Pariksha SaathiLesson 3 of 10 · Ancient and Medieval Indian History
Mahajanapadas, the Rise of Magadha, Buddhism and Jainism
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The sixteen Mahajanapadas
By the sixth century BC the janapadas had grown into larger states, and the Buddhist Anguttara Nikaya lists sixteen Mahajanapadas: Anga (capital Champa), Magadha (Rajagriha), Kashi (Varanasi), Kosala (Shravasti), Vajji (Vaishali), Malla (Kushinara and Pava), Chedi (Shuktimati), Vatsa (Kaushambi), Kuru (Indraprastha), Panchala (Ahichhatra and Kampilya), Matsya (Viratnagar), Surasena (Mathura), Assaka (Potali, on the Godavari, the only one in the south), Avanti (Ujjayini and Mahishmati), Gandhara (Taxila) and Kamboja. Most were monarchies, but the Vajjis and Mallas were ganas or sanghas, republics governed by assemblies of clan heads; the Vajji confederacy was led by the Lichchhavis of Vaishali. This was the age of the second urbanisation, of iron tools, punch-marked coins and Northern Black Polished Ware.
Why Magadha rose
Magadha had fertile soil, iron ore in the nearby hills, forests that gave elephants for its army, and capitals that were natural fortresses: Rajgir was ringed by five hills, and Pataliputra stood near the meeting of the Ganga, the Son and the Gandak. Under the Haryanka dynasty, Bimbisara, a contemporary of the Buddha, expanded through marriages with the royal houses of Kosala (which brought part of Kashi as dowry), the Lichchhavis and the Madras, annexed Anga, and sent his physician Jivaka to treat Pradyota of Avanti. His son Ajatashatru, who killed him, defeated Kosala and the Vajjis, using, Jain texts say, two new weapons, the mahashilakantaka (a catapult) and the rathamusala (a chariot fitted with a mace). The first Buddhist council met in his reign, and his son Udayin made Pataliputra the capital.
Shishunagas and Nandas
Shishunaga, founder of the next dynasty, destroyed the power of Avanti; his son Kalashoka (Kakavarna) held the second Buddhist council at Vaishali. Mahapadma Nanda, called Ekarat (sole ruler) and Sarvakshatrantaka (destroyer of all Kshatriyas), was the first non-Kshatriya empire-builder of north India; the Hathigumpha inscription of Kharavela mentions a canal dug in Kalinga by a Nanda king. The last Nanda, Dhana Nanda, ruled a rich but unpopular kingdom with a huge army, said to be one reason Alexander's soldiers refused to cross the Beas in 326 BC. Chandragupta Maurya overthrew him around 321 BC.
The Buddha's life
Siddhartha Gautama was born, by the traditional date, in 563 BC at Lumbini in the Shakya clan of Kapilavastu, to Suddhodana and Mahamaya; he married Yashodhara and had a son, Rahula. Moved by four sights, an old man, a sick man, a corpse and an ascetic, he left home at 29, the Mahabhinishkramana. He studied under Alara Kalama and Udraka Ramaputra, then attained enlightenment at 35 under a pipal tree at Bodh Gaya on the Niranjana. He gave his first sermon, the Dharmachakra Pravartana, at the Deer Park in Sarnath, spent many rainy seasons at Shravasti, and died at 80 at Kushinagar in 483 BC, the Mahaparinirvana.
Teachings, councils and sects
The Four Noble Truths say that life is suffering (dukkha), that desire (tanha) causes it, that it can end, and that the Eightfold Path ends it: right view, resolve, speech, action, livelihood, effort, mindfulness and concentration. This is the Middle Path, and the goal is nirvana. The Buddha rejected the authority of the Vedas, animal sacrifice and caste privilege, and taught in the language of the people; the canon, the Tripitaka (Vinaya, Sutta and Abhidhamma), is in Pali. The first council (483 BC) met in the Saptaparni cave at Rajgir under Mahakassapa, where Ananda recited the Sutta and Upali the Vinaya; the second (383 BC) at Vaishali split the order into Sthaviravadins and Mahasanghikas; the third (about 250 BC) at Pataliputra under Moggaliputta Tissa compiled the Abhidhamma; and the fourth, at Kundalvana in Kashmir under Kanishka, with Vasumitra presiding and Ashvaghosha as deputy, marked the split into Hinayana and Mahayana. Mahayana worships the Buddha in images and stresses the Bodhisattva ideal.
Mahavira and the tirthankaras
Jains revere 24 tirthankaras, from Rishabhadeva (Adinath), the first, to Parshvanath, the 23rd, who taught four vows (non-violence, truth, non-stealing and non-possession), and Vardhamana Mahavira, the 24th, who added brahmacharya. Mahavira was born at Kundagrama near Vaishali to Siddhartha of the Jnatrika clan and the Lichchhavi princess Trishala; by the dates many historians and exam books use he lived from 540 to 468 BC, while Jain tradition gives 599 to 527 BC. He left home at 30 and attained kaivalya (supreme knowledge) at 42, after 12 years of austerity, under a sal tree at Jrimbhikagrama, becoming the Jina (conqueror) and Nirgrantha (free from bonds). He died at 72 at Pavapuri. Jainism teaches the triratna of right faith, right knowledge and right conduct, strict ahimsa, and anekantavada, the view that truth has many sides; Mahavira preached in Ardhamagadhi Prakrit.
Jain councils and sects
During a 12-year famine in Magadha in Chandragupta Maurya's reign, Bhadrabahu led a group of monks south to Karnataka while Sthulabhadra stayed behind. The first Jain council, at Pataliputra under Sthulabhadra, compiled the teachings into 12 Angas. Those who stayed began wearing white and became the Svetambaras; Bhadrabahu's followers, who kept to nudity, became the Digambaras. The second council, at Vallabhi in Gujarat under Devarddhi Kshamashramana, gave the canon its final written form. Royal patrons included Chandragupta Maurya, Kharavela of Kalinga and the Rashtrakuta Amoghavarsha.
Key facts
- Sixteen Mahajanapadas are listed in the Anguttara Nikaya; Assaka on the Godavari was the only one in the south; Vajji and Malla were republics (ganas).
- Magadha's dynasties in order: Haryanka (Bimbisara, Ajatashatru, Udayin), Shishunaga (Shishunaga, Kalashoka), Nanda (Mahapadma, Dhana Nanda), then Maurya.
- Ajatashatru's new weapons (Jain texts): mahashilakantaka, a catapult, and rathamusala, a chariot fitted with a mace; Udayin made Pataliputra the capital.
- Mahapadma Nanda: Ekarat and Sarvakshatrantaka; Kharavela's Hathigumpha inscription mentions a Nanda king's canal in Kalinga.
- Buddha's teachers: Alara Kalama and Udraka Ramaputra; first sermon at Sarnath (Dharmachakra Pravartana); left home at 29, enlightened at 35, died at 80 at Kushinagar.
- Tripitaka: Vinaya (rules for monks), Sutta (discourses), Abhidhamma (philosophy), in Pali; at the first council Ananda recited the Sutta and Upali the Vinaya.
- Buddhist councils: Rajgir 483 BC (Mahakassapa), Vaishali 383 BC (Sabakami, split into Sthaviravadins and Mahasanghikas), Pataliputra about 250 BC (Moggaliputta Tissa), Kashmir (Vasumitra, Hinayana-Mahayana split).
- Parshvanath (23rd tirthankara) gave four vows; Mahavira (24th) added brahmacharya; Rishabhadeva was the first tirthankara.
- Mahavira: born at Kundagrama, kaivalya at 42 under a sal tree at Jrimbhikagrama, died at 72 at Pavapuri; titles Jina and Nirgrantha.
- Jain councils: Pataliputra (Sthulabhadra, 12 Angas) and Vallabhi (Devarddhi Kshamashramana, final written canon); Svetambara (white-clad) and Digambara (sky-clad) sects.
Quick revision
Sixteen Mahajanapadas in Anguttara Nikaya; Vajji and Malla republics; Magadha rose through iron, elephants, fertile land; Bimbisara annexed Anga; Ajatashatru used mahashilakantaka; Udayin to Pataliputra; Mahapadma Nanda Ekarat; Buddha 563-483 BC, Lumbini-Bodh Gaya-Sarnath-Kushinagar; Four Noble Truths, Eightfold Path; councils Rajgir, Vaishali, Pataliputra, Kashmir; Mahavira 24th tirthankara, kaivalya at 42, died at Pavapuri; Svetambara and Digambara; Jain councils Pataliputra and Vallabhi.