Janapada of Gandhāra: Map & History
Gandhāra was an Iron Age Indo-Aryan kingdom of northwestern South Asia.
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Gandhāra was an Iron Age Indo-Aryan kingdom of northwestern South Asia. The inhabitants of Gandhāra were called the Gandhārīs. Later Pali Buddhist sources, such as Aṅguttara Nikāya, count it among the sixteen mahajanapadas.
Janapada of Gandhāra in Depth
History
The first mention of the Gandhārīs is attested once in the Ṛgveda (2nd millennium BCE) as a tribe that has sheep with good wool. In the Atharvaveda (2nd–1st millennia BCE) the Gandhārīs are mentioned alongside the Mūjavants, the Āṅgeyas, and the Māgadhīs in a hymn asking fever to leave the body of the sick man and instead go those aforementioned tribes. The tribes listed were the furthermost border tribes known to those in Madhyadeśa, the Āṅgeyas and Māgadhīs in the east, and the Mūjavants and Gandhārīs in the north.
Geography
According to Jataka number 406 (5th–3rd centuries BCE), in the 6th and 5th centuries BCE, the Gandhāra kingdom of the second urbanisation included Takṣaśilā and the valley of Kaśmīra, corresponding to the modern-day Pothohar and Peshawar Valley in Pakistan.
The capital of Gandhāra was Takṣaśilā (Pāli: Takkasilā; Ancient Greek: Τάξιλα, romanized: Táxila), and its other major town was Puṣkalāvatī (Prākrit: Pukkalāoti; Ancient Greek: Πευκελαῶτις, romanized: Peukelaôtis) or Puṣkarāvatī (Pāli: Pokkharavatī).
Sections adapted from Wikipedia: Gandhara (Kingdom) (CC BY-SA 4.0).
Janapada of Gandhāra: Key Facts
| Capital | Taxila |
|---|---|
| Official language | Prakrit |
| Founded | 1200 BCE |
| Dissolved | 535 BCE |
Facts from Wikidata Q112980583 (CC0).
Janapada of Gandhāra Timeline
Key historical inflections from foundation to peak territorial expansion
Expansion to peak recorded area of 4,988 km² in 516 BCE.
Janapada of Gandhāra: Frequently Asked Questions
When did Janapada of Gandhāra exist?
Janapada of Gandhāra is dated to 600 BCE – 501 BCE, in the Bronze & Iron Age Civilizations era.
What was the capital of Janapada of Gandhāra?
The capital of Janapada of Gandhāra was Takṣaśilā, Puṣkalāvatī.
How large was Janapada of Gandhāra at its peak?
At its peak in 516 BC Janapada of Gandhāra covered about 4,988 km².
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