Social Sciences, asked by ayushseth4024, 6 months ago

Why were the Mahajanapadas considered to be more powerful than the Janapadas?

Answers

Answered by carryminati9900

Answer:

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Answered by Shana06

Answer:

The Janapadas were the major kingdoms of Vedic India. By the 6th century B.C. there were approximately 22 different Janapadas.

Janapada and Mhajanapada

The key points related to the Janapadas and the Mahajanapadas are as following:

1. The Janapadas were the major kingdoms of Vedic India.

2. Aryans were the most influential tribes and were called as ‘janas’. This gave rise to the term Janapada where Jana means ‘people’ and Pada means ‘foot’.

3. By the 6th century B.C. there were approximately 22 different Janapadas.

4. With the development of iron in parts of UP and Bihar, the Janapadas became more powerful and turned into Mahajanapads.

5. In the sixth century BCE, there was a rise in the development of the Mahajanapada or great country. There were sixteen such Mahajanapadas during 600 B.C. to 325 B.C. in Indian Sub-continent. There were two types of states: Monarchical and Republican.

Malla, Vajji, Kamboja and Kuru were Republican states while Magadha, Kosala, Vatsa, Aanti, Anga, Kashi, Gandhara, Shursena, Chedi and Matsya were monarchical in nature.

There were 16 Mahajanpadas during 600 B.C. to 325 B.C. which are mentioned in early Buddhist (Anguttara Nikaya, Mahavastu) and Jain literature (Bhagvati Sutta), those were as follows-

Name of the Mahajanapada Capital Location

Anga Champa Included the modern districts of Monghyr and Bhagalpur in Bihar.

Magadha Earlier Rajgriha, later Patliputra Covered the modern districts of Patna, Gaya, and parts of Shahabad.

Malla Capitals at Kusinara and Pawa Covered the modern districts of Deoria, Basti, Gorakhpur and Siddarthnagar in eastern UP.

Vajji Vaishali Situated north of the river Ganga in Bihar.

Kosala Sravasti Covered modern day districts of Faziabad, Gonda, Bahraich of eastern Uttar Pradesh.

Kashi Varanasi Located in the region around Varanasi (modern Banaras).

Chedi Shuktimati Covered present day Bundelkhand region.

Kuru Indraprastha Covered modern Haryana and Delhi.

Vatsa Kaushambi Covered modern districts Allahabad, Mirzapur.

Panchala Ahichhatra(Uttara Panchala) and Kampilya( Dakshina Panchala) Covered the area of present western UP up to the east of river Yamuna up to Kosala janapada.

Matsya Viratanagara Covered the areas of Alwar, Bhartpur and Jaipur in Rajasthan.

Sursena Mathura Covered the area around Mathura.

Avanti Ujjaini and Mahishmati Covered the western India (modern Malawa).

Ashmaka Potana Situated in the southern part of the India between the rivers Narmada and Godavari.

Kamboja Capital at Rajapura in modern-day Kashmir Covered the area of Hindukush (modern Hazara districts of Pakistan)

Gandhara Taxila Covered the western part of Pakistan and eastern Afghanistan.

Among them Magadha, Vatsa, Avanti and Kosala were the most prominent ones. Out of these four, Magadha emerged as the most powerful kingdom. The causes of Magadha’s success were as following:

1. Availability of rich iron deposits which were used in making weapons

2. Its location at the rich and fertile Gangetic plain

3. Use of elephants in military warfare against its neighbors

“History of Ancient India”: A Complete Study Material