Mahajanapadas map | 16 Mahajanapadas History, Capital & Location
16 Mahajanapadas
- 6th Century BC Due To The Widespread Use Of Iron In Eastern Uttar Pradesh And Western Bihar, Conditions Were Created For The Formation Of Large Regional And District States.
- Due To The Iron Weapons, The Warrior Classes Began To Play An Important Role.
- Farmers Began To Produce More Grain With Agricultural Implements.
- Due To Surplus Production, Small And Large Janapadas And Then Mahajanapadas Also Started Appearing, Which Are Mentioned In The Buddhist Text Anguttar Nikaya.
- Among Them, Magadha, Avanti, Vatsa, Kaushal Were The Most Prominent States, In Which Magadha Had Succeeded In Attaining The Highest Position Among The Sixteen Mahajanapadas, Whose First Dynasty Was The Harayaka Dynasty, Which Was Founded By Bimbisara In 544 BC. And Who Died In 492 BC. When Ajatashatru Happened In 492 BC. To 461 BC Till And Then Udayin 461-412 BC. Till Sat On The Throne.
- The Capital Of Magadha Empire Was Girivraj Or Rajgriha, But Udayin Changed It To Patna Or Pataliputra And After Udayin Shishunaga Dynasty Sat On The Throne Of Magadha And After Shishunaga Dynasty, Nand Dynasty And Then Maurya Dynasty, Gupta Dynasty Etc. Played The Role Of Immortal Heroes In Indian History.
Sixteen Mahajanapadas (16 Mahajanapadas) And Their Capital – 16 Mahajanapadas Existed In India In The 6th Century BC . Its Information Is Obtained From The Buddhist Text Anguttar Nikaya And The Jain Text Bhagwatisutra . The Tamil Text Shilpadikaram Mentions Three Mahajanapadas – Vatsa, Magadha, Avanti . Of These 16 Mahajanapadas, 14 Were Monarchies And Two ( Vajji, Malla ) Were Republics. The Most Powerful Mahajanapadas During The Buddha Period – Vatsa, Avanti, Magadha, Kosala.
| Alexander | Son Of Philip, Ruler Of Macedonia |
|---|---|
| Birth | 356 BC |
| Invasion Of India | 326 BC |
| Situation In Northwest India | Divided Into 28 States (Puru, Abhisara, Eastern And Western Gandhara, Katha, Saubhuti, Malava, Kshudraka, Amvastha, Bhadra Glauganikay Etc.) |
| Battle With Porus (War Of Vitasta Or Hydaspes) | Sikandar Victorious On The Banks Of Jhelum, Be Impressed By The Bravery Of Porush, Returned The Kingdom |
| Revolt Of The Greek Army | Refusal To Go Beyond Beas River |
| Magadh | Under The Nanda Dynasty |
| Alexander’s Death | 323 BC (While Returning From India) |
Kashi – Varanasi
Its Capital Varanasi Was Situated Between The Varuna And Assi Rivers. The Most Powerful Ruler Here Was Brahmadatta . Initially This Was The Most Powerful Mahajanapada. Its Authority Was Also On Kosala And Anga . But Later It Surrendered To The Power Of Kosala.
Kosala – Sravasti
The Area Of Present Awadh Came Under It. Its Capital Shravasti Was Situated On The Banks Of Achiravati/Rapti River. The Most Famous Ruler Here Was Prasenjit Ichchhavaku Of The Clan. Its Prime Minister Revolted And Put His Son On The Throne. Prasenjit Reached The Palace With His Son-In-Law Ajatashatru To Take Shelter , But He Died Outside The Palace.
Anga – Champa
It Was Located In Modern Bhagalpur And Munger Districts. Its Capital Was Champa . During The Buddha Period, Champa Was Counted Among The Six Metropolitan Cities Of India. The Ruler Here Was A Devotee Of Dadhivahan Mahavir Swami.
Chedi – Shaktimati
It Was Located In Modern Bundelkhand.
Vats – Kaushambi
The Ruler Here Was Udayana During The Time Of Lord Buddha . It Was Taken Prisoner By Pradyota, The Ruler Of Avanti And Appointed Music Teacher Of His Daughter Vasavadatta. Udayan And Vasavadatta Had A Love Affair, So They Fled To Kaushambi. Bhas Composed A Story Called Swapnavasadatta Based On This . Kaushambi Was The Main Center Of Both Buddhism And Jainism . It Is The Birthplace Of Padmaprabhu , The Sixth Tirthankara Of The Jains . He Did Penance Here On The Prabhasgiri Mountain.
Kuru – Indraprastha
It Was Spread Over The Area Of Modern Delhi, Meerut, Thaneshwar . The Ruler Here Was Koravya During The Time Of Mahatma Buddha . The People Here Were Famous For Their Strength And Intelligence. Hastinapur City Falls In This.
Panchal – Ahichchhatra And Kampilya
It Was Spread In The Area Of Bareilly, Badaun, Farrukhabad Of Modern Rohilkhand. Panchala Was Divided Into Two Parts. The Capital Of The Northern Panchala Was Ahicchhatra Or Ahichhetra And The Capital Of The Southern Panchala Was Kampilya . Kanyakubja ( Kanauj ) Used To Come Under This.
mats – Biratnagar
It Was Located Near Modern Jaipur. Its Founder Was Virat.
Soorsen – Mathura
The Ruler Here Was Avantiputra .
Ashmak – Paithan/Pratishthan/Potan/Potil
It Was The Only Mahajanapada Located In The South . It Was Situated On The Banks Of Godavari. It Was Ruled By The Rulers Of Ichkshvaku Dynasty.
Avanti – Ujjain , Mahishmati
The Ruler Of This Place Was Chandpradyot Mahasen . This State Was Divided Into Two Parts. The Capital Of Northern Avanti Was Ujjain And The Capital Of Southern Avanti Was Mahishmati . The River Vetravati Flowed Between The Two Capitals . Apart From Magadha, This Was The State Where There Were Iron Mines.
Gandhar– Taxila
Gandhara Was Located In The Kabul Valley. Pushkalavati Was The Second Major Town Here.
Kamboj – Hatak/Rajpur
Kamboja Was Famous For His Horses . It Was The Neighboring Kingdom Of Gandhara And Fell In Afghanistan. Kautilya Has Called It The Negotiator’s Union.
Vajji – Vaishali
It Was A Union Of Eight People, Of Which The Most Prominent Were The Lichchhavis . Its Capital Was Situated On The Banks Of The River Gandak. The River Ganga Used To Determine The Boundary Between Vajji And Magadha. There Were Eight Courts In This Union. Lichchavi Republic Is Considered To Be The First Republic In The World .
Mall– Kushinagar, Pava
It Used To Fall In Deoria District Of Modern Uttar Pradesh . It Was Divided Into Two Parts. The Capital Of Its Northern Part Was Kushinagar And The Capital Of The Southern Part Was Pava . The Mallas Lost Their Independence After The Death Of Buddha. They Fell Victim To The Imperialist Policies Of Magadha
