Anga (
Sanskrit
Sanskrit (; attributively , ; nominally , , ) is a classical language belonging to the Indo-Aryan branch of the Indo-European languages. It arose in South Asia after its predecessor languages had diffused there from the northwest in the late ...
: ) was an ancient
Indo-Aryan tribe
The term tribe is used in many different contexts to refer to a category of human social group. The predominant worldwide usage of the term in English is in the discipline of anthropology. This definition is contested, in part due to confli ...
of eastern
South Asia
South Asia is the southern subregion of Asia, which is defined in both geographical and ethno-cultural terms. The region consists of the countries of Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Maldives, Nepal, Pakistan, and Sri Lanka.;;;;;;;; ...
whose existence is attested during the
Iron Age
The Iron Age is the final epoch of the three-age division of the prehistory and protohistory of humanity. It was preceded by the Stone Age (Paleolithic, Mesolithic, Neolithic) and the Bronze Age (Chalcolithic). The concept has been mostly appl ...
. The members of the Aṅga tribe were called the Āṅgeyas.
Counted among the "sixteen great nations" in
Buddhist texts
Buddhist texts are those religious texts which belong to the Buddhist tradition. The earliest Buddhist texts were not committed to writing until some centuries after the death of Gautama Buddha. The oldest surviving Buddhist manuscripts a ...
like the
Anguttara Nikaya, Aṅga also finds mention in the Jain
Vyakhyaprajnapti's list of ancient
janapadas
The Janapadas () (c. 1500–600 BCE) were the realms, republics (ganapada) and kingdoms (saamarajya) of the Vedic period on the Indian subcontinent. The Vedic period reaches from the late Bronze Age into the Iron Age: from about 1500 BCE to ...
.
Location
Aṅga proper was located between the
Champā river to the west and the
Rajmahal hills
The Rajmahal Hills are located in the Santhal Pargana division of Jharkhand, India. They were located on the northern margin of the Gondwana supercontinent, and its hills are today inhabited by the Sauria Paharia people whilst its valleys are dom ...
to the east. However, at times, its territories did extend to the sea in the south, or included
Magadha
Magadha was a region and one of the sixteen sa, script=Latn, Mahajanapadas, label=none, lit=Great Kingdoms of the Second Urbanization (600–200 BCE) in what is now south Bihar (before expansion) at the eastern Ganges Plain. Magadha was ruled ...
in the west.
The capital of Aṅga, named Campā, was located at the confluence of the Campā and
Gaṅgā rivers, and corresponds to the modern-day villages of
Campāpurī and Champanagar in the eastern part of the Indian state of
Bihār. According to the
s, Campā was also called Kāla-Campā, while
Puranic texts claim its ancient name was Mālinī.
The other important cities within the Aṅga kingdom included (
Sanskrit
Sanskrit (; attributively , ; nominally , , ) is a classical language belonging to the Indo-Aryan branch of the Indo-European languages. It arose in South Asia after its predecessor languages had diffused there from the northwest in the late ...
: ) and (
Sanskrit
Sanskrit (; attributively , ; nominally , , ) is a classical language belonging to the Indo-Aryan branch of the Indo-European languages. It arose in South Asia after its predecessor languages had diffused there from the northwest in the late ...
: ).
Etymology
According to the
Mahabharata
The ''Mahābhārata'' ( ; sa, महाभारतम्, ', ) is one of the two major Sanskrit epics of ancient India in Hinduism, the other being the ''Rāmāyaṇa''. It narrates the struggle between two groups of cousins in the Kuruk ...
(I.104.53-54) and
Puranic
Purana (; sa, , '; literally meaning "ancient, old"Merriam-Webster's Encyclopedia of Literature (1995 Edition), Article on Puranas, , page 915) is a vast genre of Indian literature about a wide range of topics, particularly about legends an ...
literature, ''Aṅga'' was named after Prince Anga, the founder of the kingdom, and the son of Vali, who had no sons. So, he requested the sage, Dirghatamas, to bless him with sons. The sage is said to have begotten five sons through his wife, the queen Sudesna.
The princes were named Aṅga,
Vaṅga,
Kaliṅga,
Sumha and
Pundra
Pundravardhana or Pundra Kingdom ( sa, Puṇḍravardhana), was an ancient kingdom during the Iron Age period in India with a territory that included parts of present-day Rajshahi and Rangpur Divisions of Bangladesh as well as the West Dina ...
.
[ The prince Vaṅga founded Vaṅga kingdom, in the current day region of southern ]Bangladesh
Bangladesh (}, ), officially the People's Republic of Bangladesh, is a country in South Asia. It is the eighth-most populous country in the world, with a population exceeding 165 million people in an area of . Bangladesh is among the mos ...
and the eastern part of southern West Bengal
West Bengal (, Bengali: ''Poshchim Bongo'', , abbr. WB) is a state in the eastern portion of India. It is situated along the Bay of Bengal, along with a population of over 91 million inhabitants within an area of . West Bengal is the fourt ...
. The prince Kalinga founded the kingdom of Kalinga Kalinga may refer to:
Geography, linguistics and/or ethnology
* Kalinga (historical region), a historical region of India
** Kalinga (Mahabharata), an apocryphal kingdom mentioned in classical Indian literature
** Kalinga script, an ancient writ ...
, in the current day region of coastal Orissa, including the North Sircars. Also the price Pundra founded Pundra
Pundravardhana or Pundra Kingdom ( sa, Puṇḍravardhana), was an ancient kingdom during the Iron Age period in India with a territory that included parts of present-day Rajshahi and Rangpur Divisions of Bangladesh as well as the West Dina ...
consisting of the northern regions of West Bengal
West Bengal (, Bengali: ''Poshchim Bongo'', , abbr. WB) is a state in the eastern portion of India. It is situated along the Bay of Bengal, along with a population of over 91 million inhabitants within an area of . West Bengal is the fourt ...
and Bangladesh
Bangladesh (}, ), officially the People's Republic of Bangladesh, is a country in South Asia. It is the eighth-most populous country in the world, with a population exceeding 165 million people in an area of . Bangladesh is among the mos ...
. The prince Suhma
Suhma Kingdom was an ancient state during the Late Vedic period on the eastern part of the Indian Subcontinent, which originated in the region of Bengal. The kingdom included present day districts of Midnapore and parts of Hoogly and Howrah. Thi ...
founded Suhma Kingdom
Suhma Kingdom was an ancient state during the Late Vedic period on the eastern part of the Indian Subcontinent, which originated in the region of Bengal. The kingdom included present day districts of Midnapore and parts of Hoogly and Howrah. This ...
in the western part of southern West Bengal
West Bengal (, Bengali: ''Poshchim Bongo'', , abbr. WB) is a state in the eastern portion of India. It is situated along the Bay of Bengal, along with a population of over 91 million inhabitants within an area of . West Bengal is the fourt ...
.
The
Ramayana
The ''Rāmāyana'' (; sa, रामायणम्, ) is a Sanskrit literature, Sanskrit Indian epic poetry, epic composed over a period of nearly a millennium, with scholars' estimates for the earliest stage of the text ranging from the 8th ...
(1.23.14) narrates the origin of name ''Aṅga'' as the place where Kamadeva was burnt to death by Siva and where his body parts (''aṅgas'') are scattered.
History
Kingdom
Aṅga was first mentioned in the
, where it was connected to the
Gāndhārīs, Mūjavats, and
Māgadhīs. The founder of Aṅga might have been the king Aṅga Vairocana, who is mentioned in the
as a ruler who had been consecrated by the Aryan ritual of .
Vedic literature such as the nevertheless listed the Āṅgeyas with peoples described as being of "mixed origin."
Aṅga was a powerful kingdom at the time of the , which mentions the "world conquest" of one of the Āṅgeya kings, to whom the girls of aristocratic families were brought as prizes. The Āṅgeya capital of Campā itself was counted until the time of the Buddha's death among the six most prominent cities of northern South Asia, along with
Rājagaha,
Sāvatthī,
Sāketa
Sāketa (), in Sanskrit, a place where God resides. ''Saket'' can be alternatively used for Heaven or ''Vaikuntha'' in Hindu epics, where liberated souls dwell.
"Saketa", the name of the Ayodhya Kingdom was later widespread by Buddhist travellers ...
,
Kosāmbī, and
Vārāṇasī.
During the Iron Age, Aṅga expanded to include Vaṅga within its borders, with the capital city of Campā being a wealthy commercial centre from where traders sailed to
Suvarṇabhūmi. According to the
, the Āṅgeya city of Viṭaṅkapura was located on the shores of the sea.
During the 6th century BCE, the king of Aṅga was Dadhivāhana, who was married to the
Licchavika princess
Padmāvatī, who was herself the daughter of the consul of the Licchavika republic,
Ceṭaka. Ceṭaka's sister
Trisalā was the mother 24th
Jain
Jainism ( ), also known as Jain Dharma, is an Indian religion. Jainism traces its spiritual ideas and history through the succession of twenty-four tirthankaras (supreme preachers of ''Dharma''), with the first in the current time cycle being ...
Tīrthaṅkara
In Jainism, a ''Tirthankara'' (Sanskrit: '; English: literally a 'ford-maker') is a saviour and spiritual teacher of the ''dharma'' (righteous path). The word ''tirthankara'' signifies the founder of a '' tirtha'', which is a fordable passag ...
,
Mahāvīra
Mahavira (Sanskrit: महावीर) also known as Vardhaman, was the 24th ''tirthankara'' (supreme preacher) of Jainism. He was the spiritual successor of the 23rd ''tirthankara'' Parshvanatha. Mahavira was born in the early part of the 6 ...
, thus making Ceṭaka his uncle and Padmāvatī his cousin; Ceṭaka himself had become an adept of the teachings of Mahāvīra and made the Licchavika capital of
Vesālī a bastion of Jainism, and the marriages of his daughters contributed to the spreading of Jainism across northern South Asia. The daughter of Dadhivāhana and Padmāvatī,
Candanā or Candrabālā, became the first woman convert to Jainism shortly after Mahāvīra attained
.
Under Dadhivāhana's rule, Aṅga had conquered its western neighbour, the state of
Magadha
Magadha was a region and one of the sixteen sa, script=Latn, Mahajanapadas, label=none, lit=Great Kingdoms of the Second Urbanization (600–200 BCE) in what is now south Bihar (before expansion) at the eastern Ganges Plain. Magadha was ruled ...
, hence why the described the Māgadhī capital of Rājagaha as a city of Aṅga. This conquest brought Aṅga in direct contact with Magadha's western neighbour
Vatsa
Vatsa or Vamsa (Pali and Ardhamagadhi: , literally "calf") was one of the sixteen Mahajanapadas (great kingdoms) of Uttarapatha of ancient India mentioned in the Aṅguttara Nikāya.
Location
The territory of Vatsa was located to the south o ...
, whose king
Śatānīka attacked the Āṅgeya capital of Campā out of fear of Dadhivāhana's expansionism. Dadhivāhana instead sought friendly relations with Vatsa, and he gave his daughter in marriage to Śatānīka's son,
Udayana
Udayana, ( Devanagari: उदयन) also known as Udayanācārya (Udyanacharya, or Master Udayana), (circa 975 - 1050 CE) was an Indian philosopher and logician of the tenth century of the Nyaya school who attempted to devise a rational theo ...
. After Śatānīka's death from dysentery at the same time as a campaign against Vatsa was being carried out by the king
Pradyota
Pradyota dynasty, also called ''Prthivim Bhoksyanti'' (lit. enjoying the earth), is an ancient Indian dynasty, which ruled over Avanti and Magadha, though most of the Puranas ''(except a manuscript of the Brahmanda Purana, preserved in the Uni ...
of
Avanti, the latter became the overlord of Vatsa, and Udayana lived as a captive at the court of Pradyota, in
Ujjenī.
During Udayana's captivity, the state of
Kaliṅga attacked Aṅga and took Dadhivāhana captive. It was once Pradyota had restored Udayana to his throne, after the latter's marriage to his daughter Vāsavadattā, that Udayana was able to defeat Kaliṅga and restore Dadhivāhana on the Āṅgeya throne, and Dadhivāhana's daughter Priyadarśikā was married to Udayana; according to the later play
, which itself rests on historical records, the Āṅgeya chamberlain took brought her into the refuge of the forest-king Vindhyaketu, from where she was captured by Udayana's army and, given the name Āraṇyikā ("she who is from the forest") after being assumed to be Vindhyaketu's daughter, was brought to Vatsa to become servant of Vāsavadattā, and later married Udayana after the Āṅgeya chamberlain recognised her as once Udayana had defeated Kaliṅga.
Aṅga's prosperity ended when, in the middle of the 6th century BCE, the Māgadhī crown prince
Bimbisāra Śreṇika avenged his father's defeat against Aṅga by defeating and killing the Āṅgeya king
Brahmadatta, after which Aṅga became part of the Māgadhī empire, and Campā became the seat of a Māgadhī viceroy.
Later history
During his pilgrimage there in the end of the 4th century, the Chinese monk
Faxian
Faxian (法顯 ; 337 CE – c. 422 CE), also referred to as Fa-Hien, Fa-hsien and Sehi, was a Chinese Buddhist monk and translator who traveled by foot from China to India to acquire Buddhist texts. Starting his arduous journey about age 60, h ...
noted the numerous Buddhist temples that still existed in Campā, transliterated in Chinese (瞻波 ). The kingdom of Aṅga by then had long ceased to exist; it had been known as Yāngjiā (鴦伽) in Chinese.
See also
*
Magadha
Magadha was a region and one of the sixteen sa, script=Latn, Mahajanapadas, label=none, lit=Great Kingdoms of the Second Urbanization (600–200 BCE) in what is now south Bihar (before expansion) at the eastern Ganges Plain. Magadha was ruled ...
*
Anga Lipi
*
Mahajanapadas
The Mahājanapadas ( sa, great realm, from ''maha'', "great", and '' janapada'' "foothold of a people") were sixteen kingdoms or oligarchic republics that existed in ancient India from the sixth to fourth centuries BCE during the second urban ...
*
Magadha-Anga war
The Magadha-Anga War was a conflict between the Haryanka dynasty of Magadha and the neighbouring Anga Kingdom. The conflict ended in defeat of the Anga kingdom and the Magadha annexed their territory.
War and result
Brahmadatta was older cont ...
*
History of India
According to consensus in modern genetics, anatomically modern humans first arrived on the Indian subcontinent from Africa between 73,000 and 55,000 years ago. Quote: "Y-Chromosome and Mt-DNA data support the colonization of South Asia by m ...
*
History of Hinduism
The history of Hinduism covers a wide variety of related religious traditions native to the Indian subcontinent. It overlaps or coincides with the development of religion in the Indian subcontinent since the Iron Age, with some of its tradition ...
Notes
References
*
*
*
*
{{Mahajanapada
Historical Indian regions
Mahajanapadas
Kingdoms in the Mahabharata
Indo-Aryan peoples
6th-century BC establishments in India
6th-century BC disestablishments in India