monarchies in the age of buddha
Answers
Monarchies
1. Kashi:
With its capital as Banaras, Kashi was at first the most powerful among the sixteen states and perhaps played an important part in the subversion of the Videhan monarchy. Eventually it had to submit to the power of Kosala and later annexed by Ajatasatru to Magadha.
2. Kosala:
It embraced the area occupied by eastern Uttar Pradesh and has its capital at Shravasti, which is identical with Sahet – Mahet in the borders of Gonda and Bahraich districts in Uttar Pradesh. Kosala was bounded on the west by the river Gomati, on the south by the Sarpika or Syandika (Sai), on the east by the Sadanira (Gandak) which separated it from Videha and on the north by the Nepal hills.
Ayodhya, Saketa and Shravasti were three important Kosalan cities. Prasenjit, the Kosalan king was the contemporary of king Bimbisara and king Ajatasatru of Magadha. Prasenjit’s sister was married to Bimbisara the king of Magadha, and Kashi was given to her as dowry. However, a dispute with Ajatasatru, son of Bimbisara through another wife, soon led to discord. Ajatasatru put his father to death whose wife, sister of Prasenjit, died due to grief. Prasenjit, in retaliation, confiscated Kasi.
A war broke out with varying results in favour of both sides. However, the conflict finally ended with reconciliation. Prasenjit’s daughter Vajjira was married to Ajatasatru and Kashi was given as dowry to the bride. Though Prasenjit did not embrace Buddhism, one of the Bharhut sculptures highlights cordiality between Prasenjit and Buddha. Finally it was annexed by Magadha during Ajatasatru’s reign after the death of Prasenjit.
3. Anga:
Anga in the east of Magadha roughly corresponds to the modern districts of Monghyr and Bagalpur. Its capital Champa, situated on the bank of the river of the same name, was noted for its wealth and commerce. It was annexed to Magadha in the time of Bimbisara.
4. Magadha:
Between Anga and Vatsa there lay the kingdom of Magadha, corresponding to modern Patna and Gaya districts, bounded on the north and west by the rivers Ganga and Son, on the south by the Vindhya outcrop and on the east by the river Champa. Rajagriha or Girivraja, rendered impregnable by a perimeter of five hills, was the Magadhan capital. The earliest dynasty of Magadha was founded by Brihadratha. However, Magadha came into prominence under Bimbisasra and Ajatsatru.
5. Vatsa:
The Vatsa country had a monarchical form of government. Its capital was Kausambi (identified with the village of Kosam, 38 miles from Allahabad. Kausambi, a very prosperous city was the most important entre pot of goods and passengers from the south and the west. Udayana, the ruler of this country in the sixth century B.C. had to struggle against king Ajatasatru of Magadha and king Pradyota of Avanti.
Udayana entered into a matrimonial alliance with the king of Magadha. The ruler of Avanti invaded Kausambi and as he was unsuccessful, he had to marry his daughter to Udayana. To begin with, Udayana was opposed to Ruddhism, but later on he became a follower of Buddha and made Buddhism the state religion. Later, during the reign of Palaka, Vatsa was annexed to the Avanti kingdom.
6. Avanti:
The state of Avanti roughly corresponded to modern Malwa. The river Vetravati divided Avanti into north and south. Terrirorially, it was a big kingdom and its capital was Ujjayini or modern Ujjain. The ruler of Avanti in the time of Buddha was Chanda Pradyota. He was a contemporary of Udayana of Kausambi. Although he was given the nickname of Chanda on account of his ferocity, he became a convert to Buddhism.
Avanti became a very important centre of Buddhism. The kingdom of Avanti was finally annexed to Magadhan Empire by Sishunaga.
7. Gandhara:
The state of Gandhara roughly corresponded to modern Kashmir and extended upto the Kabul valley. Its capital was Taxila which was a famous seat of learning where scholars came from all over the world. According to the Buddhist tradition, the Gandhara King Pukkusati exchanged gifts with Bimbisara in Magadha and went on foot to see the Buddha. Later it formed the twentieth province of the Achaemenid Empire (Persian) according to the Greek historian, Herodotus.
8. Kamboja:
It was the country adjoining Gandhara in the extreme North-West with Dwarka as its capital. A little before 530 B.C. Cyrus, the Achaemenid emperor of Persia, crossed the Hindukush and received tributes from the people of Kamboja, Gandhara and the trans-Indus area. During Kautilya’s time, Kamboja transformed from a monarchy to a republic.
9. Matsya:
The Matsyas were to the south of the Kurus and west of the Yamuna. The Matsya country corresponded roughly to the former state of Jaipur in Rajasthan.
10. Kurus:
The Kuru country roughly corresponded to the modern Delhi and the adjoining doab region. It was the most important kingdom of the later Vedic period but during the sixth century B.C. the Kurus did not occupy the same position. They set up their capital at Hastinapur
♥️⭐