Study notes for History topic Mahajanpadas

What do you understand from mahajanapadas?

The Mahjanapadas were sixteen oligarchic republics or kingdoms that existed in ancient India between the sixth and fourth centuries BCE, during the second urbanisation era. A collection of sixteen ancient Indian kingdoms was known as the Mahajanapadas.

What were the 16 mahajanapadas?

There were sixteen of such Mahajanapadas: Kasi, Kosala, Anga, Magadha, Vajji, Malla, Chedi, Vatsa, Kuru, Panchala, Machcha, Surasena, Assaka, Avanti, Gandhara and Kamboja.

What is the largest Mahajanapada?

Magadha

What were janapadas?

The Janapadas were the major kingdoms of Vedic India. During that period, Aryans were the most powerful tribes and were called ‘Janas’. This gave rise to the term Janapada where Jana means ‘people’ and Pada means ‘foot’.

During the 5th-6th centuries BC, which two religions emerged?

During the 5th-6th centuries BC two new religions emerged in the form of Jainism and Buddhism.