Question

What is meant by janapada? Explain in detail?

Answer 1

Explanation:

The Janapadas on the Indian subcontinent were the Vedic period domains, republics (ganapada) and kingdoms (saamarajya). From the late Bronze Age to the Iron Age, the Vedic era ranges between about 1500 BCE to the 6th century BCE.

The Sanskrit term janapada is a composite term of tatpurusha, consisting of two words: janas and pada. Jana means ' people ' or ' subject ' and the pada word means ' foot. ' The term jana refers to a tribe in the Vedic samhitas, whose members believed in a shared ancestry led by a king.

Answer 2

Janapadas were kingdoms, realms and republic in the late Vedic period.

Explanation:

1. The words janapadas is a Sanskrit word, literally meaning subject population. The word's first use can be traced to Brahmin textures. According to the Vedic Samhitas, Janas was pastoral groups/tribes. They had their Samiti, comprising of all the Jana members that had the power to elect their King and a smaller council of wise and elder people to advise the King.
2. With time, the tribe started to move little and different kulas (clans) evolved within the Jana emancipating the need for warfare and protection. Each kula was associated with their own territory and each territory had its own chief. With the growing territories and kulas, the Janas formed groups and started being headed by Janapadins who were Kshatriya warriors.
3. These groups gradually formed into the more permanent settlement and political territory of Janapadas. The janapadas grew over time and transformed into the 16 Mahajanapadas which were dissolved by 500 BCE with the rise of Magadha and Persian and Greek invaders.