Mahajanapadas &

Magadha Empire

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 16 Capital of 16 Modern Location Facts about 16 Mahajanapadas
Mahajana Mahajanapada of 16
padas s Mahajanapadas
Anga Champa Munger and • Anga Mahajanapada finds
Bhagalpur reference in the Mahabharata and
Atharva Veda
• During the rule of Bimbisara, it
was taken over by Magadha
Empire.
• It is situated in present-day Bihar
and West Bengal.
Magadha Girivraja| Gaya and Patna • Magadha finds mention in the
Rajagriha Atharva Veda which conveys that
Magadha was semi-Brahmanical
habitation.
• It was located in present day
Bihar close to Anga, divided by
river Champa.
• Later, Magadha became a center
of Jainism and the first Buddhist
Council was held in Rajagriha.

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 Kasi Kasi Banaras • It was located in Varanasi.
• This city got its name from
rivers Varuna and Asi as cited
in the Matsya Purana.

Vatsa Kausambi Allahabad • Vatsa is also known as Vamsa

• This Mahajanapada followed the
monarchical form of
governance.
• The capital is Kausambi.
• This was a central city for
economic activities.
• There were a prosperous trade
and business scenario in 6th
century BC. After the rise of
Buddha, the ruler Udayana
made Buddhism a state religion.
• Vatsa was located around the
present day Allahabad.
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 Kosala Sravasti Eastern Uttar • It was located in
Pradesh modern Awadh
region of Uttar
Pradesh.
• Its capital was
Sravasti
Saurasena Mathura Western Uttar • This place was a
Pradesh center of Krishna
worship at the
time of
Megasthenes.
Also, there was a
dominant
followership of
Buddha here.

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 Panchala Ahichchatra Western • Its capital for northern
and Kampliya Uttar Panchala was Ahichchatra
Pradesh and Kampilaya for its
southern regions.
• It was situated in present-
day western Uttar Pradesh.
• Later the nature of
governance shifted from
monarchy to republic.

Kuru Indraprastha Meerut and • The area around

Southeaster Kurukshetra was apparently
n Haryana the site for Kuru
Mahajanapada.
• It moved to a republic form of
governance.

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 Matsya Viratnagar Jaipur • It was situated to the
west of the Panchalas
and south of the
Kurus.
• The capital was at
Viratanagar
• It is situated around
present-day Jaipur.
Chedi Sothivati Jaipur • This was cited in the
Rigveda
• The capital was
Sothivati.
• It located in the
present-day
Bundelkhand region.

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 Avanti Ujjaini or Malwa and • Avanti was significant
Mahismati Madhya in relation to the rise
Pradesh of Buddhism.
• The capital of Avanti
was located at Ujjaini
or Mahismati.
• It was situated around
present-day Malwa
and Madhya Pradesh.

Gandhara Taxila Rawalpindi • The capital was at

Taxila.
• Gandhara is cited in the
Atharva Veda
• The people were highly
trained in the art of war.
• It was significant for
international commercial
activities.

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 Kamboja Pooncha Rajori and Hajra • The capital of
Kamboj is Poonch.
• It is situated in
present-day
Kashmir and
Hindukush.
• Several literary
sources mention
that Kamboja was a
republic.

Ashmaka or Pratisthan/ Bank of • The capital of this

Assaka Paithan Godavari Mahajanapada was
located at Pratisthan
or Paithan.
• It was located on the
bank of Godavari.

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 Vajji Vaishali Bihar • It is the capital of Vajji
was Vaishali.
• The main races residing
in this Mahajanapadas
were Licchavis,
Vedehans, Jnatrikas and
Vajjis.
• Malla

Malla Kusinara Deoria and • It finds a reference in

Uttar Pradesh Buddhist and Jain texts
and Mahabharata.
• Malla was a republic
• Their capital was Kusinara
situated around present-
day Deoria and Uttar
Pradesh.

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 MAHAJANPADAS AND RISE OF MAGADHA

Magadhan Empire:
• The Magadha Empire ruled in India from 684 BC- 320 BC.
• It is also mentioned in the Mahabharata and the Ramayana.
• It was the most powerful amongst the sixteen
mahajanapadas.
• The empire was established by king Brihadratha.
• Rajgaha (or Rajgir) was the capital of Magadha but was
later shifted to Pataliputra in the fourth century BCE.
• Iron was used to manufacture tools and weapons.
• The elephants found in its forests were used in the army.
• The riverine route of Ganga and its tributaries made
communication cheap and convenient.

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 • The implementation of policies by the efficient bureaucracy
of ruthless and ambitious kings like Bimbisara, Ajatasattu and
Mahapadma Nanda made Magadha prosperous.
• The first king of Magadha was Bimbisara and he belonged
to the Haryanka dynasty.
• Avanti was Magadha’s main rival but later entered into an
alliance.
• Marriages helped in building political alliances and king
Bimbisara married a lot of princesses from nearby kingdoms.

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 The Haryanka Dynasty:
• It was the second dynasty to rule over Magadha after the
Brihadratha dynasty.
• It was succeeded by the Shishunga dynasty.
• The dynasty was founded by king Bhattiya, the father of
Bimbisara.
• The dynasty ruled over Magadha from 6th century BCE to
413 BCE.
• The kings of Haryanka dynasty are:
• Bhattiya
• Bimbisara
• Ajatasattu
• Udayabhadra
• Anuruddha
• Munda
• Nagadasaka
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 Bimbisara:
• Bimbisara ruled over Magadha for 52 years, starting from
around 544 BC to 492 BC.
• He followed an aggressive policy of expansion and fought
many wars with neighbouring states of Kasi, Kosala and Anga.
• Bimbisara was a contemporary of Gautama Buddha and
Vardhaman Mahavir.
• His religion is not very clear. While Buddhist texts mention
him as a disciple of Buddha, Jain scriptures describe him as
the follower of Mahavir and refer to him as King Shrenika of
Rajgir.
• Bimbisara was later imprisoned by his son Ajatasattu who
annexed the throne of Magadha. Bimbisara later died during
imprisonment.

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 Ajatashatru:

• Ajatashatru ruled Magadha from 492- 460 BC.

• He fought 16 years with Vaishali until finally defeating the
kingdom with help of catapults.
• He expanded the kingdom of Magadha by capturing Kasi
and Vaishali.
• He fortified the capital city Rajgir. As it was surrounded by
five hills, it became almost impregnable.

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 Udayin:

• Udayin or Udayabhadra was the successor of Ajatashatru.

• His reign lasted from 460 B.C.- 444 B.C.
• He built the fort at Patna (Pataliputra) as it was central to
the Magadhan kingdom.
• Udayin was succeeded by the Shishunagas.
• The Shishunagas added the kingdom of Avanti to Magadha.
• They were later succeeded by the Nanda dynasty.

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 The Nanda Dynasty:

• The dynasty lasted from 345 BCE- 321 BCE.

• Mahapadma Nanda, the first king of the Nanda dynasty,
added Kalinga to the Magadhan Empire.
• He was considered to be so powerful and ruthless that even
Alexander did not wish to fight against him.
• The Nanda dynasty became immensely wealthy. They
started irrigation projects and standardized trade measures
across their kingdom.
• Harsh and inflexible taxation system, however, made the
Nandas unpopular.
• The last Nanda king, Dhana Nanda, was overthrown by
Chandragupta Maurya.

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