The Mahājanapadas ( sa, great realm, from ''maha'', "great", and ''
janapada'' "foothold of a people") were sixteen
kingdoms
Kingdom commonly refers to:
* A monarchy ruled by a king or queen
* Kingdom (biology), a category in biological taxonomy
Kingdom may also refer to:
Arts and media Television
* ''Kingdom'' (British TV series), a 2007 British television drama s ...
or
oligarchic
Oligarchy (; ) is a conceptual form of power structure in which power rests with a small number of people. These people may or may not be distinguished by one or several characteristics, such as nobility, fame, wealth, education, or corporate, r ...
republics that existed in
ancient 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 ...
from the sixth to fourth centuries BCE during the
second urbanisation
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 ...
period.
The 6th–5th centuries BCE is often regarded as a major turning point in early Indian history; during this period India's first large cities arose after the demise of the
Indus Valley civilization. It was also the time of the rise of
sramana movements (including
Buddhism
Buddhism ( , ), also known as Buddha Dharma and Dharmavinaya (), is an Indian religions, Indian religion or Indian philosophy#Buddhist philosophy, philosophical tradition based on Pre-sectarian Buddhism, teachings attributed to the Buddha. ...
and
Jainism
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 bein ...
), which challenged the religious orthodoxy of the
Vedic period
The Vedic period, or the Vedic age (), is the period in the late Bronze Age and early Iron Age of the history of India when the Vedic literature, including the Vedas (ca. 1300–900 BCE), was composed in the northern Indian subcontinent, betwe ...
.
Two of the Mahājanapadas were most probably
s (oligarchic republics) and others had forms of monarchy. Ancient
Buddhist texts like the ''
Anguttara Nikaya'' make frequent reference to sixteen great kingdoms and republics which had developed and flourished in a belt stretching from
Gandhara in the northwest to
Anga
Anga (Sanskrit: ) was an ancient Indo-Aryan tribe of eastern South Asia whose existence is attested during the Iron Age. The members of the Aṅga tribe were called the Āṅgeyas.
Counted among the "sixteen great nations" in Buddhist texts ...
in the eastern part of the
Indian subcontinent
The Indian subcontinent is a list of the physiographic regions of the world, physiographical region in United Nations geoscheme for Asia#Southern Asia, Southern Asia. It is situated on the Indian Plate, projecting southwards into the Indian O ...
. They included parts of the trans-
Vindhya
The Vindhya Range (also known as Vindhyachal) () is a complex, discontinuous chain of mountain ridges, hill ranges, highlands and plateau escarpments in west-central India.
Technically, the Vindhyas do not form a single mountain range in the ...
n region,
and all had developed prior to the rise of Buddhism in India.
Archaeologically, this period has been identified as corresponding in part to the
Northern Black Polished Ware
The Northern Black Polished Ware culture (abbreviated NBPW or NBP) is an urban Iron Age Indian culture of the Indian Subcontinent, lasting c. 700–200 BCE (proto NBPW between 1200 and 700 BCE), succeeding the Painted Grey Ware culture and Blac ...
culture.
Overview
The term "
Janapada" literally means the ''foothold of a people''. The fact that ''Janapada'' is derived from ''Jana'' points to an early stage of land-taking by the Jana people for a settled way of life. This process of settlement on land had completed its final stage prior to the times of the
Buddha
Siddhartha Gautama, most commonly referred to as the Buddha, was a wandering ascetic and religious teacher who lived in South Asia during the 6th or 5th century BCE and founded Buddhism.
According to Buddhist tradition, he was born in L ...
and
Pāṇini
, era = ;;6th–5th century BCE
, region = Indian philosophy
, main_interests = Grammar, linguistics
, notable_works = ' ( Classical Sanskrit)
, influenced=
, notable_ideas=Descriptive linguistics
(Devanaga ...
. The Pre-Buddhist northern Indian sub-continent was divided into several Janapadas, demarcated from each other by boundaries. In Pāṇini's "Ashtadhyayi", ''Janapada'' stands for country and ''Janapadin'' for its citizenry. Each of these Janapadas was named after the
Kshatriya
Kshatriya ( hi, क्षत्रिय) (from Sanskrit ''kṣatra'', "rule, authority") is one of the four varna (social orders) of Hindu society, associated with warrior aristocracy. The Sanskrit term ''kṣatriyaḥ'' is used in the con ...
people (or the Kshatriya Jana) who had settled therein. Buddhist and other texts only incidentally refer to sixteen great nations (''Solasa Mahajanapadas'') that existed prior to the time of the Buddha. They do not give any connected history except in the case of Magadha. The Buddhist
Anguttara Nikaya, at several places, gives a list of sixteen great nations:
#
Anga
Anga (Sanskrit: ) was an ancient Indo-Aryan tribe of eastern South Asia whose existence is attested during the Iron Age. The members of the Aṅga tribe were called the Āṅgeyas.
Counted among the "sixteen great nations" in Buddhist texts ...
#
Assaka
Ashmaka (Sanskrit: ) or Assaka (Pali: ) was a Mahajanapada in ancient India which existed between 700 BCE and 425 or 345 BCE according to the Buddhist texts '' Anguttara Nikaya'' and ''Puranas''. It was located around and between the Godavar ...
(or Asmaka)
#
Avanti
#
Chedi
#
Gandhara
#
Kashi
Kashi or Kaashi may refer to:
Places
* Varanasi (historically known as "Kashi"), a holy city in India
**Kingdom of Kashi, an ancient kingdom in the same place, one of the sixteen Mahajanapadas
**Kashi Vishwanath Temple, Varanasi
* Kashgar, a cit ...
#
Kamboja
#
Kosala
#
Kuru
#
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 ...
#
Malla
Malla may refer to: Places
;Bolivia
*Malla, Bolivia, a locality
* Malla Jawira, a river
* Malla Jaqhi, a mountain
* Malla Municipality
* Malla Qullu, a mountain
;India
* Mallapuram, Tamil Nadu
*Malla (tribe), an ancient republic, one of the s ...
#
Matsya
Matsya ( sa, मत्स्य, lit. ''fish'') is the fish avatar of the Hindu god Vishnu. Often described as the first of Vishnu's ten primary avatars, Matsya is described to have rescued the first man, Manu, from a great deluge. Matsya ...
(or Maccha)
#
Panchala
#
Surasena
Kingdom of Surasena (or Sourasena) (Sanskrit: ) was an ancient Indian region corresponding to the present-day Braj region in Uttar Pradesh, with Mathura as its capital city. According to the Buddhist text '' Anguttara Nikaya'', Surasena was on ...
#
Vajji
#
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 ...
(or Vamsa)
Another Buddhist text, the ''
Digha Nikaya
Digha is a seaside resort town in the state of West Bengal, India. It lies in Purba Medinipur district and at the northern end of the Bay of Bengal. It has a low gradient with a shallow sand beach. It is a popular sea resort in West Bengal.
H ...
'', mentions twelve Mahajanapadas from the above list and omits four of them (Assaka, Avanti, Gandhara, and Kamboja).
''
Chulla-Niddesa'', another ancient text of the Buddhist canon, adds
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 ...
to the list and substitutes
Yona
The word Yona in Pali and the Prakrits, and the analogue Yavana in Sanskrit and Yavanar in Tamil, were words used in Ancient India to designate Greek speakers. "Yona" and "Yavana" are transliterations of the Greek word for " Ionians" ( grc, ...
for Gandhara, thus listing the Kamboja and the Yona as the only Mahajanapadas from
Uttarapatha.
The ''
Vyākhyāprajñapti
''Vyākhyāprajñapti'' ( sa, व्याख्याप्रज्ञप्ति "Exposition of Explanations"), commonly known as the ''Bhagavati Sūtra'' (), is the fifth of the 12 Jain Agamas said to be promulgated by Mahāvīra. The Vy ...
'' (or the ''
Bhagavati Sutra''), a sutra of
Jainism
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 bein ...
, gives a different list of sixteen Mahajanapadas:
# Anga
# Banga (Vanga)
# Magadha
# Malaya
# Malavaka
# Accha
# Vaccha
# Kochcha
# Padha
# Ladha (
Radh or
Lata
Lata (Hindi: लता) is a Hindu/Sanskrit Indian female given name, which means "creeper" and "vine". Lata may refer to:
Notable people named Lata
*Lata Bhatt (born 1954), Indian singer.
* Lata (born 1975), Musician.
*Lata Mangeshkar (1929–2 ...
)
# Bajji (Vajji)
# Moli (Malla)
# Kasi
#
Kosala
# Avaha
# Sambhuttara
# Ruhma
The author of the ''
Bhagavati Sutra'' (or the ''
Vyākhyāprajñapti
''Vyākhyāprajñapti'' ( sa, व्याख्याप्रज्ञप्ति "Exposition of Explanations"), commonly known as the ''Bhagavati Sūtra'' (), is the fifth of the 12 Jain Agamas said to be promulgated by Mahāvīra. The Vy ...
'') has a focus on the countries of Madhydesa and of the far east and south only. He omits the nations from Uttarapatha like the Kamboja and Gandhara. The more extended horizon of the ''Bhagvati'' and the omission of all countries from Uttarapatha "clearly shows that the Bhagvati list is of later origin and therefore less reliable."
List of Mahajanapadas
Aṅga
The first reference to the
Anga
Anga (Sanskrit: ) was an ancient Indo-Aryan tribe of eastern South Asia whose existence is attested during the Iron Age. The members of the Aṅga tribe were called the Āṅgeyas.
Counted among the "sixteen great nations" in Buddhist texts ...
s is found in the
Atharvaveda where they find mention along with the
Magadhas,
Gandharis and the Mujavats, apparently as a despised people. The
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 ...
a Prajnapana ranks Angas and Vangas in the first group of
Aryan people. It mentions the principal cities of
ancient 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 ...
. It was also a great center of trade and commerce and its merchants regularly sailed to distant
Suvarnabhumi
( sa, सुवर्णभूमि; Pali: '); my, သုဝဏ္ဏဘူမိ, ; km, សុវណ្ណភូមិ, ''Sovannaphoum''; and th, สุวรรณภูมิ, . is a toponym, that appears in many ancient Indian literary s ...
. Anga was annexed by Magadha in the time of
Bimbisara
Bimbisāra (in Buddhist tradition) or Shrenika () and Seniya () in the Jain histories (c. 558 – c. 491 BCE or during the late 5th century BCE) was a King of Magadha (V. K. Agnihotri (ed.), ''Indian History''. Allied Publishers, New Delhi ...
. This was the one and only conquest of Bimbisara.
Aśmaka
The country of Assaka or the Ashmaka tribe was located in ''Dakshinapatha'' or southern India. It included areas in present-day
Andhra Pradesh
Andhra Pradesh (, abbr. AP) is a state in the south-eastern coastal region of India. It is the seventh-largest state by area covering an area of and tenth-most populous state with 49,386,799 inhabitants. It is bordered by Telangana to the ...
,
Telangana
Telangana (; , ) is a state in India situated on the south-central stretch of the Indian peninsula on the high Deccan Plateau. It is the eleventh-largest state and the twelfth-most populated state in India with a geographical area of and 3 ...
, and
Maharashtra. In
Gautama Buddha
Siddhartha Gautama, most commonly referred to as the Buddha, was a wandering ascetic and religious teacher who lived in South Asia during the 6th or 5th century BCE and founded Buddhism.
According to Buddhist tradition, he was born in Lu ...
's time, many of the Assakas were located on the banks of the
Godavari River (south of the
Vindhya
The Vindhya Range (also known as Vindhyachal) () is a complex, discontinuous chain of mountain ridges, hill ranges, highlands and plateau escarpments in west-central India.
Technically, the Vindhyas do not form a single mountain range in the ...
mountains). The capital of the Assakas was Potana or Potali, which corresponds present-day
Bodhan
Bodhan town in Nizamabad district of the Indian state Telangana. Bodhan is primarily known for the Nizam Sugar Factory founded by a Nizam of Hyderabad, and some historical places such as The Chakreshwara Shiva Temple, The Renuka Temple, Bhee ...
in Telangana and Paudanya of
Mahabharata
The ''Mahābhārata'' ( ; sa, महाभारतम्, ', ) is one of the two major Sanskrit literature, Sanskrit Indian epic poetry, epics of ancient India in Hinduism, the other being the ''Ramayana, Rāmāyaṇa''. It narrates the s ...
. In Maharashtra its capital is located in Potali which corresponds to present day Nandura, Buldhana district. The Ashmakas are also mentioned by Pāṇini. They are placed in the north-west in the ''Markendeya Purana'' and the ''
Brhat Samhita''. The river Godavari separated the country of the Assakas from that of the Mulakas (or Alakas). The country of Assaka lay outside the pale of
Madhyadesa
Madhyadesha or the "middle country" was one of the five sub-divisions of ancient India that extended from the upper reaches of the Ganga and the Yamuna to the confluence of the two rivers at Prayaga. The territory of middle region constitutes a co ...
. It was located on a southern high road, the ''Dakshinapatha''. At one time, Assaka included Mulaka and abutted Avanti.
Avanti
![I13 12karshapana Avanti 1ar (8481304617)](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/e/e2/I13_12karshapana_Avanti_1ar_%288481304617%29.jpg)
The country of the Avantis was an important kingdom of western India and was one of the four great monarchies in India in the post era of Mahavira and Buddha, the other three being
Kosala,
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 ...
and
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 ...
. Avanti was divided into north and south by the river
Narmada. Initially,
Mahishamati (Mahissati) was the capital of Southern Avanti, and
Ujjain
Ujjain (, Hindustani pronunciation: d͡ːʒɛːn is a city in Ujjain district of the Indian state of Madhya Pradesh. It is the fifth-largest city in Madhya Pradesh by population and is the administrative centre of Ujjain district and Ujjain ...
i (Sanskrit: Ujjayini) was of northern Avanti, but at the times of
Mahavira and Buddha, Ujjaini was the capital of integrated Avanti. The country of Avanti roughly corresponded to modern
Malwa
Malwa is a historical region of west-central India occupying a plateau of volcanic origin. Geologically, the Malwa Plateau generally refers to the volcanic upland north of the Vindhya Range. Politically and administratively, it is also syn ...
, Nimar and adjoining parts of today's
Madhya Pradesh
Madhya Pradesh (, ; meaning 'central province') is a state in central India. Its capital is Bhopal, and the largest city is Indore, with Jabalpur, Ujjain, Gwalior, Sagar, and Rewa being the other major cities. Madhya Pradesh is the seco ...
. Both Mahishmati and Ujjaini stood on the southern high road called ''Dakshinapatha'' which extended from
Rajagriha
Rajgir, meaning "The City of Kings," is a historic town in the district of Nalanda in Bihar, India. As the ancient seat and capital of the Haryanka dynasty, the Pradyota dynasty, the Brihadratha dynasty and the Mauryan Empire, as well as the ...
to Pratishthana (modern
Paithan
Paithan pəɪ.ʈʰaɳ(), historically Pratiṣṭhāna ɾə'tɪʂʈʰana is a town with municipal council in Aurangabad district, Maharashtra, India. Paithan is located south of present-day Aurangabad on the Godavari River.
It was the cap ...
). Avanti was an important centre of Buddhism and some of the leading ''theras'' and ''theris'' were born and resided there. King Nandivardhana of Avanti was defeated by king
Shishunaga
Shishunaga ( IAST: Śiśunāga, or Shusunaga) (c. 413 – 395 BCE) was the founder of the Shishunaga dynasty of the Magadha Empire in the present day northern India. Initially, he was an ''amatya'' (official) of the Magadha empire under the Hary ...
of Magadha. Avanti later became part of the Magadhan empire.
Chedi
The Chedis, Chetis or Chetyas had two distinct settlements of which one was in the mountains of Nepal and the other in
Bundelkhand near
Kausambi
Kosambi (Pali) or Kaushambi (Sanskrit) was an important city in ancient India. It was the capital of the Vatsa kingdom, one of the sixteen mahajanapadas. It was located on the Yamuna River about southwest of its confluence with the Ganges at ...
. According to old authorities, Chedis lay near
Yamuna
The Yamuna ( Hindustani: ), also spelt Jumna, is the second-largest tributary river of the Ganges by discharge and the longest tributary in India. Originating from the Yamunotri Glacier at a height of about on the southwestern slopes of B ...
midway between the kingdom of
Kurus and
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 ...
s. In the mediaeval period, the southern frontiers of Chedi extended to the banks of the river
Narmada. Sotthivatnagara, the Sukti or Suktimati of
Mahabharata
The ''Mahābhārata'' ( ; sa, महाभारतम्, ', ) is one of the two major Sanskrit literature, Sanskrit Indian epic poetry, epics of ancient India in Hinduism, the other being the ''Ramayana, Rāmāyaṇa''. It narrates the s ...
, was the capital of Chedi. The Chedis were an ancient people of India and are mentioned in the
Rigveda
The ''Rigveda'' or ''Rig Veda'' ( ', from ' "praise" and ' "knowledge") is an ancient Indian collection of Vedic Sanskrit hymns (''sūktas''). It is one of the four sacred canonical Hindu texts ('' śruti'') known as the Vedas. Only one ...
, with their king Kashu Chaidya.
The location of the capital city,
Suktimati
Suktimati (Shuktimati, Sukti) was the capital city of the Yaduvanshi Chedi Kingdom in India. It lay on the banks of the river Shuktimati flowing through Chedi. It was built by a Chedi king known as Uparichara vasu. In the Mahabharata, it has bee ...
, has not been established with certainty. Historian
Hem Chandra Raychaudhuri
Hem Chandra Raychaudhuri ( bn, হেম চন্দ্র রায়চৌধুরী) (8 April 1892 – 4 May 1957Raychaudhuri, Hemchandra (1972). ''Political History of Ancient India: From the Accession of Parikshit to the Extinction of ...
and
F. E. Pargiter believed that it was in the vicinity of
Banda, Uttar Pradesh
Banda is a city and a municipal board in Banda district in the state of Uttar Pradesh, India. Banda is divided between north, east, west and south Banda. Banda lies south of the Yamuna river in the Bundelkhand region. It is the administrative ...
.
Archaeologist
Dilip Kumar Chakrabarti
Dilip Kumar Chakrabarti (born 27 April 1941) is an Indian archaeologist, Professor Emeritus of South Asian Archaeology at Cambridge University, and a Senior Fellow at the McDonald Institute for Archaeological Research, Cambridge University. He ...
has proposed that Suktimati can be identified as the ruins of a large
early historical city, at a place with the modern-day name Itaha, on the outskirts of
Rewa, Madhya Pradesh
Rewa is a city in north-eastern part of Madhya Pradesh state in India. It is the administrative center of Rewa District and Rewa Division. The city lies about northeast of the state capital Bhopal and north of the city of Jabalpur. The ma ...
.
Gandhāra
Gandhara1.JPG, Coin of Early Gandhara Janapada: AR Shatamana and one-eighth Shatamana (round), Taxila-Gandhara region, .
Taxila_(local_coinage)._Circa_220-185_BC.jpg, A coin of Takshashila
Taxila or Takshashila (; sa, तक्षशिला; pi, ; , ; , ) is a city in Punjab, Pakistan. Located in the Taxila Tehsil of Rawalpindi District, it lies approximately northwest of the Islamabad–Rawalpindi metropolitan area ...
, portrays a tree flanked by a hill surmounted by a crescent and a Nandipada
The ''Nandipada'' ("foot of Nandi") is an ancient Indian symbol, also called a taurine symbol, representing a bull's hoof or the mark left by the foot of a bull in the ground. The nandipada and the zebu bull are generally associated with Nandi, S ...
above a swastika.
The wool of the
Gandharis is referred to in the
Rigveda
The ''Rigveda'' or ''Rig Veda'' ( ', from ' "praise" and ' "knowledge") is an ancient Indian collection of Vedic Sanskrit hymns (''sūktas''). It is one of the four sacred canonical Hindu texts ('' śruti'') known as the Vedas. Only one ...
. The Gandharas and their king figure prominently as strong allies of the
Kurus against the
Pandava
The Pandavas (Sanskrit: पाण्डव, IAST: Pāṇḍava) refers to the five legendary brothers— Yudhishthira, Bhima, Arjuna, Nakula and Sahadeva—who are the central characters of the Hindu epic ''Mahabharata''. They are acknowledge ...
s in the
Mahabharata
The ''Mahābhārata'' ( ; sa, महाभारतम्, ', ) is one of the two major Sanskrit literature, Sanskrit Indian epic poetry, epics of ancient India in Hinduism, the other being the ''Ramayana, Rāmāyaṇa''. It narrates the s ...
war. The Gandharas were furious people, well-trained in the art of war. According to
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 ...
traditions, this Janapada was founded by ''Gandhara'', son of Aruddha, a descendant of Yayati. The princes of this country are said to have come from the line of Druhyu who was a famous king of the Rigvedic period and one of the five sons of king Yayati of lunar dynasty. The river Indus watered the lands of Gandhara.
Taksashila and
Pushkalavati
Pushkalavati ( ps, پشکلاوتي; Urdu: ; Sanskrit: ; Prākrit: ; grc, Πευκελαῶτις ) or Pushkaravati ( Sanskrit: ; Pāli: ), and later Shaikhan Dheri ( ps, شېخان ډېرۍ; ur, ), was the capital of the Gandhara kingd ...
, the two cities of this Mahajanapada, are said to have been named after Taksa and Pushkara, the two sons of
Bharata, a prince of
Ayodhya
Ayodhya (; ) is a city situated on the banks of holy river Saryu in the Indian state of Uttar Pradesh.
Ayodhya, also known as Saketa, is an ancient city of India, the birthplace of Rama and setting of the great epic Ramayana. Ayodhya wa ...
and younger brother of Lord
Rama
Rama (; ), Ram, Raman or Ramar, also known as Ramachandra (; , ), is a major deity in Hinduism. He is the seventh and one of the most popular '' avatars'' of Vishnu. In Rama-centric traditions of Hinduism, he is considered the Supreme Bein ...
. According to Vayu Purana (II.36.107), the Gandharas were destroyed by Pramiti (a.k.a. Kalika) at the end of ''
Kali Yuga''. Pāṇini mentioned both the Vedic form Gandhari as well as the later form Gandhara in his
Ashtadhyayi. The Gandhara kingdom sometimes also included
Kashmira
Kasmira was a kingdom identified as the Kashmir Valley along the Jhelum River of modern Jammu and Kashmir. During the epic ages this was one among the territories of the Naga race. The Kasmiras were allies of the Kuru king Duryodhana.
Referen ...
. Hecataeus of Miletus (549-468) refers to Kaspapyros (Kasyapura or Purushapura, i.e., modern day Peshawar) as a
Gandharic city. According to Gandhara Jataka, at one time, Gandhara formed a part of the kingdom of
Kashmir. The Jataka also gives another name ''Chandahara'' for Gandhara.
Gandhara Mahajanapada of
Buddhist
Buddhism ( , ), also known as Buddha Dharma and Dharmavinaya (), is an Indian religion or philosophical tradition based on teachings attributed to the Buddha. It originated in northern India as a -movement in the 5th century BCE, and ...
traditions included territories of east
Afghanistan
Afghanistan, officially the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan,; prs, امارت اسلامی افغانستان is a landlocked country located at the crossroads of Central Asia and South Asia. Referred to as the Heart of Asia, it is bordere ...
, and north-west of the Panjab (modern districts of
Peshawar
Peshawar (; ps, پېښور ; hnd, ; ; ur, ) is the sixth most populous city in Pakistan, with a population of over 2.3 million. It is situated in the north-west of the country, close to the International border with Afghanistan. It is ...
(Purushapura) and
Rawalpindi). Its later capital was Taksashila (Prakrit for
Taxila). The Taksashila University was a renowned centre of learning in ancient times, where scholars from all over the world came to seek higher education. Pāṇini, the Indian genius of grammar and
Kautiliya are the world-renowned products of Taxila University. King Pukkusati or Pushkarasarin of Gandhara in the middle of the 6th century BCE was the contemporary of king
Bimbisara
Bimbisāra (in Buddhist tradition) or Shrenika () and Seniya () in the Jain histories (c. 558 – c. 491 BCE or during the late 5th century BCE) was a King of Magadha (V. K. Agnihotri (ed.), ''Indian History''. Allied Publishers, New Delhi ...
of Magadha. Gandhara was located on the grand northern high road (Uttarapatha) and was a centre of international commercial activities. According to one group of scholars, the Gandharas and Kambojas were cognate people. It is also contended that the Kurus, Kambojas, Gandharas and Bahlikas were cognate people. According to Dr T. L. Shah, the Gandhara and Kamboja were nothing but two provinces of one empire and were located coterminously, hence influencing each other's language. Naturally, they may have once been a cognate people. Gandhara was often linked politically with the neighboring regions of
Kashmir and
Kamboja.
Kamboja
Kambojas are also included in the Uttarapatha. In ancient literature, the Kamboja is variously associated with the
Gandhara,
Darada
Daradas were a people who lived north and north-west to the Kashmir valley. This kingdom is identified to be the Gilgit region, in the Gilgit-Baltistan region (part of ancient Baloristan) along the river Sindhu or Indus. They are often spoke ...
and the
Bahlika (
Bactria). Ancient Kamboja is known to have comprised regions on either side of the
Hindukush
The Hindu Kush is an mountain range in Central and South Asia to the west of the Himalayas. It stretches from central and western Afghanistan, Quote: "The Hindu Kush mountains run along the Afghan border with the North-West Frontier Province ...
. The original Kamboja was located in eastern
Oxus
The Amu Darya, tk, Amyderýa/ uz, Amudaryo// tg, Амударё, Amudaryo ps, , tr, Ceyhun / Amu Derya grc, Ὦξος, Ôxos (also called the Amu, Amo River and historically known by its Latin name or Greek ) is a major river in Central Asi ...
country as neighbor to Bahlika, but with time, some
clans of the Kambojas appear to have crossed the Hindukush and planted colonies on its southern side also. These latter Kambojas are associated with the Daradas and Gandharas in Indian literature and also find mention in the
Edicts
An edict is a decree or announcement of a law, often associated with monarchism, but it can be under any official authority. Synonyms include "dictum" and "pronouncement".
''Edict'' derives from the Latin edictum.
Notable edicts
* Telepinu Pro ...
of
Ashoka
Ashoka (, ; also ''Asoka''; 304 – 232 BCE), popularly known as Ashoka the Great, was the third emperor of the Maurya Empire of Indian subcontinent during to 232 BCE. His empire covered a large part of the Indian subcontinent, s ...
. The evidence in the
Mahabharata
The ''Mahābhārata'' ( ; sa, महाभारतम्, ', ) is one of the two major Sanskrit literature, Sanskrit Indian epic poetry, epics of ancient India in Hinduism, the other being the ''Ramayana, Rāmāyaṇa''. It narrates the s ...
and in
Ptolemy
Claudius Ptolemy (; grc-gre, Πτολεμαῖος, ; la, Claudius Ptolemaeus; AD) was a mathematician, astronomer, astrologer, geographer, and music theorist, who wrote about a dozen scientific treatises, three of which were of importance ...
's Geography distinctly supports two Kamboja settlements. The cis-Hindukush region from
Nurestan
Nuristan, also spelled as Nurestan or Nooristan (Dari: ; Kamkata-vari: ), is one of the 34 provinces of Afghanistan, located in the eastern part of the country. It is divided into seven districts and is Afghanistan's least populous province, w ...
up to
Rajauri
Rajouri or Rajauri (; Pahari: 𑠤𑠬𑠑𑠶𑠤𑠮, راجوری; sa, राजपुर, ) is a city in Rajouri district in the union territory of Jammu and Kashmir, India. It is located about from Srinagar and from Jammu city on the ...
in southwest of
Kashmir sharing borders with the
Daradas
Daradas were a people who lived north and north-west to the Kashmir valley. This kingdom is identified to be the Gilgit region, in the Gilgit-Baltistan region (part of ancient Baloristan) along the river Sindhu or Indus. They are often spoken alo ...
and the
Gandharas constituted the ''Kamboja'' country. The capital of ''Kamboja'' was probably ''Rajapura'' (modern Rajori) in the south-west of Kashmir. The ''Kamboja Mahajanapada'' of the
Buddhist
Buddhism ( , ), also known as Buddha Dharma and Dharmavinaya (), is an Indian religion or philosophical tradition based on teachings attributed to the Buddha. It originated in northern India as a -movement in the 5th century BCE, and ...
traditions refers to this cis-Hindukush branch of ancient Kambojas.
The trans-Hindukush region including the
Pamirs
The Pamir Mountains are a mountain range between Central Asia and Pakistan. It is located at a junction with other notable mountains, namely the Tian Shan, Karakoram, Kunlun, Hindu Kush and the Himalaya mountain ranges. They are among the world ...
and
Badakhshan
Badakhshan is a historical region comprising parts of modern-day north-eastern Afghanistan, eastern Tajikistan, and Taxkorgan Tajik Autonomous County in China. Badakhshan Province is one of the 34 provinces of Afghanistan. Much of historic Ba ...
which shared borders with the
Bahlikas (Bactria) in the west and the Lohas and
Rishikas
The Rishikas (also ''Rshika'' and ''Ṛṣika'') was an ancient Kingdom of Central Asia and South Asia, who are mentioned in Hindu and Sanskrit literary texts, including the ''Mahabharata'', the ''Ramayana'', the '' Brhat-Samhita'', the '' Markend ...
of
Sogdiana
Sogdia ( Sogdian: ) or Sogdiana was an ancient Iranian civilization between the Amu Darya and the Syr Darya, and in present-day Uzbekistan, Turkmenistan, Tajikistan, Kazakhstan, and Kyrgyzstan. Sogdiana was also a province of the Achaemenid Empi ...
/
Fergana
Fergana ( uz, Fargʻona/Фарғона, ), or Ferghana, is a district-level city and the capital of Fergana Region in eastern Uzbekistan. Fergana is about 420 km east of Tashkent, about 75 km west of Andijan, and less than 20 km fr ...
in the north, constituted the
Parama-Kamboja country. The trans-Hindukush branch of the Kambojas remained pure
Iranian
Iranian may refer to:
* Iran, a sovereign state
* Iranian peoples, the speakers of the Iranian languages. The term Iranic peoples is also used for this term to distinguish the pan ethnic term from Iranian, used for the people of Iran
* Iranian lan ...
but a large section of the Kambojas of cis-Hindukush appears to have come under Indian cultural influence. The Kambojas are known to have had both
Iran
Iran, officially the Islamic Republic of Iran, and also called Persia, is a country located in Western Asia. It is bordered by Iraq and Turkey to the west, by Azerbaijan and Armenia to the northwest, by the Caspian Sea and Turkmeni ...
ian as well as Indian affinities.
The Kambojas were also a well known republican people since
Epic times. The
Mahabharata
The ''Mahābhārata'' ( ; sa, महाभारतम्, ', ) is one of the two major Sanskrit literature, Sanskrit Indian epic poetry, epics of ancient India in Hinduism, the other being the ''Ramayana, Rāmāyaṇa''. It narrates the s ...
refers to several (or Republics) of the Kambojas.
Kautiliya's
Arthashastra attestes the Kambojas republican character and
Ashoka
Ashoka (, ; also ''Asoka''; 304 – 232 BCE), popularly known as Ashoka the Great, was the third emperor of the Maurya Empire of Indian subcontinent during to 232 BCE. His empire covered a large part of the Indian subcontinent, s ...
's Edict No. XIII also testifies the presence of the Kambojas along with the Yavanas. Pāṇini's Sutras, though tend to convey that the Kamboja of Pāṇini was a
Kshatriya
Kshatriya ( hi, क्षत्रिय) (from Sanskrit ''kṣatra'', "rule, authority") is one of the four varna (social orders) of Hindu society, associated with warrior aristocracy. The Sanskrit term ''kṣatriyaḥ'' is used in the con ...
monarchy, but "the special rule and the exceptional form of derivative" he gives to denote the ruler of the Kambojas implies that the king of Kamboja was a titular head (''king consul'') only. According to Buddhist texts, the first fourteen of the above Mahajanapadas belong to Majjhimadesa (''Mid India'') while the last two belong to Uttarapatha or the ''north-west'' division of
Jambudvipa.
In a struggle for supremacy that followed in the 6th/5th century BCE, the growing state of the Magadhas emerged as the predominant power in ancient India, annexing several of the Janapadas of the Majjhimadesa. A bitter line in the
Purana
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 ...
s laments that Magadhan emperor
Mahapadma Nanda
Mahapadma Nanda (IAST: ''Mahāpadmānanda''; c. mid 4th century BCE), according to the Puranas, was the first Emperor of the Nanda Empire of ancient India. The Puranas describe him as a son of the last Shaishunaga king Mahanandin and a Shudra ...
exterminated all
Kshatriya
Kshatriya ( hi, क्षत्रिय) (from Sanskrit ''kṣatra'', "rule, authority") is one of the four varna (social orders) of Hindu society, associated with warrior aristocracy. The Sanskrit term ''kṣatriyaḥ'' is used in the con ...
s, none worthy of the name Kshatriya being left thereafter. This obviously refers to the Kasis, Kosalas, Kurus, Panchalas, Vatsyas and other neo-Vedic tribes of the east Panjab of whom nothing was ever heard except in the legend and poetry. (The Nandas usurped the throne of
Shishunaga dynasty
The Shaishunaga dynasty ( IAST: Śaiśunāga, literally "of Shishunaga") is the fourth ruling dynasty of Magadha, an empire of ancient India. According to the Hindu '' Puranas'', this dynasty was the second ruling dynasty of Magadha, succeeding ...
c. 345 BCE, thus founding the
Nanda Empire.)
The Kambojans and Gandharans, however, never came into direct contact with the Magadhan state until
Chandragupta and
Kautiliya arose on the scene. But these nations also fell prey to the
Achaemenid
The Achaemenid Empire or Achaemenian Empire (; peo, 𐎧𐏁𐏂, , ), also called the First Persian Empire, was an ancient Iranian empire founded by Cyrus the Great in 550 BC. Based in Western Asia, it was contemporarily the largest emp ...
s of
Persia
Iran, officially the Islamic Republic of Iran, and also called Persia, is a country located in Western Asia. It is bordered by Iraq and Turkey to the west, by Azerbaijan and Armenia to the northwest, by the Caspian Sea and Turkmeni ...
during the reign of
Cyrus
Cyrus ( Persian: کوروش) is a male given name. It is the given name of a number of Persian kings. Most notably it refers to Cyrus the Great ( BC). Cyrus is also the name of Cyrus I of Anshan ( BC), King of Persia and the grandfather of Cyrus ...
(558–530 BCE) or in the first year of
Darius. Kamboja and Gandhara formed the twentieth and richest satrapy of the Achaemenid Empire. Cyrus I is said to have destroyed the famous Kamboja city called Kapisi (modern
Begram
Bagram (; Pashto/ fa, بگرام) is a town and seat in Bagram District in Parwan Province of Afghanistan, about 60 kilometers north of the capital Kabul. It is the site of an ancient city located at the junction of the Ghorband and Panjshir V ...
) in
Paropamisade.
Kāśi
The kingdom was located in the region around its capital
Varanasi
Varanasi (; ; also Banaras or Benares (; ), and Kashi.) is a city on the Ganges river in northern India that has a central place in the traditions of pilgrimage, death, and mourning in the Hindu world.
*
*
*
* The city has a syncretic t ...
, bounded by the Varuna and Asi rivers in the north and south which gave Varanasi its name. Before Buddha, Kasi was the most powerful of the sixteen Mahajanapadas. Several ''
jataka tales
The Jātakas (meaning "Birth Story", "related to a birth") are a voluminous body of literature native to India which mainly concern the previous births of Gautama Buddha in both human and animal form. According to Peter Skilling, this genre is ...
'' bear witness to the superiority of its capital over other cities in India and speak highly of its prosperity and opulence. These stories tell of the long struggle for supremacy between Kashi and the three kingdoms of
Kosala,
Anga
Anga (Sanskrit: ) was an ancient Indo-Aryan tribe of eastern South Asia whose existence is attested during the Iron Age. The members of the Aṅga tribe were called the Āṅgeyas.
Counted among the "sixteen great nations" in Buddhist texts ...
and
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 ...
. Although King Brihadratha of Kashi conquered
Kosala, Kashi was later incorporated into
Kosala by King Kansa during Buddha's time. The Kashis along with the Kosalas and Videhans find mention in Vedic texts and appear to have been a closely allied people. The ''
Matsya Purana
The ''Matsya Purana'' (IAST: Matsya Purāṇa) is one of the eighteen major Puranas (Mahapurana), and among the oldest and better preserved in the Puranic genre of Sanskrit literature in Hinduism. The text is a Vaishnavism text named after the h ...
'' and ''Alberuni'' spell Kashi as ''Kausika'' and ''Kaushaka'' respectively. All other ancient texts read Kashi.
Kosala
![Kosala Karshapana](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/4/4d/Kosala_Karshapana.jpg)
The country of Kosala was located to the north-west of Magadha, with its capital at
Ayodhya
Ayodhya (; ) is a city situated on the banks of holy river Saryu in the Indian state of Uttar Pradesh.
Ayodhya, also known as Saketa, is an ancient city of India, the birthplace of Rama and setting of the great epic Ramayana. Ayodhya wa ...
. Its territory corresponded to the modern
Awadh
Awadh (), known in British historical texts as Avadh or Oudh, is a region in the modern Indian state of Uttar Pradesh, which was before independence known as the United Provinces of Agra and Oudh. It is synonymous with the Kośāla region of ...
(or Oudh) in Central and Eastern
Uttar Pradesh
Uttar Pradesh (; , 'Northern Province') is a state in northern India. With over 200 million inhabitants, it is the most populated state in India as well as the most populous country subdivision in the world. It was established in 1950 ...
. It had the river
Ganges
The Ganges ( ) (in India: Ganga ( ); in Bangladesh: Padma ( )). "The Ganges Basin, known in India as the Ganga and in Bangladesh as the Padma, is an international river to which India, Bangladesh, Nepal and China are the riparian states." is ...
for its southern, the river Gandak (Narayani) for its eastern, and the
Himalaya
The Himalayas, or Himalaya (; ; ), is a mountain range in Asia, separating the plains of the Indian subcontinent from the Tibetan Plateau. The range has some of the planet's highest peaks, including the very highest, Mount Everest. Over 100 ...
mountains for its northern boundary. It finds mention as the center of Vedic Dharma. Its kings allied with the
Devatas
''Devata'' (pl: ''devatas'', meaning 'the gods') ( Devanagari: देवता; Khmer: ទេវតា (''tevoda''); Thai: เทวดา (''tevada''); Javanese, Balinese, Sundanese, Malay: ''dewata''; Batak languages: ''debata'' (Toba ...
in various wars against the Daityas, Rakshas, and Asuras. Koshala and Ayodhya hold a central place in the Hindu scriptures, Itihas, and Purana. Raghuvansha-Ikshvakuvansha was the longest continuous dynasty; Lord Rama was a king in this dynasty. Other great kings were Prithu, Harishchandra, and Dilip, who are each mentioned in different Puranas, Ramayan, and Mahabharat. According to these texts, Koshala was the most powerful and biggest kingdom ever in the recorded history.
![Procession of Prasenajit of Kosala leaving Sravasti to meet the Buddha](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/7/74/Procession_of_Prasenajit_of_Kosala_leaving_Sravasti_to_meet_the_Buddha.jpg)
Later, the kingdom was ruled by the famous king Prasenajit during the era of Mahavira and Buddha, followed by his son Vidudabha (
Virudhaka). King Prasenajit was highly educated. His position was further improved by a matrimonial alliance with Magadha: his sister was married to Bimbisara and part of Kasi was given as dowry. There was, however, a struggle for supremacy between king
Pasenadi
Pasenadi ( pi, पसेनदि ; sa, प्रसेनजित् ; c. 6th century BCE) was an ruler of Kosala. Sāvatthī was his capital. He succeeded after . He was a prominent (lay follower) of Gautama Buddha, and built many Buddh ...
(Prasenajit) and king
Ajatashatru
Ajatasattu (Pāli ) or Ajatashatru (Sanskrit ) in Buddhist tradition, or Kunika () and Kuniya () in the Jain histories, (c. 492 to 460 BCE or early 5th century BCE) was one of the most important kings of the Haryanka dynasty of Magadha in East ...
of Magadha which was finally settled once the confederation of
Liccavis became conquered by Magadha. Kosala was ultimately merged into Magadha when Vidudabha was Kosala's ruler.
Ayodhya
Ayodhya (; ) is a city situated on the banks of holy river Saryu in the Indian state of Uttar Pradesh.
Ayodhya, also known as Saketa, is an ancient city of India, the birthplace of Rama and setting of the great epic Ramayana. Ayodhya wa ...
,
Saketa, Banaras, and Sravasti were the chief cities of Kosala.
Kuru
![Kurus (Kurukshetras) circa 350-315 BCE](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/2/28/Kurus_%28Kurukshetras%29_circa_350-315_BCE.jpg)
The
Purana
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 ...
s trace the origin of Kurus from the ''Puru (Vedic tribe), Puru-Bhāratas, Bharata'' family. Kuru was born after 25 generations of Puru's dynasty, and after 15 generations of Kuru, Kauravas and Pandavas were born. Aitareya Brahmana locates the Kurus in ''Madhyadesha'' and also refers to the Uttarakurus as living beyond the Himalayas. According to the Buddhist text Sumangavilasini, the people of Kururashtra (the Kurus) came from the Uttarakuru. Vayu Purana attests that ''Kuru'', son of Samvarsana of the Puru lineage, was the eponymous ancestor of the Kurus and the founder of Kururashtra (Kuru Janapada) in Kurukshetra. The country of the Kurus roughly corresponded to the modern Thanesar, state of Delhi, and Meerut district of
Uttar Pradesh
Uttar Pradesh (; , 'Northern Province') is a state in northern India. With over 200 million inhabitants, it is the most populated state in India as well as the most populous country subdivision in the world. It was established in 1950 ...
. According to the Jatakas, the capital of the Kurus was Indraprastha (Indapatta) near modern Delhi which extended seven leagues. At Buddha's time, the Kuru country was ruled by a titular chieftain (king consul) named Korayvya. The Kurus of the Buddhist period did not occupy the same position as they did in the
Vedic period
The Vedic period, or the Vedic age (), is the period in the late Bronze Age and early Iron Age of the history of India when the Vedic literature, including the Vedas (ca. 1300–900 BCE), was composed in the northern Indian subcontinent, betwe ...
but they continued to enjoy their ancient reputation for deep wisdom and sound health. The Kurus had matrimonial relations with the Yadu, Yadavas, the Bhojas, Trigratas, and the Panchalas. There is a Jataka reference to king Dhananjaya, introduced as a prince from the race of Yudhishtra. Though a well known monarchical people in the earlier period, the Kurus are known to have switched to a republican form of government during the 6th to 5th centuries BCE. In the 4th century BCE,
Kautiliya's
Arthashastra also attests the Kurus following the ''Rajashabdopajivin'' (king consul) constitution.
Magadha
![Magadha kingdom coin Circa 350 BC AR Karshapana](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/c/c7/Magadha_kingdom_coin_Circa_350_BC_AR_Karshapana.jpg)
The
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 ...
was one of the most prominent and prosperous of mahajanapadas. The capital city Pataliputra (near present day Patna, Bihar) was situated on the confluence of major rivers like the Ganga, Son, Punpun and Gandak. The alluvial plains of this region and its proximity to the copper and iron rich areas of Bihar and Jharkhand helped the kingdom to develop good quality weapons and support the agrarian economy. Its location at the centre of the highways of trade of those days contributed to its wealth. All these factors helped
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 ...
to emerge as the most prosperous state of that period.
The kingdom of the
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 ...
s roughly corresponded to the modern districts of Patna and Gaya, India, Gaya in southern Bihar and parts of Bengal in the east. The capital city of Pataliputra was bound in the north by the river Ganges, in the east by the river Champa, in the south by the
Vindhya
The Vindhya Range (also known as Vindhyachal) () is a complex, discontinuous chain of mountain ridges, hill ranges, highlands and plateau escarpments in west-central India.
Technically, the Vindhyas do not form a single mountain range in the ...
mountains and in the west by the river Sona. During Buddha's time its boundaries included Anga. Its earliest capital was Girivraja or Rajagaha (modern Rajgir in the Nalanda district of Bihar). The other names for the city were Magadhapura, Brihadrathapura, Vasumati, Kushagrapura and Bimbisarapuri. It was an active center of
Jainism
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 bein ...
in ancient times. The first Buddhist Council was held in Rajagaha in the Vaibhara Hills. Later on, Pataliputra became the capital of Magadha.
Malla
The Malla (tribe), Mallakas are frequently mentioned in Buddhist and
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 ...
works. They were a powerful people dwelling in Northern India. According to Mahabharata, Panduputra Bhimasena is said to have conquered the chief of the Mallakas in the course of his expedition in Eastern India. During the Buddhist period, the Mallakas Kshatriya were a republican people with their dominion consisting of nine territories corresponding to the nine confederated clans. These republican states were known as
s. Two of these confederations – one with Kushinagar (modern Kasia near Gorakhpur) as its capital and the second with Pava (modern Fazilnagar, southeast of Kushinagar) as the ''capital'' – had become very important at the time of Buddha. Kuśināra is very important in the history of
Buddhism
Buddhism ( , ), also known as Buddha Dharma and Dharmavinaya (), is an Indian religions, Indian religion or Indian philosophy#Buddhist philosophy, philosophical tradition based on Pre-sectarian Buddhism, teachings attributed to the Buddha. ...
since Gautama Buddha, Lord Buddha took last meal at Pava. Buddha was taken ill at Pava and died at Kusinara. It is widely believed that Lord Gautam died at the courtyard of King Sastipal Mall of Kushinagar. Kushinagar is now the centre of the Buddhist pilgrimage circle which is being developed by the tourism development corporation of Uttar Pradesh.
The Mallakas, like the Licchavi (tribe), Licchavis, are mentioned by Manusmriti as Vratya
Kshatriya
Kshatriya ( hi, क्षत्रिय) (from Sanskrit ''kṣatra'', "rule, authority") is one of the four varna (social orders) of Hindu society, associated with warrior aristocracy. The Sanskrit term ''kṣatriyaḥ'' is used in the con ...
s. They are called Vasishthas (Vasetthas) in the Mahapparnibbana Suttanta. The Mallakas originally had a monarchical form of government but later they switched to one of Sangha (Buddhism), Samgha (republic), the members of which called themselves ''rajas''. The Mallakas appeared to have formed an alliance with the Licchhavis for self-defense but lost their independence not long after Buddha's death and their dominions were annexed to the Magadhan empire.
Matsya
The country of the
Matsya
Matsya ( sa, मत्स्य, lit. ''fish'') is the fish avatar of the Hindu god Vishnu. Often described as the first of Vishnu's ten primary avatars, Matsya is described to have rescued the first man, Manu, from a great deluge. Matsya ...
or Macchā tribe lay to the south of the Kurus and west of the
Yamuna
The Yamuna ( Hindustani: ), also spelt Jumna, is the second-largest tributary river of the Ganges by discharge and the longest tributary in India. Originating from the Yamunotri Glacier at a height of about on the southwestern slopes of B ...
, which separated them from the Panchalas. It roughly corresponded to the former state of Jaipur in Rajasthan, and included the whole of Alwar with portions of Bharatpur, India, Bharatpur. The capital of Matsya was at ''Viratanagara'' (modern Bairat) which is said to have been named after its founder king Virata. In Pāli, Pali literature, the Matsyas are usually associated with the Surasenas. The western Matsya was the hill tract on the north bank of the Chambal River, Chambal. A branch of Matsya is also found in later days in the Vizagapatam region. The Matsyas had not much political importance of their own during the time of Buddha.
Pañcāla
![Panchalas of Adhichhatra](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/5/53/Panchalas_of_Adhichhatra.jpg)
The Panchalas occupied the country to the east of the Kurus between the mountains and river Ganges. It roughly corresponded to modern Budaun, Farrukhabad and the adjoining districts of
Uttar Pradesh
Uttar Pradesh (; , 'Northern Province') is a state in northern India. With over 200 million inhabitants, it is the most populated state in India as well as the most populous country subdivision in the world. It was established in 1950 ...
. The country was divided into Uttara-Panchala and Dakshina-Panchala. The northern Panchala had its capital at Adhichhatra or Chhatravati (modern Ramnagar in the Bareilly District), while southern Panchala had its capital at Kampilya or Kampil in the Farrukhabad District. The famous city of Kanyakubja or Kanauj was situated in the kingdom of Panchala. Originally a monarchical
clan, the Panchals appear to have switched to republican corporation in the 6th and 5th centuries BCE. In the 4th century BCE,
Kautiliya's
Arthashastra also attests the Panchalas as following the ''Rajashabdopajivin'' (king consul) constitution.
Śūrasena
![First coin of India](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/a/a4/First_coin_of_India.jpg)
The country of the Surasenas lay to the east of Matsya and west of
Yamuna
The Yamuna ( Hindustani: ), also spelt Jumna, is the second-largest tributary river of the Ganges by discharge and the longest tributary in India. Originating from the Yamunotri Glacier at a height of about on the southwestern slopes of B ...
. This corresponds roughly to the Brij region of Uttar Pradesh, Haryana and Rajasthan. and Gwalior region of
Madhya Pradesh
Madhya Pradesh (, ; meaning 'central province') is a state in central India. Its capital is Bhopal, and the largest city is Indore, with Jabalpur, Ujjain, Gwalior, Sagar, and Rewa being the other major cities. Madhya Pradesh is the seco ...
. It had its capital at Madhura or Mathura, Uttar Pradesh, Mathura. Avantiputra, the king of Surasena, was the first among the chief disciples of Buddha, through whose help
Buddhism
Buddhism ( , ), also known as Buddha Dharma and Dharmavinaya (), is an Indian religions, Indian religion or Indian philosophy#Buddhist philosophy, philosophical tradition based on Pre-sectarian Buddhism, teachings attributed to the Buddha. ...
gained ground in Mathura country. The Andhakas and Vrishnis of Mathura/Surasena are referred to in the
Ashtadhyayi of Pāṇini. In
Kautiliya's
Arthashastra, the Vrishnis are described as ''sangha'' or republic. The Vrishnis, Andhakas and other allied tribes of the Yadu, Yadavas formed a ''sangha'' and Vasudeva (Krishna) is described as the ''sangha-mukhya''. Mathura, the capital of Surasena, was also known at the time of Megasthenes as the centre of Krishna worship. The Surasena kingdom had lost its independence on annexation by the Magadhan empire.
Vṛji
![Anandastupa](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/6/64/Anandastupa.jpg)
or was a confederacy of neighbouring clans including the Licchavi (tribe), Licchavis and one of the principal mahājanapadas of Ancient India. The area they ruled constitutes the region of Mithila (ancient), Mithila in Nepal and northern Bihar and their capital was the city of Vaishali (ancient city), Vaishali.
Both the Buddhist text ''Anguttara Nikaya'' and the Jaina text ''Bhagavati Sutra'' (''Saya'' xv ''Uddesa'' I) included Vajji in their lists of ''solasa'' (sixteen) mahājanapadas. The name of this mahājanapada was derived from one of its ruling clans, the Vṛjis. The Vajji state is indicated to have been a republic. This clan is mentioned by
Pāṇini
, era = ;;6th–5th century BCE
, region = Indian philosophy
, main_interests = Grammar, linguistics
, notable_works = ' ( Classical Sanskrit)
, influenced=
, notable_ideas=Descriptive linguistics
(Devanaga ...
, Chanakya and Xuanzang.
Vatsa (or Vaṃsa)
The
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 ...
s or Vamsas are called to be a branch of the
Kurus. The Vatsa or Vamsa country corresponded with the territory of modern Allahabad in
Uttar Pradesh
Uttar Pradesh (; , 'Northern Province') is a state in northern India. With over 200 million inhabitants, it is the most populated state in India as well as the most populous country subdivision in the world. It was established in 1950 ...
. It had a monarchical form of government with its capital at
Kausambi
Kosambi (Pali) or Kaushambi (Sanskrit) was an important city in ancient India. It was the capital of the Vatsa kingdom, one of the sixteen mahajanapadas. It was located on the Yamuna River about southwest of its confluence with the Ganges at ...
(identified with the village Kosam, 38 miles from Allahabad).
Kausambi was a very prosperous city where a large number of wealthy merchants resided. It was the most important entrepôt of goods and passengers from the north-west and south. Udayana was the ruler of
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 ...
in the 6th-5th century BCE. He was very powerful, warlike and fond of hunting. Initially king Udayana was opposed to
Buddhism
Buddhism ( , ), also known as Buddha Dharma and Dharmavinaya (), is an Indian religions, Indian religion or Indian philosophy#Buddhist philosophy, philosophical tradition based on Pre-sectarian Buddhism, teachings attributed to the Buddha. ...
, but later became a follower of Buddha and made Buddhism the state religion. Udayana's mother, Vatsa#Mrigavati, Queen Mrigavati, is notable for being one of the earliest known female rulers in Indian history.
See also
* Magadha-Vajji war
*
Janapada
* Iron Age in India
* Epic India
* Indo-Aryan peoples
* Rigvedic tribes
* Achaemenid conquest of the Indus Valley
References
Further reading
*R. C. Majumdar and A. D. Pusalker, eds. ''The History and Culture of the Indian People''. Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan, Bombay 1951.
*Sethna, K. D. (1989). ''Ancient India in a new light''. New Delhi: Aditya Prakashan.
*Sethna, K. D. (2000). ''Problems of ancient India''. New Delhi: Aditya Prakashan.
{{Authority control
Mahajanapadas,
Ancient Indian geography, *
Empires and kingdoms of India
Bronze Age countries in Asia
Iron Age countries in Asia
Iron Age cultures of South Asia
Indo-Aryan peoples
6th-century BC establishments
4th-century BC disestablishments