16 Mahajanapadas – History, Capital and Location

Overview

• ‘Janapada’ (spelt as Janpad) comes from the Sanskrit root Jana meaning a tribe, and pada meaning feet. Thus, ‘Janapada’ means the area where the people of the ‘Jana’ tribe set foot.
• In Vedic society, a clan was essentially a pastoral group constantly moving in search of greener pastures. This meant that the area of the ‘Janapada’ changed frequently. Nevertheless, getting control of the best pasture land became the prime political motive in the Vedic period.
• However, in the later Vedic period (1000BCE – 600BCE), themembersof the ‘Jana’ took up agriculture and began to settle down. These fixed agricultural settlements, i.e. the Janapadas, transformed into territories of the state.
• The Formation of states or Rashtra is a distinguishing feature of this age, which could be both monarchical and republican.
• From the 6th century BCE onwards, some Janapads developed into Mahajanapadas (spelt as mahajanpadas). This change is attributed to a series of developments in the socio-economic structures, such as:
• The land now became the most important source of wealth instead of cattle.
• In addition, Iron weapons caused the warrior class to play a more significant role in political life.
• The new agricultural tools and implements led to surplus production, which the state could tax to meet its military and administrative needs.
• Towns started developing due to surplus production and increasing trade activities.

The Sixteen Mahajanapadas

We find them mentioned in the Buddhist and later Vedic texts. These Mahajanapadas were a conglomerate of thousands of villages and a few towns. They extended from North Western Pakistan to Bengal and from the sub-montane regions of the Himalayas to the Godavari.

The Buddhist text Anguttara Nikaya of the Sutta–Pitaka gives the list of the following sixteen Mahajanapadas in the time of Buddha:

However, the Anguttara Nikaya fails to mention several important Janapadas still. For example, Kalinga grew into a powerful kingdom after the Magadha’s reign. Vanga later developed into Banga(Bengal). The Andhras later evolved into a powerful Satvahana dynasty.

Nevertheless, four of the sixteen Mahajanapadas grew into even stronger kingdoms.

Four Major Mahajanapadas

Out of the 16 mahajanapadas, four mahajanapadas, namely Magadh, Kosala, Avanti and Vatsa, fought amongst themselves for supremacy. Ultimately, Magadha emerged victorious and became the most powerful kingdom in northern India.

Avanti

• It was situated in the modern-day Malwa Plateau and had  Ujjaini as its northern capital and Mahishmati as its southern capital.
• Avanti had a significant place in the development of Buddhism.
• During the lifetime of Buddha, Chandra Pradyota riled Avanti.
• It was finally annexed by Magadha in the 4^th  century BC.

Kosala

• It was located in modern-day eastern Uttar Pradesh, particularly the Awadh region, and had its capital at Shravasti.
• It included the tribal republican territory of the Shakyas of Kapilvastu, which is also associated with the birthplace of Gautam Buddha.
• Ayodhya was an important city.

Vatsa

• It was situated along the bank of Yamuna, with its capital at Kaushambi near Prayagraj.
• The ruler Udayana made Buddhism a state religion.
• It was later annexed to the Avanti kingdom.
• It was a centre of trade and economic activities.

Magadha

• Magadha’s eventually emerged as the most powerful empire, which consolidated most of the Mahajanapadas
• It first expanded under the leadership of Bimbisara of the Haryanka dynasty, who started a policy of conquest and aggression, which ended with the Kalinga war during the rule of  Ashoka.
• By the end of this phase, Magadha controlled almost all of the Indian subcontinent.