Ancient History Class Notes by Aman Srivastava

Class 06

Mahajanapada Period

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Development and Expansion of Mahajanapada
● By the end of the later vedic age iron was discovered. Agriculture

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also increased with the help of development in tools.
● People started shifting and settling towards the Gangetic plains as it
provided both easy access to water and resources And settlements
increased.

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● The areas where resources were abundant were also in high
demand. By this time people had already settled and the areas where
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they settled were called ‘Janapada’.
● Janapadas were the major kingdoms of Vedic India.
● Aryans were the most influential tribes and were called ‘janas’.
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● This gave rise to the term Janapada where Jana means ‘people’ and
Pada means ‘foot’. Which means where the ‘people’ or ‘Jana’ set
their foot and settled down became their janapada.
● By the 6th century BCE there were about 22 different Janapadas. But
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as it was clear that the region with maximum resources would

prosper, like the development of iron in the UP and Bihar region,
agriculture was high.
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● The availability of iron led to the manufacture of weapons and

equipment to defend and expand the region. So every Janapada
started its own way to capture and rule areas rich in resources.
● Eventually the rulers ruling in these regions (Magadh, Kashi)
managed to increase their power and establish supremacy.
● So Janapadas became more powerful and turned into
‘Mahajanapads’.
● In the sixth century BCE, there was a rise in the development of the
Mahajanapada or great country. There were sixteen such
Mahajanapadas during 600 BC to 325 BC in the Indian Subcontinent.
● The information about these Mahajanapadas is found in the famous
Buddhist text Anguttar Nikaya, Mahavastu and Jain text 'Bhagavati
Sutra'.
● There were two types of states: monarchical and republican.
● The Mallas, Vajjis, Kambojas and Kurus were republican states while

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Magadha, Kosala, Vatsa, Avanti, Anga, Kashi, Gandhara, Shurasena,
Chedi and Matsya were monarchical in nature.

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IV
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Name of the Capital Location

Mahajanapada
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Anga Champa Included the modern districts of

Munger and Bhagalpur in Bihar.
Magadha Earlier Rajgriha, later Covered the modern districts of
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Patliputra Patna, Gaya, and parts of

Shahabad.
Malla Capitals at Kusinara Covered the modern districts of
and Pawa Deoria, Basti, Gorakhpur and
Siddarthnagar in eastern UP.
Vajji Vaishali Situated north of the river Ganga
in Bihar.
Kosala Sravasti Covered modern day districts of
Faizabad, Gonda, Bahraich of
eastern Uttar Pradesh.
Kashi Varanasi Located in the region around
Varanasi (modern Banaras).
Chedi Shuktimati Covered present day
Bundelkhand region.

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Kuru Indraprastha Covered modern Haryana and
Delhi.

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Vatsa Kaushambi Covered modern districts
Allahabad, Mirzapur.
Panchala
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Ahichhatra(Uttara
Panchala)
Covered the area of present
and western UP up to the east of river
Kampilya( Dakshina Yamuna up to Kosala janapada.
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Panchala)
Matsya Viratanagara Covered the areas of Alwar,
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Bharatpur and Jaipur in

Rajasthan.
Sursena Mathura Covered the area around
Mathura.
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Avanti Ujjaini and Covered the western India

Mahishmati (modern Malawa).
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Ashmaka Potana Situated in the southern part of

India between the rivers
Narmada and Godavari.
Kamboja Capital at Rajapura in Covered the area of Hindukush
modern-day Kashmir (modern Hazara districts of
Pakistan)
 Gandhara Taxila Covered the western part of
Pakistan and eastern
Afghanistan.

● Among them Magadha, Vatsa, Avanti and Kosala were the most
prominent ones.

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● Out of these four, Magadha emerged as the most powerful kingdom.
The causes of Magadha’s success were as following:
➔ Availability of rich deposits of iron which were used in agriculture and

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making weapons.
➔ Rich and fertile Ganga plains
➔ Riverine trade and overland trade

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➔ Use of elephants in war against their neighbors

Major Mahajanapadas
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Anga
● Located in eastern Bihar and parts of Bengal. Champa is the capital
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of Anga and was known for its fertile land, skilled artisans, and close
ties with Magadha.

Magadh
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● Rajagriha was the capital of magadha before 425BC and pataliputra

was the capital of magadha after 425 BC.
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Vajji
● Vaishali was the capital of Vajji.
● Comprising several confederacies, Vajji was a republic located in
modern-day Bihar and is known for its decentralized political
structure.
Kosala
● According to the Puranas and the Ramayana epic, Ayodhya was the
capital of Kosala during the reign of Ikshvaku and his descendants.
● Shravasti is recorded as the capital of Kosala during the
Mahajanapada period (6th–5th centuries BCE), but post-Maurya
(2nd–1st centuries BCE) kings issued their coins from Ayodhya.

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Chedi
● Shuktimati was the capital of Chedi.
● Situated in central India, Chedi was known for its rich culture, trade

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networks, and patronage of the arts.

Shurasena

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● Mathura was the capital of Shursena.
● Situated in the region of present-day western Uttar Pradesh and
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Haryana, Shurasena was known for its skilled artisans and flourishing
trade networks.
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Matsya
● Viratanagara was the capital of Matsya
● Located in present-day Rajasthan, Matsya was known for its strategic
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location along the trade routes and its thriving agriculture and animal
husbandry.

Kamboja
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● Rajapura was the capital of Kamboja.

● Kamboja had a strategic location on the trade routes that connected
Central Asia with the Indian subcontinent.
● It was also located at the crossroads of various civilizations, including
the Persian, Greek, and Indian.
Magadha Empire

Haryanka dynasty
● The first important and powerful dynasty in Magadha.

Bimbisara (558 BCE – 492 BCE)

❖ Son of Bhattiya.

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❖ He ruled over Magadha from 544 BC to 492 BC.
❖ Contemporary and follower of the Buddha.
❖ He was also said to be an admirer of Mahavira.

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❖ His capital at Girivraja (Rajgir).
❖ Also known as Srenika as per the Jain texts.
❖ He was given this title because he was the first king to have a

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regular standing army and proper military power in ancient India.
❖ Bimbisara sent his royal physician Jivaka to King Pradyota of Ujjain.
Jivaka cured the Ujjain King and got praise and monetary rewards.
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❖ He started the practice of using matrimonial alliances to strengthen
his political position.
❖ He had three wives:
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1. Kosala Devi (King of Kosala’s daughter and the sister of Prasenjit),

1. Chellana (daughter of the Lichchavi chief of Vaishali)
1. Kshema (daughter of the king of Madra, Punjab).
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Ajatashatru (492 BC – 460 BC)

❖ He was the son of Bimbisara and Chellana.
❖ Ajatashatru was also known as 'Kunika'.
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❖ He killed his father and became the ruler.

❖ Throughout his time he followed an aggressive policy of expansion.
❖ Ajatashatru followed the policies of conquest and expansion. He
defeated his neighbors including the king of Kosala; his brother also
occupied the Kashi which was given to the Bimbisara as the dowry.
This led to a war between Magadha and Kosala. Ajatshatru finally
occupied Kashi and captured the smaller kingdoms.
❖ Eventually the ruler of Kashi forced his daughter to marry Ajatashatru
and establish peace by giving her Kashi.
❖ He also declared war against the Lichchavis of Vaishali.There are
various stories behind the war.
❖ According to the Buddhists texts there was a diamond mine near a
village on the river Ganges. And it was decided between Ajatshatru
and the Licchavis that the product would be equally divided.However
one day, Ajatashatru failed to collect his own share and the entire

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share was taken by the Vajjians.And similar incident was repeated
multiple times which irked Ajatshatru. He decided to conquer
Vaishali.He sent his chief minister Vassakara to Buddha to ask him

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the reasons why Vaishali was so difficult to conquer.To which Buddha
gave seven reasons which included Vajjis being punctual to the
meetings, their disciplined behaviour, their respect for elders, respect

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for women, they do not marry their daughters forcefully, they give
spiritual protection to the saints, and the main reason was the shrine
inside the town.
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❖ Ajatashatru sent his chief minister Vassakara to infiltrate the Vajji
confederacy and within three years he had managed to split the Vajjis
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and also demolished the shrines in Vaishali. Ajatashatru used a

scythed chariot with swinging mace and blades on both the sides and
attacked the town and conquered it with little resistance.
❖ Ajatshatru had some of the best war machinery.The two main
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equipment were Mahshilakantaka & Rathamusala.

❖ The Mahshilakantaka was an engine kind of equipment which ejected
big stones.
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❖ The Rathamusala was a Chariot with blades attached at both sides of

the chariot which when ran, caused a lot of casualties(similar to what
was used in Bahubali). It was also known as the scythed chariot,
which was invented by Ajatshatru.
❖ Embraced Buddhism.
❖ He convened the First Buddhist Council at Rajagriha just after the
death of Buddha in 483 BC. Mahakashyapa was the president of this
Buddhist council.
Udayin (460 BCE – 444 BCE)
❖ He was the son of Ajatashatru.
❖ He shifted the capital to Pataliputra (Patna).
❖ He was the last of the major Haryanka rulers.
❖ Naga-Dasaka was the last ruler of the Haryanka dynasty. He was
found unworthy to rule by the people and was forced to abdicate his
throne in favor of his minister Shisunaga.

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Shishunaga dynasty (412 BC-344 BC)
❖ According to Sri Lankan chronicles, the people of Magadha revolted

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during the reign of Nagadasaka and placed an Amatya (minister)
named Sisunaga as king.

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Shishunaga (412 BC – 394 BC)
❖ He was the commander of Kasi before becoming king of Magadha.
❖ The capital was at Girivraja.
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❖ He annexed Avanti and brought an end to the long rivalry between
Magadha and Avanti.
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❖ Later shifted the capital to Vaishali.

Kalashoka (394 BC – 366 BC)

❖ He was the Son of Shishunaga.
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❖ The name of Kalashoka is found in Puranas as 'Kakvarna'.

❖ Kalashoka shifted the capital to Pataliputra.
❖ TheyConducted the second Buddhist council in Vaishali.
❖ He was brutally killed by knife thrust in his throat by a low caste man
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in a palace revolution that brought the Nanda dynasty to the throne.

Nanda dynasty (344 BC-324 BC)

❖ This was the first non-Kshatriya dynasty.
❖ The first ruler was Mahapadma Nanda who usurped the throne of
Kalasoka.
Mahapadma Nanda
❖ He was born to Mahanandin, a King of Shishunaga dynasty and a
Shudra women.Because of this all the wives and sons of Mahanandin
opposed him of becoming the King.So he eliminated all of them
including Kalasoka to gain the throne.
❖ He is called the “first historical emperor of India.”
❖ His reign lasted for twenty eight years from 367 BC to 338 BC.He

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is called the “first historical emperor of India.”
❖ His reign lasted for twenty eight years from 367 BC to 338 BC.
❖ He is also called “Sarva Kashtriyantaka” (destroyer of all the

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kshatriyas), Ugrasena (Owner of a huge army) and “Ekrat”.
❖ The empire ran from the Kuru country in the north to the Godavari
Valley in the south and from Magadha in the east to Narmada in the
west.

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❖ He conquered many kingdoms including Kalinga.

Dhana Nanda
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❖ He was the last Nanda ruler.
❖ In Greek texts they are known as Agronomies.
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❖ Alexander invaded North-Western India during his reign; but he could

not proceed towards the Gangetic plains because of his army’s
refusal.
❖ Finally he was overthrown by Chandragupta Maurya along with
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Chanakya, which led to the foundations of the Mauryan Empire in

Magadha.
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