Table of Contents:
- About Mahajanapadas
- Names of sixteen (16) Mahajanapadas
- Important facts
Short notes of Mahajanapadas;
In the early Vedic period( 1500 B.C. to 1000 B.C.), the largest social organization or political territory was known as "Jana". The literal meaning of Jana is people. Jana was formed by the group "VISU". VISU was the group of Grama ( village). The Head of Jana was called Gopi. The territory boundaries of Jana were not fixed.
In the later Vedic period ( 1000 B.C to 600 B.C), the group of "Jana" formed the larger social organization which was named "Janpada". Kuru and Panchala were the two main Janpada during the later Vedic period. Janpada has well demarcated territorial boundary. The word Janapada literally means the land where the Jana set foot, and settled down. The King of Janpada has a large standing army, they tend to acquire more territories in order to increase their income (tax).
About 500 B.C., some Janpadas became more strong than others, and they became Mahajanapadas (the group of Janapada formed Mahajanpada). During the Baudha period, there were 16 Mahajanpas in the Indian subcontinent. The name of 16 Mahajanpadas is mentioned in Anguttura Nikhaya (Suttapitaka). "Punch-marked coins" were circulated during this period, which were mainly made up of silver.
The following are the names of sixteen (16) Mahajanpadas:
Kamboja Mahajanpada:
Area: Hindukus areas of Pakistan
Capital: Rajapura.
Gandhara Mahajanpada:
Area: Pakistan, part of Afghanistan
Capital: Taxila.
Kuru:
Area: Haryana, Meeruth, Delhi
Capital: (Indraprastha/Hastinapur)
Panchala:
Area: Western UP, Eastern side of Yamuna
Capital: Ahichhatra /Kampilya
Kosala:
Area: Faizabad, Gonda, Bahraaich
Capital: Shravasti/Ayodhya/Saket
Malla:
Area: Deoria, Basti, Gorakhpur, Siddhartha Nagar
Capital: Kushinagar /Pava
Vajji:
Area: The area north of Ganga in Bihar
Capital: Vaisali.
Anga:
Area: Munger and Bhagalpur ( Bihar)
Capital: Champa
Magadha:
Area: Patna, Gaya
Capitals: Rajgriha / Patliputra.
Kashi:
Areas: Area surrounded by present-day Varanasi.
Capital: Varanasi.
Vatsa:
Area: Prayagaraj, Mirzapur
Capital: Kaushambi.
Chedi:
Area: Bundelkhand
Capital: Shuktimati
Matsya:
Area: Eastern Rajasthan
Capital: Virata Nagar
Sursena;
Capital: Mathura
Avanti:
Area: Malwa Plateau
Capital: Ujjain /Mahishmati
Ashmaka:
Area: The area between Narmada and Godavari.
Capital: Potana /Potali
Important facts:
Bihar had three Mahajapada namely Anga, Magadha, and Vajji.
Uttar Pradesh had eight Mahajanpada namely Kuru, Malla, Kosala, Kashi, Chedi, Vatsa, Panchala, and Sursena.
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