Ancient Rajasthan: Matsya, Bairat and the janapadas

In the Mahabharata, the Pandavas spend their final year of exile in disguise at the court of King Virata of Matsya. Tradition places his capital at Viratnagar, near modern Bairat, north-east of Jaipur. Whatever one makes of the legend, the site is genuinely ancient: it has yielded a Mauryan edict of Ashoka, the remains of one of India's earliest Buddhist circular shrines, and coins spanning several centuries. Bairat is a good place to begin the story of ancient Rajasthan.

The janapadas of Rajasthan

In the first millennium BCE, north India was divided into janapadas and larger mahajanapadas. Of the sixteen mahajanapadas listed in Buddhist texts, Matsya lay in eastern Rajasthan, and Surasena (around Mathura) and Avanti (Malwa) bordered the region.

Bairat under the Mauryas

Bairat is one of Rajasthan's most important Mauryan sites:

• The Bairat (Bhabru) edict — a minor rock edict of Ashoka found near Bairat, in which the emperor declares his faith in the Buddha, the Dhamma and the Sangha and recommends specific Buddhist texts. It is sometimes called the Calcutta–Bairat edict, because the inscribed rock was taken to Kolkata.
• Bijak ki Pahadi — the remains of a circular brick shrine (a chaitya) surrounded by wooden pillars, among the earliest Buddhist structures of its kind in India.

Bairat was later damaged, and the Chinese pilgrim Xuanzang, who travelled in India in the seventh century, mentions the region.

Republics and their coins

Some of the most interesting groups in ancient Rajasthan were republics (gana-sanghas) rather than monarchies, known mainly through their coins and a few inscriptions.

• The Malavas migrated from Punjab into Rajasthan and settled around Nagar (Tonk), where thousands of their coins have been found. Their name survives in Malwa, and an era — later identified with the Vikram Samvat — is linked to them in some inscriptions.
• The Yaudheyas, a warrior republic of the north, issued coins bearing the words "victory of the Yaudheyas"; they resisted the Kushanas.
• The Arjunayanas of the Alwar–Bharatpur region also issued coins.

Samudragupta's Prayag prashasti lists the Malavas, Yaudheyas and Arjunayanas among the frontier peoples who paid tribute to him — evidence that these republics survived into the fourth century CE.

Other ancient sites

From the Kshatrapas to the Hunas

After the Mauryas, western Rajasthan came under the Western Kshatrapas (Shakas); the Kushanas held parts of the north-east. The Guptas extended their influence, partly through the tributary republics. In the late fifth and early sixth centuries, the Hunas under Toramana and Mihirakula raided and ruled parts of the region.

Bhinmal: a centre of learning

By the seventh century, Bhinmal (Shrimal), in today's Jalore district, had become an important city — associated with the early Gurjaras and visited or described by Xuanzang. It was here, in 628 CE, that the mathematician-astronomer Brahmagupta composed the Brahmasphutasiddhanta, which contains important rules for operating with zero and negative numbers. The Sanskrit poet Magha, author of Shishupalavadha, is also associated with Bhinmal.

Why it matters for RAS

These topics produce reliable Prelims questions and short Mains answers: what is the Bhabru edict? where is Bijak ki Pahadi? what do the Ghosundi inscriptions tell us? who was Brahmagupta and where did he work? A one-page table of sites, districts and significance will cover most of them.

Practice

Prelims-style:

1. Which Mahabharata kingdom had its capital at Viratnagar?
2. Which Ashokan edict mentions the Buddha, Dhamma and Sangha and was found near Bairat?
3. Which site in Chittorgarh was the centre of the Shibis?
4. Which republic's coins have been found in large numbers at Nagar (Tonk)?
5. Where did Brahmagupta compose the Brahmasphutasiddhanta?

Mains-style (50 words): What is the historical importance of Bairat?

Mains-style (100 words): Discuss the role of republics (gana-sanghas) in ancient Rajasthan.