The two lists differ on a few names. A brief survey of the mahajanapadas is as follows:

Kasi: Kasi was, at least initially, the most powerful of the sixteen mahajanapadas. It seems it had an instrumental role in the fall of the Videhan monarchy. The of Kasi was Benaras. According to Jaina texts, Ashvasena, father of the 22nd , Parsva was a king of Benaras (Kasi). The Assaka Jataka tells us that prince of Assaka (capital Potali) was a vassal of the king of Kasi. The Shatapatha says that Dhritrashtra, a king of Benaras, had subdued the kings of , and Magadha.

Kosala: Kosala was geographically surrounded by the hills of in the north, by river Gomati in the west, by the river Sarpika or Syandika in the south and by the river Sadanira (Gandak or Rapti), which separated it from Videha in the east. Both the Sutta-Nipata and the Majjhima Nikaya quote the confirming his nativity to Kosala. was subjugated by Kosala in the first half of 6th century BC. The state of Kosala is said to have been adorned by three great cities—, and Savathi (Sravasti). The first two were adjoining cities. Sravasti, situated on the south bank of the Rapti (Achiravati), has been identified with the twin villages of Saheth and Maheth. The royal family of Kosala is said to have descended from a king named Ikshavaku. Prasenjit, the famous king of Kosala, and the Buddha were contemporaries and represented different lines of Ikshavaku.

Anga: Anga was located to the east of Magadha and the river Champa (modern Chandana) formed the dividing line between the two. Capital of Anga was Champa, situated on the confluence of the Ganga and the Champa. This city was also known as Mohini and Kalachampa. The earliest reference of Anga is found in the . While the tells us the story of the creation of Anga by Madana, the god of love, the and the attribute its foundation to a prince named Anga. Danavarshabah, a hero of Anga, is mentioned in the Purana. A princess from Anga named Chandana or Chandrabala, is said to be the first female to embrace Jainism shortly after attained the Kevalaship. The last known prince of Anga, Brahmadatta is said to have been defeated by , the king of Magadha.

Magadha: Geographically Magadha was situated between modern and Gaya in South . Its earliest known capital was Girivraja or old Rajgriha. Another city by the name of Girivraja was in . According to the Mahabharata, it was protected by five hills. Magadha has been mentioned in the Atharvaveda though with a lot of contempt. The only king of Magadha who finds mention in the Vedic was Pramaganda. According to the Mahabharata and the Puranas, the earliest dynasty of Magadha was founded by , father of . His dynasty seems to have ruled in the sixth century BC. The Puranas say that next to the line of Brihadratha was a dynasty called Saisunaga founded by Sisunaga and Bimbisara belonged to this dynasty. But Ashvaghosha’s Buddhacharita refers to Bimbisara as belonging to the Haryanka-kula. The Mahavamsha says that Saisunaga dynasty, founded by Sisunaga, succeeded the Haryanka-kula. Under Bimbisara and the capital was Girivraja but under , the capital was shifted to and Sisunaga further changed it to , which remained the capital till the end of the Nandas. Ashvaghosha says that Bimbisara was not the founder of the Haryanka-kula and the Mahavamsha adds that he was put on the throne while in his fifteenth year.

Vajji (Vrijji): Geographically was surrounded by Nepal hills in the north, Ganga in south, river Gandak in the west and forest in the east. It was a confederacy of eight clans (atthakula): Lichchhavis; Videhas; Jnyatrikas; ; Ugras; Bhogas; ; and Aikshavakus.

Videha was same as the Videha of Janaka with as the capital. Capital of the Lichchhavis was Vaishali (modern Basarh near the river Gandak in the district of Bihar). Jnyatrika was the clan of Siddhartha and his jina son Mahavira. Their seats of power were Kundgrama and Kollaga in the suburbs of Vaishali. Vajjis were also associated with Vaishali, the capital of the whole confederacy. Vajjian confederacy emerged after the fall of the dynasty of Janaka. A number of views have been given regarding the origins of the Lichchhavis, some of which are as follows:

1. Smith explains their Tibbetian links based on their judicial system and method of disposal of dead.

2. According to S.C. Vidyabhushana, Lichchhavis were from Persia as the name Lichchhavi was derived from Persian name Nisibis. The Indian tradition assigns them the position of .

3. Another view holds that Lichchhavis were foreigners but were taken in the fold of Brahmanism as kshatriyas like the Gurjara-Pratiharas. 4. refers to their foreign origin and calls them vratya rajanyas primarily because they were against Brahmanism and promoted .

5. A more accepted view is that they were indigenous kshatriyas but were relegated to the status of the vratyas because of their patronage to Buddhism and Jainism.

Lichchhavis rose to power in late sixth century BC. The real power vested with the nine ganarajas and the elders in the clan who were called mahallakas. The Jaina Kalpasutra refers to an alliance between the nine Lichchhavis, the nine Mallakais and the eighteen clan lords of Kasi-Kosala. According to the Niryavali Sutra, the leader of this confederacy was , the brother of (Mahavira’s mother) and father of Chellana (also known as Vaidehi), who was Ajatashatru’s mother. This alliance was aimed against Magadha under Ajatashatru, but was badly destroyed by the latter.

Malla: The territory of the Mallas was divided into two parts, Proper (capital – Kushinara) and Southern Malla (capital – Pawa), the river Kakutya (Modern kuku) forming the dividing line. Kushinara has been identified with near Kesia in the district of , while Pawa has been identified with Padarauna village, 12 miles north-east of Kesia. The Mallas were champions of Buddhism like the Lichchhavis and so, were classified by Manu as vratyas. Like in Videha (under Janaka), they also had a monarchical constitution to begin with. In the Mahaparinibbana Sutantra, the Mallas have been addressed as vassettha i.e. belonging to vashishtha . Later, they seem to have accepted a republican form of polity.

Chedi: Chedi corresponds roughly to the eastern part of the . Its capital was called Suktimati which was situated near the river of the same name (now identified as the Ken). Chedis have been mentioned as early as in the Rig-Veda. Their king Vasu Chaidya has been praised in a danastuti.

Vatsa (Vamsa): was situated to the south of Ganga near . Its capital was Kaushambi (Kosam). The Puranas mention that when Ganga washed away the city of Hastinapura, the Puru king Nichakshu, a descendent of Janmejaya shifted his capital to Kaushambi. In Bhasa’s Svapnavasavadatta, Udayana, the ruler of Vatsa, has been mentioned as a scion of -kula. Satanika Parantapa-II, father of Udayana, is said to have attacked Champa, the capital of Anga, and defeated Dadhivahana.

Kuru: The was situated around modern . Its capital was called or Indapatta. Another important city was Hastinapura of the Epic Mahabharata. It seems probable that after the removal of the elder branch of the royal family to Kaushambi and following the decline of Abhipratarinas, the Kuru regime parcelled into small states which, it seems, formed a confederacy.

Panchala: comprised of and parts of central . The Mahabharata, the Jatakas and the Divyavadana refer to the division of this country into two parts, north Panchala and south Panchala. The river Bhagirathi formed the dividing line. The capital of north Panchala was or Chatravati, while that of south Panchala was Kampilya.

Matsya: Matsya was situated between the Chambal hills and the forests of . Its capital was or Viratnagar near in . Matsya was finally absorbed in the state of Magadha.

Shurasena: Capital of was , which was situated on the banks of the . It is not mentioned in the Vedic literature. Greek writers refer to this kingdom as Surasenoi and to its capital as Methora. According to the Epic-Puranic tradition, the were the rulers of Mathura. They were divided into several sects like the Vitihotras, the Satvatas etc. The Satvatas were further divided into various branches, and the Vrishnis were one of them. The Satvatas find mention in the which talks about their defeat by the who took their horse and prepared it for the sacrifice. The Satvatas seem to have ruled beyond the Kuru-Panchala kingdom to the south of the river Chambal. They were ruled by the kings. The Ashtadhyayi mentions the Andhakas and the Vrishnis. According to the , Vrishni was a and , the Vrishni prince was a sanghamukhya. According to the Puranas and the Ashtadhyayi, he killed . The Vrishnis were finally overthrown because of their irreverent conduct towards . The Vrishnis and the Andhakas find mention as vratyas in the Dronaparva of the Mahabharata. Possibly, the Vrishnis and the Andhakas, along with Vajjis (Lichchhavis and Mallas), were among the early swarms of the who were subsequently pressurised from all sides by newer groups like the Kuru-.

Assaka (Ashmaka): Assaka was situated on the banks of the river Godavari. Its capital, Potali (also called Potana and Podana) has been identified with Bodhan in . It is said to have been ruled by the Ikshavakus.

Avanti: mahajanapada corresponds to the modern region. It had two capitals, Ujjain in the north and in the south. Mahishmati has been identified with , situated on the banks of the river Narmada. According to the literary tradition, the Nagas were the aboriginal inhabitants of the Narmada region but were supplanted by the Haihayas. The line of Haihayas included , the famous king who was a contemporary of Bimbisara.

Gandhara: has been identified with the districts of and , now in . Capital Takshashila () was a great city renowned for its educational facilities. The Puranas say that the rulers of Gandhara were descendents of the Druhyus. Gandhara has been mentioned in the Rig- Veda. Its rulers, according to the Jaina tradition, were Jainas. Pukkusati (Pushkarashirin), a contemporary of Bimbisara was a famous king who had defeated Pradyota of Avanti. In c. 518 BC Gandhara was occupied by the .

Kamboja: Kamboja comprised of the areas to the west of Peshawar and to the south-east of Hindukush. It was a part of the . According to the Mahabharata, its capital was Rajapura. Another prominent city was Dwaraka.

The Growth of Magadha Imperialism

While discussing the mahajanapadas we saw that the idea of territorial aggrandizement was now firmly established and mutual conflicts between these sixteen territorial states were imminent. Magadha was one of the most powerful states among them but there were some obstacles in the road to the emergence of Magadhan Imperialism. These were:

1. on the northern frontier.

2. that grew up around Rapti, Yamuna and Chambal.

3. Foreign impact in the and Sind.

4. Republics in the Age of Bimbisara Emergence of republics was one of the most startling features of the post-Vedic period. The concept of a state seems to have evolved from the Vedic gana–an assembly which was certainly a feature of nomadic and migratory state, which was engaged in a perpetual warfare for the possession of more and more cattle. Second important aspect associated with the Vedic ganas was the absence of class distinctions. The members of a gana were generally cattle rearers who, at the time of war, took up the job of a soldier.

The concept of gana gave way to a more organized territorial and socially stratified gana or sangha of the post-Vedic period. The reason for the evolution of these republics was perhaps the retaliation and reaction against the way of life, practiced of during the later-Vedic period. This evolution of the post- Vedic republics was a part of the larger movement which emerged to eradicate the social problems of the later-Vedic period. In terms of social regeneration, these republics did away with the class and sex distinctions, and also with the expensive and superstitious religious rituals which included inter-alia, a large scale destruction of the cattle. As regards politics, these republics wrote off the hereditary kingship which bestowed virtually all the political rights to a small section of rich and the king or the ruler, keeping the masses out of the whole process. Under the brahmanical concept of kingship, a few classes ruled over the others. The leaders of these new republican movements based their ideologies on the nature of Vedic ganas where there were no class or varna distinctions, no dominance of a few classes over the others and finally, no coercive authority of the king to exact more and more from the tribal peasants.

It is generally believed that the Videha and Vaishali were the two oldest republics which emerged as a result of the conversion of the monarchical form of government. But this explanation doesn’t seem to be plausible and as opined by , these republics seem to have been a breakaway part of their respective parent states. Hence it may be surmised that the post-Vedic republics of Lichchhavis, etc., were nothing but new editions of the early Vedic tribal gana. Rhys Davids mentions that a number of smaller republics flourished alongside these monarchies in the age of Bimbisara and Buddha. These were: Vrijji (Vajji) (Vaishali); Malla (Kushinagara); Shakya (Kapilavastu); Kolias (Devadaha and Ramagrama); Bhagga (Sumsumara hills); Buli (); Kalama (Kesaputta); Moriyas (Pipphalivana) (words in the parentheses are the names of the capital cities of the respective republics).

Of these eight republics, Vrijjis and Mallas have already been discussed in the foregoing pages. A brief discussion of others is as follows:

Shakyas: The capital of Shakyas was Kapilavastu, identified with Piparahwa, a small village situated in the Basti district of Uttar Pradesh. Kapilavastu was the native place of Buddha. The rulers of Shakya acknowledged the suzerainty of the king of Kosala and like him, claimed to belong to the solar (aditya) race and Ikshavaku line.

Kolias: Their capital was Ramagrama and Devadaha and their territories were separated from those of Shakyas by the river . It is mentioned in the Buddhist texts that once there was a scramble between the two sides over the water of Rohini and a bloody conflict could only be averted by the intervention of Buddha.

Bhaggas: Bhagga state was a dependency of the Vatsa kingdom. Its capital was situated in the Sumsumara hills. Bulis and Kalamas: While not much is known about these two republics, in all probability, Kalama was the native clan of philosopher Allara who taught the art of to Buddha.

Moriyas: Their capital was Pipphalivana and probably it was this tribe to which the Mauryas belonged.

The Four Great Kingdoms

The four major kingdoms which emerged as the most powerful ones after the degeneration of mahajanapadas were: Kosala; Vatsa; Avanti; Magadha.

Kosala: Kosala king Mahakosala was succeeded by his son Prasenjit or Prasenadi who was the contemporary of the Magadha king Bimbisara. By now Kosala had grown in size making Kasi, Shakya and Kalama, its vassal states. Prasenjit was generally on friendly terms with Bimbisara and a few marriages also took place between the two families. Other prominent events during the later years of Prasenjit include:

(a) Prasenjit’s war with the Magadhan king Ajatashatru in which he was defeated badly.

(b) While he was away, his throne was lost forever because of the revolt of his son, Vidudhaba.

(c) After usurping the throne, Vidudhaba carried out a terrible vengeance on the Shakyans for sending the daughter of the son of a slave woman to the harem of king Prasenjit. Vidudhaba himself was the progeny of this marriage.

(d) Prasenjit, after being defeated by Magadha, married Mallika, the daughter of the chief of a tribe of garland makers.

Vatsa: Vatsa was extended on the southern boundary of Kosala. Its capital was Kosam (Kaushambi). Here, king Satanika Parantapa was succeeded by his son Udayana (the legendary hero of the Svapnavasavadatta). The commentary on the says that Vasavadatta (princess of Avanti and daughter of Pradyota) became his queen. According to the Svapnavasavadatta, Udayana had a wife named Padmavati who was the sister of Darsaka of Magadha. The Priyadarshika says that he was married to , the daughter of Dridhivarman, the king of Anga. The Ratnavali tells us the story of his love with Sagarika, the attendant of his chief queen Vasavadatta. He was a great king but did not have any successor who was worthy of royalty. After him the kingdom was annexed by the king of Avanti.

Avanti: Chanda Pradyota was the king of Avanti, who flourished at the same time when Bimbisara ruled Magadha. Puranas called him varjita, i.e., destitute of good policy. He waged wars against Udayana, the king of Vatsa and also against Pushkarashirin, the king of Taxila.

Magadha: Ancient Magadha has been identified with the present-day Patna and Gaya districts. It was stated to be out of the pale of the Indo- culture in the Vedic and the later-Vedic periods. It came into prominence mainly under the rule of Haryankas. It was perhaps because of a more systematically organized monarchy under the Haryankas that they were able to build a formidable empire after liquidating some other powerful states. Before discussing the political history of Magadha in detail, let us first briefly study the Achaemenian attacks in the north western fringe of the .