Mahajanapadas During the 6 th century BCE north

Mahajanapadas Ø During the 6 th century BCE north India witnessed the formation of large territorial states, both monarchies and republics. Ø historical period in Indian history and the political history of India practically begins from this period. Ø Northern India was spilt up into petty independent states Ø No political cooperation and cohesiveness among the rulers and they were fighting among themselves for political supremacy. Ø No paramount power to bind them together in common rule. Ø Most of them were engaged in internecine quarrel for political supremacy and economic advantages Ø Some were big in extent and power while others were small.

Ø A remarkable epoch not only in the history of India but also a notable time in the history of then civilized world. Ø “It is in the sixth century B. C. that Indian history emerges from legend and dubious tradition. Now for the first time we read of great kings whose historicity is certain, and some of whose achievements are known, and from now on the main lines of India’s development are clear”. Ø. Extensive use of iron, expansion of agriculture and the growth of unban centres and urbanization led to the emergence and formation of such territorial states ØSixth century B. C- a turning point in the Indian history. ØTribal political organizations of the Vedic period gave rise to the formation of big states.

Ø existed during the period from c. 600 B. C to c. 550 B. C Ø Kabul valley in the north-west to the borders of Bengal in the east Ø foot hill of the Himalayas in the north to the river Godavari in the south. Ø In most of the Mahajanapadas there were monarchies while in others there were republican forms of governments. Ø The monarchies were concentrated on the Gangetic plains while the Republican states were situated on the foot of the Himalayas to the northwest of the monarchical states.

Sources Brahmanical, Buddhist and Jain literatures. v. Brahmanical sources: Ramayana, Mahabharata, Puranas v. Jain Bhagawati Sutra v. Buddhist text Anguttara Nikaya. It refers to sixteen Mahajanapadas as “Sodasha Mahajanapadas”. According to it the Mahajanapadas are: Anga, Magadha, Kashi, Koshala, Vriji (Vajji), Malla, Chedi, Vatsa (Vamsa), Kuru, Panchala, Matsya (Machchha), Surasena, Asmaka or Asaaka, Avanti, Gandhara and Kamboj. Buddhist text Digha Nikaya refers to them in pairs such as Kashi-Koshala, Vriji-Malla, Chedi-Vamsa, Kuru-Panchal and Matsya-Surasen Buddhist source (Chullaniddesa) adds Kalinga to the list Astadhyayi of Panini refers to the existence of Republics. He called the Republics as Gana or Sangha and the kingdoms as Janapada.

Anga: Kingdom §Anga comprised modern Bhagalpur and Monghyar districts of east Bihar. §located on the confluence of two rivers- Ganga and Champa. §Capital-- Champa formerly known as Malini. §river Champa separated Anga from Magadha. §one of the six great cities of India- other five are Rajagriha, Sravasti, Saketa, Kaushambi and Banaras. § Champa was a great centre of trade and commerce. §Merchants sailed from Champa to Suvarnabhumi for trade. §Bhaddiya and Assapura were two other important towns. §constant rivalry between Anga and Magadha. § By the middle of sixth century B. C. Bimbisara, of Magadha is said to have killed Brahmadatta, the last independent ruler of Anga and conquered Anga ceasing its independence. §Anga formed an integral part of the expanding Magadha.

Magadha: Kingdom ØMagadha corresponds to modern Patna and Gaya districts of south Bihar. ØCapital- Girivaraja, but subsequently transferred to Rajagriha. ØEarliest dynasty of Magadha was founded by Brihadratha ØIn the sixth century B. C. the Haryanka dynasty was ruling over Magadha. ØBimbisara of the Haryanka dynasty was the first powerful historical king of Magadha. ØAjatasatru, the son and successor of Bimbisara was a mighty ruler. Ø use of diplomacy and force to defeat the enemy was an interesting feature of the Magadhan monarchy. Øat Rajagriha the first Buddhist council was held after the death of Buddha ØMagadha emerged to be a great power and extended its I mperialism conquering almost all the Mahajanapadas.

Kashi: kingdom q Capital was Varanasi (modern Banaras) q. Rivers Varuna and Asi which flew in the north and south of the capital city respectively gave rise to name of its capital city Varanasi. q very famous for the manufacture of cotton clothes. q. Prolonged rivalry between Kashi and Koshala. q. Jatakas refers to the annexation Brahmadatta of Kashi. of Koshala q. Kashi was finally conquered by Koshala shortly before the Buddha. by king the time of

Koshala: kingdom v. Koshala corresponded to modern Oudh in Uttar Pradesh. vbounded on the east by the river Sadanira (Gandak), on the west by Panchala, on the south by Sarpika or Syandika, and on the north by the Nepal hills. v. Its earliest capital was Ayodhya -relegated during Buddha’s time to the position of an unimportant town. v Saketa, Shravasti (also called Sahet-Mahet), Setavya, Ukkattha and Kitagiri were other leading towns of Koshala. v. During the sixth century B. C. it was ruled by the kings like Mahakoshala and his powerful son Prasenjit. v. Prasenjit was a contemporary of Buddha and was involved in a protracted struggle with king Ajatasatru of Magadha. v. Vidudabha, the son and successor of Prasenjit invaded the Sakya kingdom. v. Koshala was defeated by Magadha and became a part and parcel of the Magadhan Empire.

Chedi: Kingdom ØChedis or Chetis were one of the most ancient tribes of India. ØThey had two principal settlements, one in Bundelkhanda and the other in the mountains of Nepal. ØAccording to tradition, the Chedi kingdom lay near the Yamuna ØCapital- Suktimati (near Banda in Uttar Pradesh) ØSahajati was another important town of the Chedi kingdom. Ø A branch of Chedis had established an empire over Kalinga under a dynamic ruler named Kharavela

Vatsa: §Kingdom of Vatsa situated along the banks of the river Yamuna. §capital at Kaushambi or modern Kosam, near Allahabad. § Udayana was the most powerful king of Vatsa who had a long rivalry with king Pradyota of Avanti. §Initially an oppressor of Buddhism, Udyana became its warm advocate owing to the advice of the famous Buddhist monk Pindola. §Udayana claimed himself to be a descendant of the race of Bharata. §He had a son named Bodhi, but nothing is known about Vatsa after Udayana.

Kuru: q. Kuru kingdom represented the modern Meerut and Delhi. q. Its capital was Indraprastha near modern Delhi. q. Kurus were famous for wisdom and had matrimonial relations with the Yadavas, the Bhojas and the Panchalas. q. Hasthinapura was another important city of the Kuru kingdom. q In the Buddha’s time, the Kuru kingdom was ruled by a titular chieftain named Koravya who had no political importance.

Panchala: Kingdom • Panchala roughly corresponds to modern Buduan, Bareilly and Farrukhabad districts of modern Uttar Pradesh. • divided into two parts namely uttara (north) Panchala and dakshina (south) Panchala, the river Ganges forming the dividing line. • Ahichhatra (identified with modern Ramnagar in the Bareilly district) was the capital of the northern Panchala while Kampilya (or Kampil in the Farrukhabad district) was the capital of the southern Panchala. • protracted struggle between the kingdom of Panchala and Kuru for the subjugation of the territories of northern Panchala. • Originally a monarchical kingdom Panchala turned towards republican system during the sixth century B. C.

Matsya: q. Matsya or Machchha kingdom corresponds to modern Jaipur in Rajasthan including the whole of Alwar and a part of Bharatpur area. q Its capital was located at Viratanagara which is identified with modern Bairat near Jaipur. q. The Matsyas were usually associated with the Surasenas. q. The kingdom of Matsya subsequently was absorbed within the Magadhan Empire. q. Some famous inscriptions of Ashoka are found from Bairat.

Surasena: q. The capital of this kingdom was located at Mathura on the bank of the river Yamuna. q. Greek writers refer to it as Sourasenoi and its capital as Methora. q. The rulers of Mathura belonged to the Yadu or the Yadav family. q. Krishna-Vasudev of the Mahabharata belongs to the Yadu dynasty of Mathura. Avantiputra, a king of Surasena was a disciple of Lord Buddha and during his reign Buddhism became very popular in Surasena. q Gradually, this kingdom became an integral part of the Magadhan Empire.

Assaka: q. The kingdom of Assaka or Asmaka was situated on the bank of the river Godavari. q Its capital was Potali, Potana or Podana identified with Bodhan in modern Andhra Pradesh. q. The rulers of Assaka belonged to the Ikshvaku dynasty.

Avanti: §Kingdom of Avanti corresponds to modern Malwa region of western India. § Vindhya Mountains divided this kingdom into two parts, i. e. the north and the south § Ujjaini was the capital of northern Avanti while Mahismati was the capital of south Avanti. §It lay on the road from the Gangetic valley to Bharukachha (Broach) which contributed to the prosperity of Ujjain as a great commercial centre. § During Buddha’s time the king of Avanti was Pradyota. § Pradyota known in the Buddhist texts as Chanda (cruel) was a very powerful king and had rivalry with the neighbouring kingdoms of Vatsa, Magadha and Koshala. §Pradyota was followed by four kings, the last being Nandivardhan who was defeated by king Sisunaga of Magadha as a result of which Avanti became a part of the Magadhan Empire.

Gandhara: §The kingdom of Gandhara corresponds to modern Peshawar and Rawalpindi regions. §Its capital was Takshasila or modern Taxila - a great centre of both trade and learning. § King Pukkusati, the ruler of Gandhara was a contemporary of king Bimbisara of Magadha. §In the middle of the sixth century B. C he sent an embassy to king Bimbisara of Magadha and waged a war on Pradyota of Avanti. §In the later half of the sixth century B. C. Gandhara was occupied by the Persians which is corroborated by the Bahistan inscription of Persian emperor Darius.

Kamboj: The Kamboja kingdom was situated in the extreme northwest part of India. §It roughly corresponds to Rajaori (ancient Rajapura) and Hazara district of North-West Frontier Province and Pamir regions). §Its capital was at Rajapura. §Hiuen Tsang, the Chinese pilgrim who visited India during the first half of the seventh century A. D refers to Rajapura which lay to the south or south-east of Punch. §Kamboja which earlier had a monarchical constitution later on gave place to a republican or Ganasangha form of government.

§Vriji or Vajji: q Vajji Mahajanapada lay to the north of the Ganges extended as far as the Nepal hills. q It had a republican constitution. and q The confederacy of Vajji consisted of eight clans of which the most prominent were the Videhans, the Lichchhavis, the Jnatrikas and the Vajjis. q Videhans had their capital at Mithila which has been identified with Janakapura, a small town in Nepal. q. Lichchhavis had their capital at Vaishali which has been identified with modern Basarh in the Muzaffarpur district of north Bihar. q. Vaishali also served as the headquarters of the Vrijian confederacy.

q. Mahabhaga describes Vaishali as ‘an opulent, prosperous and populous town. ” q. Ramayana refers to Vaishali as an excellent city. q The Jnatrikas to whom belonged Vardhaman Mahavira, the real founder of Jainism had their seats of administration at Kundapura or Kundagram and Kollaga, suburbs of Vaishali. q. Panini mentions that the Vajjis like the Lichchhavis were associated with the city of Vaishali. q The other four clans of the confederacy were Ugras, Bhogas, Kauravas and Aikshvakas who resided in the neighbourhood of Vaishali. q. Vajji was very powerful during the reign of king Bimbisara of Magadha. q. It is known that the Vaishalians attacked Magadha during the reign of Bimbisara. q. But during the reign of Ajatasatru, intense hostility developed between Magadha and Vajji. q. Finally, Ajatasatru conquered annexed Vajji confederacy with the Magadhan Empire

q. Malla: The republican state of Malla situated to the north of the Vrijian confederacy. q. It was divided into two parts with their capitals at Kusinara (Kushinagara) and Pava respectively. q Kusinara has been identified with Kasia about 35 miles to the east of Gorakhpur while Pava with the village called Padaraona, 12 miles to the north-east of Kasia. q. Gautama Buddha had got Mahaparinirvana at Kushinagar while Vardhaman Mahavira had got salvation at Pava. q. Though during the pre-Buddhist period there was monarchical constitution in Malla during the time of Buddha it became an oligarchical state like the Vajji confederation. q. The Mallas retained their independence till the death of the Buddha and soon after were absorbed within the Magadhan Empire. q. Some of the greatest personalities of Buddhism like Ananda, Upali, Aniuruddha, Devadatta and Khand-Sumana were belong to Mallas.

Other Republican States Besides Vajjis and Mallas other republican in northern India are as follows: clans

Sakyas of Kapilavastu: q. Situated in the Nepalese Tarai region. qbounded on the north by the Great Himalayas, on the south west by the river Rapti and on the east by the river Rohini. q capital was located at Kapilavastu (modern Tillorakot/Tilaura-kot) in Nepal). q Sakya republic had its legislative assembly (Santhagara) q. Legislative assembly was consisted of 500 members and met in a mote-hall. q. Sakya republic served as a centre of education and social progress. q. Head of the Sakya republic was called the king who was elected by the electoral system. q Sudhodhan, the father of Gautam Buddha was the king of the Sakya republic. They claimed to belong to the solar race.

Koliyas of Ramagrama: qrepublic of the Koliyas of Ramagama was situated to the east of Kapilavastu. qriver Rohini separated the territory of the Koliyas from that of the Sakyas. q The relations between the two clan i. e. the Sakyas and the Koliyas was friendly. q. Koliyas were better known for their police force and notorious for their practice of violence and extortion.

Bhaggas of Sumsumaragiri: q Bhaggas were another republican clan during the sixth century B. C. q. According to the Aitareya Brahmana and Panini they are believed to have lived in the Vindhyan region between the Yamuna and the Son rivers. q. Sumsumargiri, their seat of power is identified with Chunar hill in the Mirzapur district of Uttar Pradesh. q. In the later half of the sixth century B. C. the Bhaggas state became an appendage of Vatsa kingdom.

Bulis of Allakappa: qrepublic of the Bulis was situated between the Shahabad and Muzaffarpur districts of modern Bihar. q Bulis were the followers of the Buddha. q. According to the Buddhist literature they got some remains of Buddha after his death on which they had built a stupa.

Kalamas of Kesaputta: q. The republic of the Kalamas was situated in the western side of Koshala. q Kesaputta or Keshputra was its capital. q. Alarkalam, the famous religious leader of Sidhartha Gautama belongs to this republic. q. In the later part of the sixth century B. C the Kalamas of Kesaputta acknowledged the suzerainty of Koshala.

Moriyas of Pipphalivana: q. The republic of the Moriyas was situated in the district of Uttar Pradesh. Gorakhpur q. Pipphalivana, their capital, generally identified with Nyagroavana or Banyan Grove, lay about 54 miles to the west of Kusinara. q The Moriyas destined to play a significant role in Indian history. ancient q. Chandragupta Maurya, who founded the Imperial Maurya dynasty of Magadha, belonged to the Moriya clan.

q q q q Administration of the Monarchical States Monarchical forms or kingship. king was the head of the administration of the monarchies. Kingship was generally hereditary. system of elective kingship was also there. king was not autocratic: He was not the state but a part of it. There was a well developed political system with limitations to the powers of the king. The state was conceived as an organic whole like a human body with seven limbs (saptanga theory) q The seven limbs are Amatya (minister), Kosha (treasury), Danda (army or punishment), Durga (fort), Jana (population and territory) and Mitra (friend).

q

§The learned Brahmans, wise ministers and hermits exercised sufficient control over the arbitrary power of the king. §However, , towards the ending part of the sixth century B. C when large kingdoms like Magadha were emerged, §arbitrary powers of the kings were increased. §divine nature of kingship became an established idea. §It was reinforced from time to time by means of elaborate ritual sacrifices. §The king became supreme heads of the legislative, executive, judicial and military branches of administration. §They lived in very big palaces and began to enjoy special honours and privileges.

q

Administrative System of the Republics q The republics consisted of either a single tribe such as the Shakyas and Koliyas, or a confederacy of tribes such as the Vrijis. q The republican states believed in theory of social contract for the creation of state. q

q The king ruled with the help of a central assembly consisting of elected representatives which used to meet frequently in the Moot Hall called Santhagara to discuss important matters. q All decisions relating to the state were taken in this assembly. q An officer called Sabhapala used to beat the drum to summon the members to the assembly hall. q An officer called Asannapaka made arrangements for the seats of the members in order of seniority. q The speaker was called Vinayadhara and the whip was called Gunapuraka of slips of wood distributed among the members. q Voting was done secretly. q A polling officer called Salakagrahapaka was appointed to collect voting tickets. q

q There were Lipikas (clerks) to record the proceedings on deliberations of the assembly. q Besides the Raja there were other officials such as uparajas (deputy leaders), senapatis (commander of the forces) and Bhandarganikar (treasure) who took active part in the functioning of the republic’s administration. q. Of the sixteen, four kingdoms i. e. Magadha, Koshala, Vatsa and Avanti and the confederacy of Vijji became powerful and there was a continuous rivalry between states for political hegemony. q. The kingdom of Magadha gradually swallowed all the states- monarchies and republics alike and established its mighty empire. It marks the beginning of the historical period in ancient Indian history. q. Large scale use of iron and growth of urban centres and urbanization in the Gangetic region substantially contributed to the development of political life during this period.

Thank you Dr. Benudhar Patra