mahajanapadas and their capitals

600 years before the birth of Jesus Christ a new chapter was begins in the history of India. At this time 16 autonomous province was in India. These 16 provinces were together called 16 Mahajanapadas. Mahajanapadas were monarchical. But Vajji and Malla were republics.

Before the sixth century BC, the small kingdoms of India was began to grow into large kingdoms. According to Buddhist and Jain religious texts, there were 16 Mahajanapadas in India at this time. There are differences in the list of names of sixteen Mahajanapadas in Buddhist and Jain texts. The list of names of some Mahajanapadas is the same in the two religious texts, but the list of names of some Mahajanapadas is different. Although 16 Mahajanapadas are named during this period, several other less important Mahajanapadas are believed to have existed.

Meaning of the word of Mahajanapada :-The word Mahajanapada can be divided in this way (Maha+ jana +pada). It is known from various sources of history Jan means race(tribe), and janapada means an independent state. So, Mahajanapadas means a big independent state.

As the Mahajanapadas states grew in size, the governance of the states was better. Employees had to be appointed for economy, war policy, diplomacy and various larger administrative tasks. The size of the cities gradually increased. The capital city was built on one of the best city of the state. The administration of the state was conducted from the capital.

Names of 16 Mahajanapadas and their capitals are mentioned under below.

Among the independent kingdoms of sixteen Mahajanapadas mentioned in Indian history , the kingdom of Kashi was at first to develop. Varanasi was the capital of Kashi kingdom. During this time the neighboring kingdoms was afraid by Kashi kingdom. The kings of Kashi dreamed of expanding their empire across in India. From Vinaya Pitaka we can know about the power of Kashi Mahajanapada. Kashi Mahajanapada was formed around Varuna and Assi rivers.

The capital of Kaushal Mahajanapada was Srabanti. The location of this Mahajanapada is to the east of present day Uttar Pradesh. Presently the city of Ayodhya was included in this Mahajanapada. The kingdom of Kosala gradually grew stronger. when the kingdom of Kashi becomes weak of last stage, then it was taken over by the kingdom of Kosala. The kingdom of Kosala was ruling by the Ikshvaku dynasty. An important king of Kaushal Mahajanapada was Prasenjit. Prasenjit was a contemporary king of Gautama Buddha.

Another important state among the sixteen Mahajanapadas is Anga state. The Anga Mahajanapada was centered on Bhagalpur and Munger districts of present Bihar. The capital of the state was Champa city. Champa city was the most important city among the six major cities contemporary of Gautama Buddha. During this time, the trade and commerce between the country and abroad was going on through Champa city. There were frequent wars between Anga Rajya and Magadha. Anga Raja Bambhad also defeated Magadha at one time. Later the kingdom of Anga was defeated by King Bimbisara of Magadha.

Most of the kings of Magadha were imperialists. So, the kingdom of Magadha occupied all the kingdoms of sixteen Mahajanapadas. The state of Magadha is located in present day Patna and Gaya of Bihar state. The early capital of Magadha was Giribraj. Later the capital became Patliputra. Its current name is Patna. The rise of Magadha began during the reign of Bimbisara, the king of the Harshaka dynasty. It reached its highest peak during the reign of Samrat Ashoka. During the reign of Emperor Ashoka, the kingdom of Magadha became a all-Indian empire.

The kingdom of Vatsa was located near Allahabad on the south side of the river Ganges. Kosambi was the capital of Vatsa Mahajanapada. Udayan was the king of Vatsa Mahajanapada. Udayan was an important king of ancient India. The book Kathasaritsagar mentions the story of king Udayan victory. Raja Udayan name also mention as a hero in Bhasa's Swapnavasavadatta and Harsha's Ratnavali and Priyadarshika. The state of Vatsa was developed in agriculture. The main cultivation here was cotton cultivation. there was cotton cultivation the main agriculture.

The people of the Chedi kingdom were one of the oldest tribes of India. The origin of this kingdom is before the time of Mahabharata. The Chedi kingdom was around Bundelkhand of near the Yamuna river of centered on the ground. The capital of this kingdom was Shaktimati. Later, a branch of the Chedi tribe founded the Kalinga kingdom. It can be known from the Hathigumpha inscription.

Kuru kingdom is mentioned in Mahabharata era. From the Pali treatise it is known that the rulers of the Kuru kingdom were descendants of Yudhisthira. Although initially powerful, the kingdom weakened by the sixth century BC. Indraprastha was the capital of this kingdom from the time of Mahabharata. Apart from this, Hastinapur was an important city.

The existence of the Panchala kingdom is described in the Mahabharata period. The state was near on the Ganga-Yamuna river in Uttar Pradesh. It is known from books like Jataka, Mahabharata etc. that river Ganga divided this state into two parts. The northern part is North Panchala, Ahichhatra was the capital of North Panchala. The capital of South Panchala was Kampilya. Buddhist literature know us that there were frequent wars between the Kurus and the Panchala.

Matsya Kingdom was founded by king virat. King Virat was a notable king during the Mahabharata period. The capital of this kingdom was named Viratnagar after King Virat. The Matsya kingdom was located in the region between the Chambal and Saraswati rivers. Jaipur, Alwar, Bharatpur etc place was as a Matsya kingdom. Later it passed under Magadha.

Shurasena kingdom was situated on the banks of Yamuna river near to Panchala. Mathura was the capital of Surasena kingdom. It is said in Mahabharata that the rulers of Yadu dynasty used to rule here. Son of Avanti of Surasena king was a disciple of Gautama Buddha.

According to Hemchandra Majumdar the kingdom of Ashmaka was located on the banks of the Godavari River in South India. The capital of this kingdom was called Potan or Podan. It is known from Mahabharata that Rajarshi Podan built this city. From the Vayu Purana it is known that the Ashmaka kings were of Ikshvaku descent.

Avanti was an important Mahajanapada among the 16 Mahajanapadas in the 6th century BC. This state was consisted of parts of Malab and Madhya Pradesh. The river Betravati divides Avanti into two parts. The northern part is called north Avanti. The capital of North Avanti was called Ujjayini. Mahishmati was the capital of South Avanti. The city of Mahismati was situated on the banks of the river Narmada. Pradyot was the king of this kingdom at the time of Gautama Buddha. He was also known as Chand Pradyot Mahasen. This kingdom focused on state expansion. Later this kingdom came under Magadha.

Gandhara was an important Mahajanapada in North-West India. This Mahajanapada was located on the region of Peshawar and Rawalpindi of west bank of the Indus River. The capital of this kingdom was Taxila. Taxila was a prominent centre of learning of ancient India. At this time, the name of Taxila was spread in the country and abroad.

King Pukkusati of Gandhara was a contemporary of Bimbisara. By the end of the 6th century BC, the kingdom of Gandhara had been conquered by the Persian Empire. The people of Gandhar are described as "subjects of Persia" in the Behistun literature of Darius.

The great Hindu religious literature Mahabharata mentions the kingdom of Gandhara. It is known from Mahabharata that Dhritarashtra's wife was Gandhari. Gandhari was the daughter of the king of Gandhara.

The Kingdom of Kamboja was located in the Hazara district of Pakistan in north-western India. This kingdom was the closest empire of Gandhara. Kamboja kingdom is mentioned in Mahabharata. Rajapur was the capital of Kamboja kingdom. When the Aryans entered India, they settled in this Kamboja state. Later on this kingdom declined in importance.

Vajji Mahajanapada was located from the northern part of the Ganges river to Nepal. According to Rys and Cunningham the state was formed by eight tribal groups of people. Among these tribal groups, the Sakyas, Licchavis, Jnatrikas, Videhas and Birjis were the main tribe. The capital of this kingdom was named Vaishali which is located in present day Muzaffarpur district. Vaishali was important city in this time, we known from Buddhist religious texts. In this time Licchavi was important tribe.

The Malla Mahajanapada was located in Gorakhpur district of Uttar Pradesh. The Malla kingdom was located the north of the Vajji kingdom. This state can be divided into two parts. One part capital name was called Kushinagar. Paba was the capital name of the other part of malla. to think the ancient Kushinagar was Kashiya, is on the banks of the small Gandak river near Gorakhpur in Uttar Pradesh.