Janapadas and Mahajanapadas

The Janapadas were thought to be Vedic India's most powerful kingdoms. There were roughly 22 separate Janapadas by the sixth century B.C. After that, with the development of iron in few of the Bihar and UP parts, the Janapadas became very powerful and also became Mahajanapadas. There exist 16 such Mahajanapadas at the time of 600 B.C. to 325 B.C. in the Indian Subcontinent.

Let us discuss and look into the 16 Janapadas names, the rise of Janapadas and Mahajanapadas, 16 Janapadas and their capitals in this article.

Key Points about the early states Janapadas and Mahajanapadas

T​​he major key points that are related to both the Janapadas and the Mahajanapadas are given as follows:

The Janapadas were the primary kingdoms of Vedic India.

Aryans were very influential tribes and they were called ‘janas’. This has given rise to the name - Janapada, where Jana is referred to as ‘people’ and Pada is referred to as ‘foot’.

By the time of the 6th century B.C. there were nearly 22 multiple Janapadas.

The Janapadas grew in strength as iron was developed in portions of Bihar and Uttar Pradesh, and they became Mahajanapads.

There was a significant increase in the development of either the Mahajanapada or vast country in the 6th century BCE. There were 16 such Mahajanapadas at the time of 600 B.C. to 325 B.C in the Indian Subcontinent. There were, in total, two types of states, named Monarchical and Republican.

Malla, Kamboja, Vajji, and Kuru were the Republican states. Kosala, Magadha, Aanti, Vatsa, Kashi, Anga, Shursena, Gandhara, Matsya, and Chedi, on the other hand, were monarchical.

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And, there were 16 Mahajanpadas at the time of 600 B.C. - 325 B.C, which are mentioned in the early Jain literature (Bhagvati Sutta) and Buddhist (Mahavastu, Anguttara Nikaya), those were given here. These are also called as the early states Janapadas and Mahajanapadas.

Let us look in detail at important Janapadas Mahajanapadas and cities and the 16 Janapadas and their capitals.

Now, we had a look at ​​important Janapadas Mahajanapadas and cities or the ​​16 Janapadas names, which are otherwise referred to as the early states Janapadas and Mahajanapadas.

Among them, the Vatsa, Magadha, Kosala and Avanti were said to be the most prominent ones. Out of these 4, Magadha emerged to be the most powerful kingdom. 

The causes of the success of Magadha were as following:

1. Availability of the rich iron deposits that are used in making weapons

2. Its location, which is at the fertile and rich Gangetic plain

3. Elephant’s use in the military warfare against its neighbors

Rise of Janapadas and Mahajanapadas

Let us discuss the Rise of Janapadas and Mahajanapadas in the Ganga Valley.

The Ganga plain has long held a strong position in the Indian subcontinent due to its large population and excellent agricultural output. None of the other regions has had a comparable power base. But, the entire plain is not a piece of homogeneous geography. Also, we have seen before that the middle Ganga plains, for a wide range of reasons, emerged more successful compared to the lower and upper plains and by the time of the Mauryas, the subcontinent had established an unchallenged rule.

At the time of the Rig Vedic period, the centre for this was the Indo-Gangetic divide. In the later Vedic period about 1000 BCE the geographical focus shifted to the  doab of the Ganga-Yamuna. And the eastward movement of Vedic people had begun with this. However, the important developments were the beginnings of settled agrarian life with the help of plough, which is yoked to oxen and consequently, with the emergence of the idea of territorial and territory kingdoms (Rashtra, Janapada).

Both Panchala and Kuru are two of the good examples of such territories. By the 6th century, the BCE process of the emergence of Janapadas had tended to accelerate with a considerable speed. We come to see the growth of Mahajanapadas for the first time, which incorporated the smaller Janapadas and contemporary literature puts their total number at 16.

The dense jungles had to be cleared for habitation purposes both by metallic and fire tools. Whereas, in the paddy growing middle Ganga valley, the surplus-generation was made possible with the help of the deep ploughing iron ploughshare. It was also necessitated by the growing population, which was a section, like the officials, rulers, priests and monks did not engage in any kind of direct production. Agricultural surpluses also helped in the growth and rise of the towns.

The distinctive pottery of the period was given as NBP that had appeared about 500 BCE. We come across the first system of coinage, simultaneously. The necessity for it was generated completely by regular trade and commerce. The NBP stretched from Magadha and Kosala to far-flung locations like as Taxila in the north-west, Ujjain in both western and coastal Malwa, and Amaravati in coastal Andhra, implying the existence of organised commerce and a robust communication network that linked these towns and others. Also, these developments were accompanied by sweeping off the social changes.

The settled lifestyle has aided in the shedding of pastoral and arid tribal characteristics. After that, the Vedic people came into a closer touch with the autochthons and also there exists evidence in later Vedic literature of this inter-mingling and interaction. Together, these developments with some kind of division of labour first and next, the specialization and diversification of occupations produced the congenital conditions for the rise of the caste system within the fourfold varna frame.

Emergence of Janapadas and Mahajanapadas

Both the Janapadas and the Mahajanapadas signalled major economic, political, and social shifts. The Janapadas' usual components were reported to be nigama (a larger settlement where economic exchange also took place), nagara (town), and grama (village). Jungles (vana) and Woods were also parts of it.

Basically, Janapada was a socio-cultural region. It also provided the basis for state formation that was actualized in the 6th century BCE. With the rise of Mahajanapadas, together, we notice the growth of concomitant affluent and impoverished social categories and the Mahanagaras (the big cities). The process under discussion came into its blossom and was fully owned in the middle Ganga valley at the time of Mauryan period.

Thus, the state society had arrived and the state was willing to make the most of powerful religious systems such as Jainism, Buddhism, Brahmanism and so on to maintain itself and also the social order. With all these developments, the Gangetic northern India emerges into full view of the history.

Difference between Janapadas and Mahajanapadas

Let us look at some differences between Janapadas and Mahajanapadas here.