Mahajanapadas and the Rise of Magadha: Sixteen States, Capitals and the Dynasty Order

Mahajanapadas and the Rise of Magadha

By about the 6th century BC the small tribal kingdoms of northern India had merged into sixteen large states called Mahajanapadas. Buddhist texts such as the Anguttara Nikaya list them, and Jain texts give a slightly different list. Most sat in the Ganga plain, with a few in the north-west and the Deccan. Two kinds of rule existed: monarchies like Magadha, Kosala, Avanti and Vatsa, and gana-sanghas (republics) like the Vajji confederacy and the Mallas.

Over two centuries the four strongest states, Magadha, Kosala, Avanti and Vatsa, fought for supremacy and Magadha won. This is the first great story of Indian political history, and it leads straight to the Maurya empire. This short gives the list, the capitals and the dynasty order.

1. Vaishali was the capital of which Mahajanapada?

2. Who shifted the capital of Magadha from Rajagriha to Pataliputra?

3. Varanasi was the capital of which Mahajanapada?

4. Which is the correct chronological order of the Magadhan dynasties?

5. Which Mahajanapada was located in the south, on the banks of the Godavari?

6. Which of the following Mahajanapadas was a republic (gana-sangha)?

7. The Second Buddhist Council at Vaishali was held during the reign of:

8. In tradition, which Nanda ruler was called 'ekarat', meaning sole sovereign?