what do you mean by mahajanpadas
Answers
mahajanapadas literally "great kingdoms" refers to 16 monarchies and 'republics' that stretched across the Indo-Gangetic plains from modern-day Afghanistan to Bangladesh in the sixth century B.C.E., prior to and during the rise of Buddhism in India. They represent a transition from a semi-nomadic tribal society to an agrarian-based society with a vast network of trade and a highly-organized political structure. Many of these “kingdoms” functioned as republics governed by a general assembly and a council of elders led by an elected “king consul.” The Mahajanapadas are the historical context of the Sanskrit epics, such as the Mahabharata and the Ramayana as well as Puranic literature (the itihasa). They were also the political and social context in which Buddhism and Jainism emerged and developed.
Most of the historical details about the Mahajanapadas are culled from Sanskrit literature. Buddhist and Jaina texts refer to the Mahajanapadas only incidentally. In a struggle for supremacy during the fifth century B.C.E., the growing state of Magadha emerged as the most predominant power in ancient India, annexing several of the Janapadas. They were all eventually absorbed into the the Maurya Empire after 321 B.C.E.
The Mahajanapadas were a set of sixteen kingdoms that existed in ancient India. It all began when the tribes (janas) of the late Vedic period decided to form their own territorial communities, which eventually gave rise to new and permanent areas of settlements called ‘states’ or ‘janapadas.’ In the sixth century BC, present-day Bihar and eastern Uttar Pradesh became centers of political activities as the region was not only fertile but also closer to the iron production centers. Iron production played a crucial role in expanding the territorial states of the region. These expansions helped some of these ‘janapadas’ turn into large states or ‘mahajanapadas.’ ..
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