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Ancient Indian Kingdoms and Dynasties

1. The Mahajanapadas (The 16 Great Kingdoms)

• General Facts:
  • Existed in the 6th century BCE.
  • There were 16 major kingdoms (Mahajanapadas).
  • 8 were located in the region of present-day Uttar Pradesh: Kuru, Panchala, Kosala, Kashi, Vatsa, Malla, Chedi, and Shurasena.
• Sources:
  • Listed in the Buddhist text Anguttara Nikaya and the Jain text Bhagwati Sutra.
  • The grammarian Panini also listed 22 Janapadas in his work Ashtadhyayi.
• Specific Kingdoms and Capitals:

• • Anga: Capital was Champa (modern Munger & Bhagalpur, Bihar). Later annexed by Magadha.
  • Magadha: Initial capital was Rajgriha (Girivraja). Later moved to Pataliputra.
  • Kosala: Capital was Shravasti (which had a crescentic town configuration). Also associated with Saket.
  • Vatsa: Capital was Kaushambi.
  • Avanti: Capital was Ujjain (ancient name: Avantika).
  • Chedi: Capital was Suktimati (Sotthivati). Located in the Bundelkhand region.
  • Surasena: Capital was Mathura.
  • Matsya: Located in present-day Rajasthan (around Jaipur). Capital was Viratnagar.
  • Panchala: Divided into two parts.
    • North Panchala: Capital was Ahichhatra.
    • South Panchala: Capital was Kampilya.
  • Kuru: Capitals were Indraprastha and Hastinapur.
  • Assaka (Ashmaka): Capital was Potana/Potali (modern Paithan). Located between the Godavari and Narmada rivers.
• Republics (Gana-Sanghas):
  • Lichchhavis established a republic at Vaishali (perhaps the first republic in the world).
  • Chetak was the leader of the Lichchhavi clan (part of the Vajji confederacy).
  • Other ancient republics included the Shakyas (of Kapilavastu) and the Yaudheyas.

2. The Magadha Empire

• Dynasties and Chronological Order:
  1. Haryanka Dynasty (544 – 412 BCE)
  2. Shishunaga Dynasty (413 BCE to 343 BCE)
  3. Nanda Dynasty (344 – 321 BCE)
  4. Maurya Dynasty (321 – 184 BCE)
  5. Shunga Dynasty (184 – 75 BCE)
• Key Rulers and Events:
  • Haryanka Dynasty:
    • Bimbisara: Key founder who started Magadha’s rise. Patronized the physician Jivaka.
    • Married Chelana, daughter of Lichchhavi leader Chetak.
    • Ajatashatru: Son of Bimbisara, killed his father to take the throne.
    • Udayin (Udayan/Udayabhadra): Son of Ajatashatru, who killed him. Founded the city of Pataliputra and moved the capital from Rajgriha to there.
  • Shishunaga Dynasty:
    • Sishunaga: Extended Magadha’s power by defeating Avanti and conquering the Malwa region.
  • Nanda Dynasty:
    • Founder: Mahapadma Nanda (also known as Ugrasena).
    • Titles: Called Sarakshatrantaka (destroyer of all Kshatriyas) and Aparo Parashurama (the second Parashurama) in the Puranas.
    • Conquered Kalinga and dug a canal there, as recorded in the Hathigumpha Inscription, with King Kharavela later extending it to his capital, Kalinganagari.
    • Last Ruler: Dhanananda.
    • Downfall: Ended due to public unhappiness over high taxes. Chandragupta Maurya and Chanakya overthrew Dhanananda.

3. Other Notable Rulers and Historical Figures

• Pradyota Dynasty (Avanti):
  • Pradyot (Chand-pradyota): Ruler of Avanti. A contemporary of Gautama Buddha and Bimbisara. Was treated by physician Jivaka.
• Kosala:
  • Prasenjit was a ruler of Kosala.
• Vatsa:
  • Udayana was a ruler of the Vatsa Mahajanapada.
• Chedi Dynasty (Kalinga):
  • Kharavela: A major ruler. His Hathigumpha inscription records:
    • The first evidence of canal construction in Kalinga.
    • Donations of villages to Jain monks.
    • Victories over southern states like the Cholas, Cheras, and Pandyas.
• Later Period:
  • Mahendra was the ruler of Kosala during Samudragupta’s time (as per the Prayag Prashasti).
• Scholars:
  • Panini: A famous Sanskrit grammarian born in Pushkalavati, Gandhara. His most important work is the Ashtadhyayi, in which he mentioned the Janapadas of Magadha, Ashmak, and Kamboj.
• Archaeologists:
  • Alexander Cunningham: A British archaeologist who identified the ancient city of Shravasti (near modern Gonda, UP) in 1861.

4. Important Cities and Geography

• Pataliputra:
  • Founded by Udayin of the Haryanka dynasty.
  • Established as a fort at the confluence of the Son and Ganga rivers.
  • Became the capital of major empires like the Mauryan, Nanda, and Shishunaga dynasties.
  • Chandragupta Maurya was the first emperor to make it the capital of a large empire.
• Ujjain:
  • Ancient name was Avantika.
  • Associated with the legend of Udayan and Vasavadatta.
• Other Ancient Cities:
  • Viratnagar (Bairat) and Madhyamika (Nagari) are ancient cities mentioned in both the Mahabharata and Patanjali’s Mahabhashya.
• Historical Geography of Uttar Pradesh:
  • Kalpi: An ancient town on the bank of the Yamuna River (Jalaun district). Known as Kalpriya in ancient times, founded by King Vasudeva in the 4th century BC.
  • Kaushambi: The capital of the Vatsa Mahajanapada.
  • Ahichhatra: The capital of the Panchala Mahajanapada.
  • Medieval Name Changes:
    • Koil is the old name for Aligarh.
    • Mahotsav Nagar is the old name for Mahoba (meaning ‘city of great festivals’).
    • Mahodaya Shree is the old name for Kannauj (once the capital of Harsha’s empire).
    • Jejakabhukti is the old name for the Bundelkhand region.

5. Religion, Philosophy, and Society

• 6th Century BCE Context:
  • A period of significant religious upheaval and intellectual questioning across the world (e.g., Confucius in China, Zarathustra in Iran, Pythagoras in Greece).
  • In India, this was due to the complexity of Vedic religion, which had become overly focused on rituals and sacrifices, increasing the power and cost of priestly classes.
  • This environment led to the emergence of new heterodox faiths like Buddhism and Jainism.
• Other Dynasties (Post-Mauryan):
  • The Karnata Dynasty’s last king was Harisimha Dev (Mithila), who was a patron of art and literature and created the Panji system (a method for recording and preserving the genealogy of certain castes).

6. Ancient Indian Coins

• Earliest Indian Coins:
  • The oldest extant coins of India were made of silver.
  • They are known as Punch-marked or Aahat coins.

Know More about the Mahajanapadas :

• Mahajanpada Period (600-325 BC) One Liner Questions & Answers
• Mahajanpada Period (600-325 BC)– Old Year Questions and Answers