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16
Mahajanapadas UPSC Ancient History
Notes
Ancient History
Notes For
UPSC
The 16 Mahajanapadas were the large politico-geographical units that existed in ancient India.

The 16 Mahajanapadas were established in the sixth century BC by incorporating the Janapadas which
were earlier autonomous.

• Nearly 1000 years after the decline of the Harappan civilization, new urban centers began to
emerge in the country in the sixth century BC. For this reason, the sixth century BC is dubbed
as the era of second urbanization in the Indian subcontinent.
• Between the period of 600 BC to 300 BC, around 60 urban towns and cities were established
and they were the major centers for craft development and trade activities. The 16
Mahajanapadas mentioned in the early Buddhists and Jaina texts are among them.
• Magadha, Koshala, Avanti, Panchala were some of the important Mahajanapadas.

16 Mahajanapadas is a very important and scoring topic in the UPSC Prelims. Aspirants must be prepared
to readily answer the questions related to the capitals and the geographical location of these 16
Mahajanapadas. You can check the UPSC Civil Service Prelims analysis here.

Study the NCERT Notes on Mauryan empire here.

Mahajanapadas
• The term Mahajanapada refers to the large Janapadas which were the political units that existed
in Indian subcontinent during the Vedic age.
• In the sixth century BC, Eastern Uttar Pradesh and Bihar became the major political center of
the country. Some of the territorial states in these regions gained access to the iron production
centers and used them to make iron weapons and tools. With the help of these weapons, they
gradually expanded their territory. Such states came to be known as the Mahajanapadas.
• Most of the Mahajanapadas were established by conglomerating several Janapadas. One such
example is the Kosala which incorporated the Janapada of Sakyas and of Kashi.
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• Several Buddhist texts repeatedly refer to the 16 Mahajanapadas and their major settlements,
which existed during the lifetime of Buddha (6th century). However there were slight variations
in the list of Mahajanapadas mentioned in different Buddhist and Jaina texts.
• The Mahajanapadas were mostly situated to the north of Vindhyas and extended from Bihar in
the east to the north-west frontier.

Read the NCERT Notes on Ashoka Edicts here.

Types of Mahajanapadas

Based on the form of government, Mahanjanapadas can be classified into two types. They are

o In Monarchical Mahajanapadas, the state was ruled by the hereditary king or

• Monar chieftain.
chical o Here, the rulers gave importance to brahmanas and vedic sacrifices.
Mahaj o In Mahajanapadas such as Kosala and Magadha, monarchical type of
anapa government was followed.
o In Republican or oligarchic Mahajanapadas, the king was elected from the group
•
das
Repub of Rajas who were known for their fighting ability and he runs the administration with the
lican help of an assembly called Sabha.
Mahaj o Here, the brahmanas and vedic sacrifices were not given much importance. It is
anapa evident from few Buddhist texts that the brahmanas were placed below the kshatriyas in
social hierarchy.
das
o In Vajji, the oligarchy form of government was followed. Such Mahajanapadas
were known as gana sangha.

Check the NCERT Notes on Buddhist Council and texts here.

List Of 16 Mahajanapadas
The following 16 Mahajanapadas are mentioned in the Buddist text, Anguttara Nikaya, which is a part of
Sutta Pitaka. The capital cities of these Mahajanapadas were fortified strongly.

Study the NCERT Notes on Ashoka’s Life and Dhamma here.

Modern
Mahajanapadas Capital City Description
Location
• It was located on the confluence of river
Champa and River Ganga.
• Its capital, Champa was one of the six great
cities of the 6th century BC and it was known
Munger and for its trade and commerce.
Anga Champa
Bhagalpur • Anga is mentioned in Atharva veda and in
Prajnapan which is a highly revered text of
Jaina.
• It was annexed into the Magadha empire by
Bimbisara.

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• It was one of the most powerful and

prosperous Mahajanapadas.
• Its capital, Rajagirha was protected by five
Rajagirha or Gaya and hills.
Magadha Girivraja Patna • It started the policy of imperialism by
conquering most of the areas.
• Magadha was separated from Anga by the
river Champa.

• It was bounded by river Gomathi in the west,

river Sadanira in the east, Nepal hills in the
north and river Syandika in the south..
• Hiranyanabha, Mahakasala Prasenajita and
Eastern Uttar Suddhodana were some of the rulers of
Kosala Sravasti Kosala.
Pradesh
• During the reign of king Vidudabha, Kosala
was merged into Magadha.
• Ayodhya, Saketa and Sravasti were its
important towns.

• Its capital city, Varanasi is located at the

confluence of rivers Ganga and Gomathi.
• They were known for their horse markets and
cotton textiles.
Kasi Varanasi Banaras • Brihadratha, the ruler of Kashi conquered
Kosala. However, it was later annexed by
Kosala, which turned out to be a cause of war
between Magadha and Kosala.

• Oligarchy or Republic form of government

was followed in Vajji.
• River Gandak separated Vajji from Kosala
Mahajanapada.
Vaishali Bihar • It was ruled by the Licchavis. Videhans, Vriji
Vajji
and Jnatrikas were the important clans which
ruled Vajji.
• Vajji is listed as one of the 16 Mahajanapadas
in both Buddhist and Jaina texts.

• Oligarchy or Republic form of government

was followed in Malla and they were referred
to as Gana Sanghas.
Deoria and • It had several branches, out of which the
Malla Kusinara branches at Pava and Kusinara towns were
Uttar Pradesh
very significant during the time of Buddha.
• Buddha died at Kusinara and Lord Mahavira
attained Nirvana at Pava.

Sothivati or • It was a monarchical Mahajanapada.

Chedi Bundelkhand • Sahajati and Tripuri were the important towns
Banda
of Chedi Mahajanapada.

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• Its territory stretched up to the Malwa plateau.

It covers the eastern region of present day
Bundelkhand.
• The chedis were mentioned in Mahabharata
and Rig Veda.

• Koravya, Isukara were the important rulers of

Kuru Mahajanapada and they belonged to the
race of Yudhisthira.
Meerut and • They made matrimonial alliances with the
Indraprastha South East Bhojas, the Panchalas and the Yadavas.
Kuru
Haryana • The rulers of Kuru were referred to as
Rajasabdopajivinah (consul of the King) in
Arthashastra. Thus, it is evident that absolute
monarchy was absent in Kuru Mahajanapada.

• According to ancient texts, there were two

lineages of Panchalas - northern Panchalas
and southern Panchalas.
• The two lineages were divided by the river
Bhagirathi.
Ahichchatra Western Uttar • Ahichchatra was the capital of northern
Panchala and Kampilya Pradesh Panchalas whereas Kampilya was the capital
of southern Panchalas.
• Initially they followed a monarchical form of
government and later switched to the
republican form.

• Vatsas were a branch of Kurus who migrated

to Vatsa.
• Most prominent ruler of Vatsa was Udayana
who had a strong passion for hunting.
Kausambi Allahabad • According to Puranas, Nichaksu (A Pandava
Vatsa
descendant) shifted the capital of Vatsa from
Hastinapur to Kausambi.
• It was known for trade and other economic
activities.

• It included the portions of Alwar and

Bharatpur regions of Rajasthan.
• Matsya was separated from Panchala by river
Yamuna.
Viratnagar Jaipur • Their capital city was famed as the hiding
Matsya
place of Pandavas.
• It once formed a part of Chedi Mahajanapada
which is evident from the fact that king Sujata
ruled over both matsya and Chedi.

Mathura Mathura • The capital Mathura was located on the bank

Surasena
of river Yamuna.

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• They followed the Oligarchy or Republic form

of government and they were referred to as
Gana Sanghas.
• Avantiputra, one of the prominent rulers of
Surasena was a chief disciple of Buddha. He
ensured the spread of Buddhism in Mathura.
• It was later annexed into the vast Magadha
empire.

• It was also known as Assaka.

• It was located in the Dakshinapatha and it
Bank of covered the regions of Telangana,
Asmaka Paithan Maharashtra and Andhra Pradesh.
Godavari
• Brahmadatta and Aruna were the important
rulers of Asmaka.

• It was one of the most powerful

Mahajanapadas.
• It was divided into two parts - northern Avanti
and southern Avanti.
• Ujjain was the capital of northern Avanti and
Mahishamati was the capital of southern
Malwa and Avanti.
Mahishamati
Madhya • Pradyota was the powerful ruler of Avanti
Avanti and Ujjain
Pradesh during the 6th century BC. It is believed that
Vatsa was conquered by him.
• Another famous ruler of Avanti was Prasenajit
who strengthened his position by making
matrimonial alliances with Magadha. While
marrying his sister Kosala Devi to Bimbisara,
he gifted Kasi as the dowry.

• Its capital, Taxila was an important learning

center of ancient India.
• Its territory extended from Kabul in present
day Afghanistan to Rawalpindi in the North
Western Province.
• It was ruled by the king Pukkusati during the
Taxila Rawalpindi 6th century BC. He was the contemporary of
Gandhara
Bimbisara.
• According to Mahabharata, Gandharas were
the strong allies of the Kurus who together
fought against the Pandavas
• It was conquered by Persians in the later half
of the 6th century BC.

• It was located in the Northwest region around

Rajori and the Hindukush mountains in Punjab and
Kamboja Pooncha Kashmir.
Hajra
• In Brahmanical texts, the Kambojas were
regarded as the uncultured people.

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• The Arthashastra refers to them as Varta-

Sastropajivin Samgha which means
confederation of agriculturists, traders,
herdsmen and warriors.

Political Structure of the Mahajanapadas:

• The majority of the states were monarchs, but some, known as Ganas or Sanghas, were
republics.
• The king was elected and ruled with the help of a council in these Ganasanghas, which were
oligarchies.
• Vajji was a powerful Mahajanapada who governed under the Sangha system.
• From republican states came the founders of Jainism and Buddhism.
• Each Mahajanapada had its own capital.
• For security from other rulers, most of them had fortifications built around them.
• These new kings, or Rajas, maintained regular armies.
• They also took money from the people in the form of taxes. Crops were usually taxed at 1/6th of
their value.
• This was referred to as Bhaga, or sharing.
• Craftsmen, herders, hunters, and traders were all subject to taxes.
• Out of the 16 Mahajanapadas, the Magadha emerged as the most powerful state under the
reign of Bimbisara and established a vast empire by conquering most of the Mahajanapadas.
• Eventually, Magadha became the nerve center of political activity in North India.
• The Magadha empire was the first empire in India.

Changes in Agriculture:
• Iron ploughshares are becoming more popular.
• This resulted in higher output.
• Paddy was planted by the farmers.
• Instead of throwing seeds across the ground, saplings were cultivated and planted in the fields.
• This considerably enhanced productivity, but it also resulted in a significant increase in work.

Differences between Gana Sanghas and Kingdoms:

Gana Sanghas Kingdoms
1. The chief office, known as Ganapati or Ganaraja, 1. The King and his family possessed absolute
was not hereditary. power.
2. The Ganas lived in eastern India, near or in the 2. The Ganga valley's lush alluvial expanses were
Himalayan foothills. home to the majority of the kingdoms.
3. Governance with a representative system of 3. The king wielded political power with the help of
government. In a hall known as Santhagara, the ministers and advisory councils such as the
council discussed and debated the topics. For Parishad and Sabha. The importance of people
voting, Salakas (wooden blocks) were utilized, and assemblies was lessened as the concept of king
a Salaka-Gahapaka (vote collector) assured divinity emerged, and greater emphasis was placed
honesty and impartiality. on priestly ceremonies.

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4. There were only two strata in the Gana-Sanghas:

4. The focus was mostly on caste affiliations and
the Kshatriya Rajakula (ruling family) and the Dasa
kingly fidelity.
Karmakara (slaves and labourers).
5. The Gana Sanghas were tolerant of each other
more than the kingdoms. Mahavira (Jainism, Vajji
confederacy) and Buddha (Buddhism, Shakya clan) 5. The kingdoms were more strongly rooted in
were able to spread their ideas more freely in Gana- Brahmanical political, social, and religious doctrine.
Sanghas than in Kingdoms because of this
tolerance.

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