Mahajanapadas

The occurrence of the 16 Mahajanapadas was first mentioned earlier in the Buddhist scripture known as the Angutara Nikaya. They occurred at the beginning of the 6th century BCE in India. The emergence of Mahajanapadas was seen in the Vedic Age. It is believed that the development and the growth of eastern Uttar Pradesh and western Bihar is completely linked with the Mahajanapadas. 

During the time of the emergence of mahajanapadas, the Aryans were the most powerful tribes. Their tribe was also called the ‘Janas’. Hence, the places or the kingdoms where they lived were called the Janpad. The word ‘Jana’ means people, and the word ‘pada’ means foot. 

The Emergence Of The Mahajanapadas

According to different historians, by the end of the 6th century BCE, there were 22 different Janpads. The spots were known as the places where Aryans ruled and hence was the centre of development activity. The entire concept of mahajanapada was based on these kingdoms being among the prominent janpads. Due to numerous socio-economic developments, the mahajanapadas were created. These developments included the usage of iron tools as weapons and also in agriculture. There were developments in the military, religious and political sectors also. This period was also called the era of second urbanization. 

The first spot which developed in the second urbanization era was the Harappan civilization. It is also known that the political centre eventually shifted during the period. Earlier, the political centre was present in the west. Later on, it came on to the east inside into the Indo-Gangetic plains during this period. The main reason for such a shift was the iron production centres, which were close to the eastern part. 

The 16 Mahajanpads Or The 16 Great Kingdoms

Before the rise of Buddhism in India, all the 16 mahajanapadas had already come into existence. We have listed the names of these 16 mahajanapadas with capitals-

• Kasi
• Assaka
• Magadha
• Avanti
• Vajji
• Gandhara
• Kamboja
• Surasena/Shurasena
• Vatsa
• Kuru
• Panchala
• Malla
• Chedi/Cheti
• Kosala
• Anga
• Matsya

Eventually, the smaller or smaller kingdoms who could not show their power were eliminated by the bigger rulers, and they got converted into the big mahajanapadas. After the entire elimination process, the mahajanapadas became the centre of development for an era. Vajji and Malla became the Gana-Sanghas. The Gana-Sangha had a government, and it became the prominent centre where political discussions took place. In the sixth century, only four kingdoms remained, and they were the main rulers of India-

• Magadha
• Avanti 
• Kosala 
• Vats

Later on, Magadha became the most powerful kingdom, and Magadha annexed all the other three kingdoms. Bimbisara and Ajatashatru were the two most important rulers of Magadha. 

This section will discuss some of the most important facts about some of the greatest Mahajanapadas. 

Anga

The capital of Anga was also called Champa. According to data, the current location of Anga is somewhere in Munger and Bhagalpur. 

The Anga Mahajanapada has different references in the holy textbook of Mahabharata. It is also mentioned in Atharva Veda. In the rule of Bimbisara, it eventually was taken up by the Magadha Empire. The capital of Anga, Champa, is at the confluence of the Ganga and Champa rivers. It was regarded as the commercial centre of Southeast Asia. 

Kosala     

Shravasti was the northern capital of Kosala, and the southern capital was known as Kushavati. In the modern era, it is located in Eastern Uttar Pradesh. To be precise, it is located in the modern Awadh. This area also included Ayodhya. It is also termed as the territory of Sakyas of Kapilavastu. The birthplace of Gautama Buddha is also located in Kosala. 

The Political Structure Of The Mahajanapadas

Most of the states were monarchies, and on the other hand, there were republics, also known as Ganas or Sanghas. All the founders of Jainism and Buddhism came out from these Republican States. Each Mahajanapada had a capital city which was the centre of development. 

Different Changes in the Field Of Agriculture

The field of agriculture grew a lot during the era of mahajanapadas. The usage of iron and the increase in the production of iron from the iron ore was seen in this era. 

Conclusion

Above in this article, we mentioned all about the great mahajanapadas and the story of their origination. These kingdoms were the strongest kingdoms during the era of Aryans. Great civilisations and historic kingdoms emerged from the mahajanapadas, which completely changed the history of India. The availability of iron eventually resulted in the development of the territory, and the people started using iron weapons out there in these kingdoms. Hence these territories of janpad were considered to be 16 highly developed regions and were named mahajanapada