Question

What is meant by mahajanapada? Explain in detail?

Answer 1

Mahājanapada (Sanskrit: महाजनपद, lit. 'great realm', from maha, "great", and janapada"foothold of a tribe, country") was one of the sixteen kingdoms or oligarchic republics that existed in ancient India from the sixth to fourth centuries BCE. Two of them were most probably ganatantras (republics) and others had forms of monarchy. Ancient Buddhist texts like the Anguttara Nikaya[1] make frequent reference to sixteen great kingdoms and republics which had evolved and flourished in a belt stretching from Gandharain the northwest to Anga in the eastern part of the Indian subcontinent and included parts of the trans-Vindhyan region, prior to the rise of Buddhism in India.

Answer 2

Mahajanapada is a word used to describe the large states or inhabitations formed by the ancient Vedic people between the 6th-4th centuries B.C.

Eventually, these states were formed as some settlements by the tribes but some of these settlements were near iron production centres, which made some of these Janapads turns into Mahajanapads.

These Mahajanapads were 16 in number which included Anga, Kuru, Panchala, etc.