The Mahajanapadas and the Republican Experiment

At a Glance

• Number Sixteen in Pali texts
• Powerful states Magadha, Koshala, Vatsa, Avanti
• Republics Vajjis, Shakyas, Mallas
• Panini (c. 450 BC) Over forty janapadas
• Base Iron and surplus
• Exam link UPSC Prelims, Ancient History: Religious Movements, Mahajanapadas and Foreign Invasions

Where Does It Fit?

This is the ninth topic of the category on religious movements. The previous topic covered the economy, and this one covers the political map. The next topic covers the rise of Magadha. Previous topic: Second Urbanisation and Rural Economy in the Age of the Buddha. The modern idea of a republic is in Concepts of Sovereignty, Socialism, Secularism, Democracy and Republic.

Why Did Large States Arise?

In short: iron weapons and surplus from iron-based agriculture created territorial states and shifted loyalty from jana to janapada.

From the sixth century BC the increasing use of iron in eastern UP and western Bihar created conditions for large territorial states. Armed with iron weapons, the warrior class played an important role. New agricultural tools allowed peasants to produce more than they needed to consume, and princes could collect the extra for military and administrative needs, or make it available to the towns that sprang up in the fifth century BC. The rise of large states with towns as bases strengthened the territorial idea, and people owed strong allegiance to the janapada rather than to their jana or tribe. A few janapadas arose toward the end of the Vedic period, and by 500 BC they were common. Around 450 BC Panini mentions over forty janapadas, covering even Afghanistan and south-eastern Central Asia, but excluding most of southern India. The Pali texts show janapadas growing into mahajanapadas and list sixteen; nine of them also occur in Panini as janapadas.

Which Were the Important Mahajanapadas?

Most mahajanapadas arose in the upper and mid-Gangetic plains, north of the Vindhyas, and extended from the north-west frontier to Bihar. Magadha, Koshala, Vatsa and Avanti seem to have been powerful.

The Kurus and Panchalas in western UP no longer enjoyed the significance they had in the later Vedic period. Archaeology cautions the Puranic antiquity: Basarh was not settled until the sixth century BC, Ayodhya not on any scale before the fifth century BC, and Piprahwa not before about 500 BC. The political history from the sixth century BC was one of struggles among these states for supremacy, and Magadha eventually emerged as the most powerful, as described in Rise and Growth of the Magadhan Empire.

How Did the Republics Differ from Monarchies?

Republican governments existed in the Indus basin and in the Himalayan foothills of eastern UP and Bihar. The Indus republics may have been remnants of Vedic tribes, while in UP and Bihar people were possibly inspired by old ideals of tribal equality. Panini speaks of nineteen one-king (ekaraja) janapadas, and also of sangha or multi-ruler janapadas, which were republics. In the republics real power lay in tribal oligarchies. In the Shakya and Lichchhavi republics the ruling class belonged to the same clan and varna. The Lichchhavis of Vaishali had 7707 rajas sitting in the assembly in the motehall, and the brahmanas are not mentioned. In post-Maurya republics of the Malavas and Kshudrakas, kshatriyas and brahmanas were given citizenship but slaves and hired labourers were excluded; in a state on the Beas, membership was restricted to those who could supply at least one elephant. The administrative machinery of the Shakyas and Lichchhavis was simple: raja, uparaja (vice-king), senapati and bhandagarika (treasurer). The seven courts in hierarchical order said to try the same case in Lichchhavi republic seem too good to be true.

Certain states were therefore not ruled by hereditary kings but by persons responsible to assemblies, and the republican tradition is as old as the age of the Buddha. It became feeble from the Mauryan period and monarchies were far stronger even earlier. As an analytical point, the republican states were small clan-based oligarchies rather than democracies in the modern sense, and their fall to Magadha is part of the story in Rise and Growth of the Magadhan Empire. Detailed polity of the monarchies is in Varna System, Social Orders and Legislation in the Age of the Buddha.

Why Is This Topic Important?

• Map-based questions Capitals and locations
• Republics Distinct polity
• Transition From tribe to territory

What Came Next?

The next topic describes the rise and growth of the Magadhan Empire. Next topic: Rise and Growth of the Magadhan Empire.

Key People and Terms

• Janapada Territorial state
• Mahajanapada Great state
• Gana Republic
• Motehall Lichchhavi assembly hall
• Uparaja Vice-king
• Bhandagarika Treasurer

Exam Corner

Mains Angle

Questions ask for causes and character of the early states. These points add depth.

• Causes Iron and surplus
• Types Monarchy and republic
• Outcome Magadhan supremacy