Mahajanapadas: Map & History
The Mahājanapadas were sixteen kingdoms and aristocratic republics that existed in ancient India from the sixth to fourth centuries BCE, during the second urbanisation period.
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The Mahājanapadas were sixteen kingdoms and aristocratic republics that existed in ancient India from the sixth to fourth centuries BCE, during the second urbanisation period.
Modern Countries Once Part of Mahajanapadas
At its mapped extent, Mahajanapadas covered territory in 3 present-day countries. The period shown is when the mapped borders include that country, and the note says how much of it.
States and Provinces
Largest Present-Day Cities in Its Territory
Each opens on the live map inside Mahajanapadas's borders of that time.
Derived by testing mapped cities against this polity's dated territorial polygons, so the list is indicative and follows the borders in the source dataset.
Mahajanapadas in Depth
History
The 6th–5th centuries BCE are often regarded as a major turning point in early Indian history. During this period, India's first large cities since the demise of the Indus Valley Civilisation arose. It was also the time of the rise of śramaṇa movements (including Buddhism and Jainism), which challenged the religious orthodoxy of the Vedic period.
Two of the Mahājanapadas were most probably gaṇasaṅghas (aristocratic republics), and others had forms of monarchy. Ancient Buddhist texts like the Anguttara Nikaya make frequent reference to sixteen great kingdoms and republics that had developed and flourished in a belt stretching from Gandhara in the northwest to Anga in the east to Asmaka in the southern part of the Indian subcontinent.
Overview
Another Buddhist text, the Digha Nikaya, mentions twelve Mahajanapadas from the above list and omits four of them (Assaka, Avanti, Gandhara, and Kamboja).
Chulla-Niddesa, another ancient text of the Buddhist canon, adds Kalinga to the list and substitutes Yona for Gandhara, thus listing the Kamboja and the Yona as the only Mahajanapadas from Uttarapatha.
The author of the Bhagavati Sutra (or the Vyākhyāprajñapti) has a focus on the countries of Madhydesa and of the far east and south only. He omits the nations from Uttarapatha like the Kamboja and Gandhara. The more extended horizon of the Bhagvati and the omission of all countries from Uttarapatha "clearly shows that the Bhagvati list is of later origin and therefore less reliable."
Sections adapted from Wikipedia: Mahajanapadas (CC BY-SA 4.0).
Mahajanapadas: Key Facts
| Religion | Historical Vedic religion |
|---|---|
| Form of government | republic |
| Founded | 600 BCE |
| Dissolved | 345 BCE |
Preceded by
- Janapada
Succeeded by
Facts from Wikidata Q846025 (CC0).
Mahajanapadas Map Over Time
Dated world maps on which Mahajanapadas appears, with the other states of the time.
Mahajanapadas Timeline
Key historical inflections from foundation to peak territorial expansion
Expansion to peak recorded area of 802,716 km² in 358 BCE.
Mahajanapadas: Frequently Asked Questions
When did Mahajanapadas exist?
Mahajanapadas is dated to 600 BCE – 351 BCE, in the Bronze & Iron Age Civilizations era.
How large was Mahajanapadas at its peak?
At its peak in 358 BC Mahajanapadas covered about 802,716 km².
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