10. The Mahajanapada Age and the rise of Magadha

• From 6th century B.C., the widespread use of Iron in eastern UP and Bihar facilitated the formation of large territorial states.
• The new agricultural tools and implements enabled peasants to produce more than required for consumption which could be collected by princes to meet their military and administrative needs.
• The rise of large states with towns as their base of their operations strengthened the territorial idea. People owed strong allegiance to the janapada to which they belonged not to the jana or the tribe.

 

The Mahajanapadas

• In the age of Buddha there were 16 large states called mahajanapadas, of which Magadha, Vatsa, Kosala and Avanti seem to have been considered powerful.
• There was also a kingdom of Anga (Be)in the east but was eventually swallowed up by powerful neighbour Magadha which embraced the modern districts of Patna, Gaya and parts of Shahabad.
• North of the Ganga in the division of Tirhut, in north Bihar was the State of Vajjis which included 8 clans but the most powerful were the Lichchhavis with their capital at Vaishali.
• Further west was the kingdom of Kashi with its capital at Varanasi. In the beginning Kashi appears to be the most powerful of the states, but eventually it had to submit to the power of Kosala.
• Kosala embraced the area occupied by eastern UP and had its capital at Sravasti (presently Sahet-Mahet). It also contained an important city of Ayodhaya and also the republican territory of Sakyas of Kapilavastu, the birthplace of the Buddha.
• In between Kosala and Vajjis lay the kingdom of Mallas with capital at Kusinara, where Gautam Buddha passes away.
• Further West lay the kingdom of Vatsas along the bank of the Yamuna, with its capital at Kausambi near Allahabad. They were a Kuru clan who shifted to Kausambi from Hastinapur and settled there.
• There were also the Older states of the Kurus and the Panchalas situated in Western UP but they no longer enjoyed the political importance which they attained in later Vedic period.
• In central Malwa and the adjoining parts of MP lay the state of the Avantis divided into two parts with one capital at Ujjain and second at Mahishamati, though eventually Ujjain surpassed Mahishamati.
• The political history of India from 6th century B.C. Onwards was that of struggles between these states for supremacy. Ultimately the kingdom of Magadha emerged as the most powerful and succeeded in founding an empire.

 

Rise and Growth of the Magadhan Empire

• Magadha came into prominence under the leadership of Bimbisara, who belonged to Haryanka dynasty.
• He started the policy of conquests and aggrandisements which ended with the Kalinga war of Asoka.
• He acquired Anga and placed it under the viceroyalty of Ajatasataru at Champa. He also strengthened his position by marriage alliances. He took three wives.
• His first wife was the daughter of the king of Kosala and the sister of Prasenajit and brought with her the village of Kasi.
• His second wife Chellana was a Lichchhavi princess from Vaisali and his third wide was the daughter of the chief of the Madra clan of Punjab.
• Magadha's most serious rival was Avanti, its king Chanda Pradyota Mahasena fought Bimbisara but ultimately the two thought it was wise to become friends.
• Bimbisara is also said to have received an embassy and a letter from the ruler of Gandhara with whom Pradyota had fought unsuccessfully.
• The earliest capital of Magadha was at Rajgir, which was called Girivraja, was surrounded by five hills, the opening in which were closed by stone walls on all sides, making Rajgir impregnable.
• Bimbisara (ruled 544-492 B.C.)was succeeded by his son Ajatasataru (ruled 492-460 B.C.) who killed his father and seized the throne for himself.

• Ajatasataru fought two wars and made preparations for the third and throughout his reign he pursued an aggressive policy of expansion.
• This provoked against him a combination of Kasi and Kosala, ultimately Ajatasataru got the best of the war and the Kosalan king was forced to purchase peace by giving his daughter in marriage to him and leaving him in sole possession of Kasi.
• He was no respecter of relations as his mother being a Lichchhavi princess did not prevent him from making war with Vaishali. It took him 16 years to destroy Vaisali.
• The Magadhan empire was thus enlarged with the addition of Kashi and Vaishali. Though he faced a stronger rival in the ruler of Avanti, who had defeated the Vatsas of Kausambi.
• Ajatasataru was succeeded by Udayin (460-444 B.C.),his rule is important because he built a fort at Patna upon the confluence of Ganga and Son.
• Udayin was succeeded by the dynasty of Sisunagas who temporarily shifted power to Vaisali. Their greatest achievement was the destruction of power of Avanti with its capital at Ujjain bringing an end to 100 year old rivalry between Magadha and Avanti to an end.
• The Sisunagas were succeeded by the Nandas who proved to be the most powerful rulers of Magadha.
• So great was their power that Alexander, who invaded Punjab didn't dare to move towards the east.
• Their main ruler was Mahapadma Nanda who not only captured Kalinga but also Kosala and claimed to be ekarat, the sole sovereign who destroyed all the other ruling princes.
• The Nandas were fabulously rich and enormously powerful and maintained a huge army which could only be maintained through an effective taxation system.
• The later Nandas turned out to be weak and unpopular and their rule in Magadha was supplanted by that of the Maurya dynasty under which Magadhan empire reached the apex of glory.

 

Cause of Magadha's Success

• The march of the Magadhan empire during the centuries preceding the rise of the Maurya is like the march of the Iranian Empire during the same period.
• The formation of largest state in India was the work of several enterprising and ambitious rulers such as Bimbisara, Ajatasataru and Mahapadma Nanda who used all means to enlarge their kingdom.
• There were several other reasons such as the richest iron deposits were not situated far from Rajgir, enabling the Magadhan princes to equip themselves with weapons not easily available to their enemy.
• Iron mines are also found in eastern MP and were not far from the capital of Avantis, Ujjain and thus proved to be the most serious competitor of Magadha for the supremacy of North India.
• Magadha's two capital first Rajgir, which was situated by a group of 5 hills was impregnable and second Pataliputra was a true water-fort as it was surrounded by the Son and the Ganga in north and the west and Poonpun in south and west.
• Pataliputra was also situated at the confluence of Son, Gandak and Ganga and Sarayu joined the Ganga not from Pataliputra which made it easy for army to travel in all directions using rivers.
• Magadha lay at the centre of the middle Gangetic plain and the alluvium proved immense fertile and peasants produced varieties of paddy in surplus which can be mopped by the rulers in form of taxes.
• The princes of Magadha also benefitted from the rise of towns and use of coins and now they can levy tolls and taxes on the sale of commodities and accumulate wealth to pay and maintain their army.
• Magadha enjoyed a special advantage in military organisation as they were the first to use elephants on large scale in its wars against its neighbours.
• Since the Magadhan society was inhabited by the Kiratas and Magadhas who were held in low esteem by the orthodox brahmanas. And when a racial admixture on advent of Vedic people happened and since they were recently Aryanised, they showed more enthusiasm for expansion than the kingdoms which had been brought under the Vedic influence earlier.
• On account of all these reasons Magadha succeeded in defeating the other kingdoms and in founding the first empire in India.