The mahajanapadas of Uttar Pradesh

Buddhist and Jain texts list sixteen mahajanapadas — "great realms" — in north India in the sixth century BCE. A remarkable number of them lay in the land that is now Uttar Pradesh. Their cities — Varanasi, Shravasti, Kaushambi, Mathura, Ahichchhatra — were among the first true cities of the Ganga plain after the Harappan age. It was in these kingdoms that the Buddha taught and the great struggle for supremacy that ended with Magadha played out.

The mahajanapadas in UP

How do we know about them?

No mahajanapada left an archive of its own. Our knowledge comes from three kinds of evidence, each with its own limits.

The best-known list of the sixteen comes from the Buddhist text Anguttara Nikaya. Jain texts such as the Bhagavati Sutra give a somewhat different list — a reminder that "sixteen" was partly a conventional number, and that different traditions saw the political map differently. These texts were compiled later than the events they describe, and they naturally focus on kings and cities connected with the Buddha or Mahavira.

The second source is archaeology. Excavations at Kaushambi, Shravasti, Ahichchhatra, Mathura and Rajghat (Varanasi) have revealed fortifications, houses, coins and the glossy Northern Black Polished Ware that marks this period. Archaeology confirms that these were real, substantial towns, not literary inventions.

The third is later literature — Sanskrit plays, epics and Puranas — which preserve traditions about figures such as Udayana of Vatsa. These are valuable for cultural memory but must be used cautiously as history.

Monarchies and republics

Not all mahajanapadas were kingdoms. Some, like Kosala, Kashi and Vatsa, were monarchies (rajyas), ruled by hereditary kings with growing armies and tax systems. Others, like the Mallas, were gana-sanghas — often described as republics or oligarchies — in which power was shared among members of a ruling clan, who met in an assembly to decide matters.

The gana-sanghas are sometimes presented as early democracies. That is an overstatement: power was held by a privileged clan, not by all inhabitants. But they did practise collective deliberation, and Buddhist texts suggest that the Buddha modelled some rules of the sangha on their assembly procedures. The monarchies, with their larger armies and revenue, ultimately proved stronger, and most gana-sanghas were absorbed by expanding kingdoms.

Key kingdoms and rulers

Kosala

• One of the most powerful kingdoms.
• Prasenajit (Pasenadi) was a contemporary and follower of the Buddha.
• Kosala absorbed Kashi, gaining its rich revenues.
• A marriage alliance linked Kosala and Magadha (Prasenajit's sister married Bimbisara), but relations later turned hostile.
• Kosala was eventually defeated and absorbed by Magadha under Ajatashatru (and his successors).

Vatsa

• Udayana, king of Vatsa, is a celebrated figure in Sanskrit literature — his romance with Vasavadatta is the subject of plays such as Bhasa's Svapnavasavadatta.
• Kaushambi, on the Yamuna, was a major trading city and later an important Buddhist centre (Ghositarama monastery).

Kashi

• Varanasi was already famous for textiles, trade and learning.
• Kashi and Kosala fought repeatedly; Kashi was eventually absorbed by Kosala.

The Mallas

• A gana-sangha (republic), with centres at Kushinagar and Pava.
• The Buddha died (Mahaparinirvana) at Kushinagar.
• Pava is associated in some traditions with Mahavira's last days (though Jains identify Pawapuri in Bihar).

The second urbanisation

The mahajanapada period is called the second urbanisation of India (after the Harappan):

The rise of Magadha

Among the mahajanapadas, Magadha (in Bihar) eventually conquered the others, including Kosala, Kashi and the Vajjis. Its advantages included iron, fertile land, rivers, strong rulers and a strategic capital. By the time of the Nandas and Mauryas, the UP mahajanapadas had become part of the Magadhan empire.

Religious ferment

The mahajanapada period in UP was also a time of intense religious and philosophical debate:

• The Buddha gave his first sermon at Sarnath (near Varanasi), spent many rainy seasons at Shravasti, and died at Kushinagar.
• Jain tirthankaras are associated with places in UP — for example, Parshvanatha with Varanasi.
• The Upanishadic tradition flourished.

Practice

Prelims-style:

1. What were the capitals of Kosala?
2. Who was the king of Vatsa associated with Vasavadatta?
3. Which mahajanapada had its capital at Mathura?
4. Which mahajanapadas were republics?
5. What pottery is associated with the second urbanisation?

Mains-style:

• "The mahajanapadas of Uttar Pradesh laid the foundations of urban life in the Ganga plain." Discuss.
• Examine the political relations between Kosala and Magadha.