The Mahajanapadas

The Mahajanapadas

Ø  From the 6^th century BC, iron tools and its implements began to be used widely which helped in the production of surplus foodgrains.

Ø  The surplus of the production were collected by the princes to meet their military and administrative needs. Thus, new towns came into existence as people started to lead a settled life, to stick to their land and also expanded at the cost of the neighbouring virgin areas.

Ø  The rise of the large states with towns as their capital strengthened the territorial idea.

Ø  In the 6^th century BC, there existed 16 large states or Mahajanapadas in India, namely, Kashi, Kosala, Anga, Magadha, Vajji, Malla, Chedi, Vatsa, Kuru, Panchala, Matsya, Surasena, Assaka, Avanti, Gandhara and Kamboj.

 

·         The Locations and Capitals of the  Mahajanapadas:

Ø  Kashi: It was located on the confluence of rivers Ganga and Gomoti(present day Varanasi district) and its capital was Varanasi. In the beginning Kashi appears as a powerful state, but in due course it was captured by Kosala and Magadha.

Ø  Kosala: this area was located at the present day Uttar Pradesh with River Gomati on the west, River Sadaniva on the east, Nepal hills on the north and River Syandika on the south. Kosala’s capital was at Shravasti which is identical with present day Sahet Mahet.

Ø  Anga: it was located in the present day Bhagalpur and Munger districts of Bihar, with Magadh on the west and Rajmahal hills in the east. Champa was its capital.

Ø  Magadh: Magadha  area was around the present day Patna and Gaya districts of Bihar. It was bounded by the Rivers Son and Ganga on its north and west respectively. its  capital was at Rajgriha.

Ø  Vajji:  This area was centered around the present day Vaishali district of Bihar. It was separated from Kosala by River Gandak. Vaishali was its capital.

Ø  Malla: it was located to the east and south-east territory of the Sakyas and the south of the Vajji state. Its capital was at Kushinagar & Pava(places associated with Lord Buddha and Lord Mahavira).

Ø  Chedi: this area was located at the eastern parts of the modern Bundelkhand and Sotthivati was its capital.

Ø  Vatsa: Vatsa was situated around modern Allahabad and its capital was Kausambi.

Ø  Kuru: Kuru was located around the modern day of Delhi-Meerut region. Hastinapur, Indraprastha and Isukara were its capitals.

Ø  Panchal: Present day Rohikhand and a part of Central Doab(UP) was coming under this region. Northern Panchal namely, Ahicchatra  and southern Panchal namely, Kampilya were its capital.

Ø  Matsya: Modern day Jaipur, Bharatpur and Alwar regions of present day Rajasthan were comprised Matsya state. Its capital was at Viratnagar.

Ø  Surasena: this area was located at the Mathura region which was the junction of two famous ancient Indian trade routes- Uttarapatha and Dakshinapatha. Mathura was its capital.

Ø  Assaka: on the banks of Godavari River (near modern Paithan in Maharashtra) and Pratisthana was its capital.

Ø  Gandhara: This region was between Kabul and Rawalpindi in North-Western Province. Taxila was its capital.

Ø  Kamboj: Around the present day Punch area in Kashmir: near Gandhara state. Rajpur was its capital.

 

·         The Republics in the 6^th Century:

Ø  Along with the Mahajanapadas, there existed many republics in India in the 6^th century BC. These republics were located either in eastern Uttar Pradesh and Bihar or in Indus basin.

Ø  In the Republics, real power was laying in the hands of tribal oligarchies. The representatives of the tribes and the heads of families sat in the public assembly known as Santhagara. The assembly was presided over  by one of the representatives called the Raja or the Senapati. Thus, the oligarchs formed the core of the assemblies.

Ø  Members of the ruling tribal assembly belonged mostly from the kshatriya caste. In many of the republics, most non-kshatriyas, slaves and wage labourers had no place in the assembly.

There were many administrative terms such as mahamatta and amachcha(amatya) were common to republics and monarchies.

 

·         Important Republics In 6^th century BC:

Ø  Shakya of Kapilavastu: This republic was situated on the northern boundary of the Nepal’s Terai region whose capital was Kapilavastu. Lord Gautama  Buddha was born in this republic.

Ø  Bulli: the Bulli republic was situated in the modern in modern day  Shahabad and Murzaffarpur district of Bihar. Its capital was at Alkappa.

Ø  Kalam: its capital was Keshaputta. Alar Kalam, the famous preacher of Gautama Buddha belonged to this republic.

Ø  Bhagga: the capital of Bhagga republic was SunsumarGiri. It was spread in modern day Mirzapur district of Uttar Pradesh.

Ø  Koliya: this republic was situated in the modern day Rampur-Deoria regions of Uttar Pradesh. Its capital was at Ramgram. The Koliyas belonged to Ikshwaku clan.

Ø  Malla: this republic included the regions of modern day Gorakhpur district of Uttarpradesh,  Champaran and Saran districts of Bihar. Initially, Chandrakanta was its capital, but later on, Kushinagar(famous for Mahaparinirvana of Lord Buddha) and Pava(associated with the death of Lord Mahavir) were made the two capitals of Malla.    

Ø  Moriya: Pippalivan(present day Updhauli in Uttar Pradesh) was the capital of this republic. The Moriyas of Pippalivan are considered as the ascendants of the Mauryas.

Ø  Videha: the capital of this republic was Maithila. In the Buddhist era it was a part of Vajji Mahajanapada, but gradually it turned into republic.

Ø  Lichchavi: vajji was a confederation of Republics, which also included the Lichchavi republic. Its capital was Vaishali which had been founded by king Vishal. Lord Mahavira belonged to this Lichchavi clan.

 

·         In What Way The Republics Differ From The Monarchies ?

Ø  In the Monarchies, the king claimed to be the sole recipient of revenue from peasants, whereas in Republics, every tribal oligarch known as Raja, claimed share in such revenues.

Ø  In Monarchy, the king maintained his regular standing army and did not allow any group to keep arms within its boundaries, while in Oligarchy, each Raja was free to maintain his own little army under his senapati.

Ø  The Brahmanas had great influence in the Monarchical administration, whereas in the Republics they were relegated to the background.

Ø  Monarchy functioned under the individual leadership, but in case of Republics it was running under the leadership of Oligarchic assemblies.