Kingdoms, Kings and Early Republics VIDEO LINK
NOTES
• In the later Vedic period, the tribal organization changed their identity and gradually started shifting into a territorial identity called Janapada or states.
• These states consisted of a single tribe like Shakyas and Molas or people from the Ganga Valley called Aryans.
• They did not incorporate people outside the Aryan pole.
• There was, therefore, a strong consciousness of the pure land of the Aryans called Aryavrata.
• What is Janapada:
(i) The term Janapada literally means land where jana set its foot and settled down.
(ii) Early Vedic texts reveal about several Janas or tribes of the Aryans living in semi-nomadic tribal state.
(iii) In due course of time, these early Indian Iron Age Rigveda Janas coalesced into geographically fixed Janapada.
(iv) Some Janapadas became more important than others,and were known as Mahajanapadas.There were sixteen Mahajanapadas which had evolved and flourished in a belt streching from Ghandhar in the North -west to Anga in the eastern part of the Indian sub-continent and included parts of trans Vindhyan region.
• Features of Mahajanapadas:
(i) Each Mahajanapadas was ruled by a king each having their own army and a capital city.
(ii) The kings maintained large armies,by paying regular salaries throughout the year.
(iii) Many of these Mahajanapadas were fortified,which means huge walls of wood,brick or stone were built around them.
• Political Organisation
(i) The political organization of the mahajanpadas was organized into two forms-monarchy and republican system.
(ii) Monarchies came to embody the concept of hereditary accession to the throne and association of the king with a divine status. Magadh was an example.
(iii) Republics were either single tribes or a confederacy of tribes,governed by a general assembly and a council of elders representing powerful Kshatriya families.
• Taxation:
(i) As Mahajanapadas needed huge amount of money for building huge forts and maintaining big armies so they imposed taxes.
(ii) One-sixth tax was fixed on crops; tax on crafts persons, herders, goods bought and sold through trade.
(iii) Further hunters and gathers had to give forest produce to the raja.
• Agricultural System of Mahajanapadas:
(i) Two major changes were introduced in agriculture.
(ii) One, was the rapid use of iron ploughshares instead of wooden ploughshares.
(iii) Second, people started transplanting paddy which lead to increase in production.
• Varna System of Mahajanapadas:
(i) Varna means group in Sanskrit.
(ii) Varna decided one’s group. It was not based on birth.
(iii) Gradually in later Vedic age, Varna system changed to caste system.
(iv) The Brahmins imparted knowledge, Kshatriyas were rulers, Vaishyas contributed to trade while Shudras were slaves who were denied entry into the mainstream.
• Magadha and Vajji
(i) Magadha in South Bihar, on the banks of river Ganga was a fertile and industrial area which contributed to one of the most powerful kingdoms and some great kings like Bimbisara and Ajatshatru in India.
(ii) Vajji ,with its capital at Vaishali was under a different form of government known as Gana or sangha,where there were not one ruler but many rulers.These Ganas were conquered by the Gupta rulers.Both Buddha and Mahavira belonged to Gana or sanghas.
Exercise
Question 1. State whether True or False.
Answer.
(a) Rajas who let the ashvamedha horse pass through their lands were invited to the sacrifice. (True)
(b) The charioteer sprinkled sacred water on the king. (False)
(c) Archaeologists have found palaces in the settlements of the janapadas. (False)
(d) Pots to store were made out of Painted Grey Ware. (True)
(e) Many cities in the mahajanapadas were fortified. (True)
Question 2. Fill in the chart given below with the terms: hunter-gatherers, farmers, traders, craft persons and herders.
Answer. Those who paid taxes
| Farmer | Traders | |
| Hunters and gatherers | The Raja of the Mahajanapada | Herders |
| Craft persons |
The rajas(rulers) of Mahajanapada started collecting taxes from the people in various forms as follows:
Hunter-gatherers: They had to provide forest produce to the raja.
Farmers: The tax was fixed at 1/6th of what was produced by them.
Traders: Taxes on goods that were bought and sold, through trade.
Craft persons: Taxes on crafts persons as well. These could have been in the form of labour
Herders: Paid taxes in the form of animals and animal produce.
Question 3. Who were the groups who could not participate in the assemblies of the ganas?
Answer.Women, Slaves and Kammakaras could not participate in the assemblies assemblies of the ganas. Often, women were also grouped with the shudras. The priests also said that these groups were decided on the basis of birth.
Question 4. Why did the rajas of the Mahajanapada build forts?
Answer. Forts were built by the rajas of the Mahajanapada because people were afraid of attacks from other kings and needed protection. It is also likely that some rulers wanted to show how rich and powerful they were by building large, tall and impressive walls around their cities. Also in this way, the land and the people living inside the fortified area could be controlled more easily by the king making the administration more easier.
Question 5. In what ways are present-day elections different from the ways in which rulers were chosen in janapadas.
Answer. Present-day elections in India, are conducted based on the democracy and idea of universal adult franchise, where every person above the age of 18 years has a right to vote. Voting is based on the principle of one man-one vote. Whereas, the rulers who performed the ashvamedha sacrifice or horse sacrifice were recognised as the rulers of janapadas. Some janapadas grew in size and became mahajanapadas.
Question 6. Find the state in which you live in the political map on page 136. Were there any janapadas in your state? If Yes, name them. if not, name the janapadas that would have been closest to your state, and mention whether they were to the east, west, north or south.
Answer.Following is the list of 16 janapadas and mahajanapadas with their respective location. Go through the table to find the janapada or mahajanapada that would have been in or closest to your state.
List of Ancient Janapadas and Mahajanapadas
| Janapadas & Mahajanapadas | Location |
| Anga | Modern districts of Monger and Bhagalpur in Bihar. |
| Magadha | Covered the modern districts of Patna, Gaya, and parts of Shahabad. |
| Malla | Covered the modern districts of Deoria, Basti, Gorakhpur and Siddarthnagar in eastern UP. |
| Vajji | Situated north of the river Ganga in Bihar. |
| Kosala | Covered modern day districts of Faziabad, Gonda, Bahraich of eastern Uttar Pradesh. |
| Kashi | Located in the region around Varanasi (modern Banaras). |
| Chedi | Covered present day Bundelkhand region. |
| Kuru | Covered modern Haryana and Delhi. |
| Vatsa | Covered modern districts Allahabad, Mirzapur. |
| Panchala | Covered the area of present western UP up to the east of river Yamuna up to Kosala janapada. |
| Matsya | Covered the areas of Alwar, Bhartpur and Jaipur in Rajasthan. |
| Sursena | Covered the area around Mathura. |
| Avanti | Covered the western India (modern Malwa). |
| Ashmaka | Situated in the southern part of the India between the rivers Narmada and Godavari. |
Question 7. Find out whether any of the groups mentioned in answer 2 pay taxes today.
Answer. The groups mentioned are hunter and gatherers, farmers, traders, craft persons herders.
Farmers & Herders : According to the Income Tax Act, 2013 agricultural income is exempt in India.
Traders and craft persons pay taxes today.
Question 8. Find out whether any of the groups mentioned in answer 3 have voting right at present.
Answer. The people who could not participate in the assemblies (mentioned in answer 3) were women, slaves and Kammakaras.
In the present times, slavery has been abolished. Every democracy is based on the principle of universal adult franchise. Everyone has the right to vote in the election after a specific age(18 years in case of India).