Kingdoms, Kings and an Early Republic

The following natural features helped Magadha to become a powerful kingdom:

1. Many rivers such as the Ganga and Son flowed through Magadha. These rivers made the land fertile for agriculture. Moreover, these rivers were important for transport and water supplies.
2. Another natural feature was the forests. Some parts of Magadha had forests. Elephants, which lived in the forest, could be captured and trained for the army. Forests also provided wood for building houses, carts and chariots.
3. To become powerful, the rajas were fighting battles and required powerful weapons. Strong tools were required to clear forests. Magadha had iron ore mines, which could be used to make strong tools and weapons.

Bimbisara and Ajatasattu were two very powerful rulers of Magadha. They used all possible means to conquer other janapadas. Mahapadma Nanda was another important ruler. He extended his control upto the north-west part of the subcontinent. Rajagriha inBihar was the capital of Magadha for several years. Later the capital was shifted to Pataliputra.

Huge resources were required by the rulers of Mahajanapadas for building forts and maintaining large armies. Rajas of the janapadas depended on the occasional gifts brought by the people. So, instead of depending on these occasional gifts, the raja of the mahajanapadas imposed regular taxes on the people. Special officers were appointed to collect these taxes.

The Rajas built large and tall walls around the cities in order to show their wealth and power. Moreover, with these huge walls the Kings could easily control the land and the people living inside the fortified areas.

Taxes were imposed on crops.This was most important since most people were farmers.

1. The tax was fixed at 1/6th of the production. This was known as bhaga or a share.
2. There were taxes on crafts men who paid it by providing their labour. For example a weaver or a smith would work for a day in every month for the king.
3. Taxes on herders were met by them by providing animals and animal produce.
4. Taxes were imposed on goods that were brought and sold through trade.
5. Hunters and gatherers also paid their taxes by providing the forest produce to the raja.

Building such huge walls required a great deal of planning. A number of resources had to be found for the building of these walls. Firstly, thousands of bricks or stones had to be prepared. Secondly, labour of thousands of men, women and children were required in the construction of these walls.

The Samaveda, Yajurveda and Atharvaveda are the Later Vedic books.

Later Vedic books contained rules about the society.

The use of iron ploughshare helped to turn over the heavy ,clayey soil which was not possible with a wooden ploughshare. This increased the production

Slave men and women (dasas and dasis) and landless labourers (kammakaras) had to work on the agricultural land and therefore provide the labour.

According to Historians, Magadha became the most powerful mahajanapadas due to the following geographical features:

1. Many rivers such as the Ganga and Son flowed through Magadha, which provided good transport, water supplies and made the land fertile.
2. Parts of Magadha had forests that provided elephants, which were captured and trained for the army needs. Forests provided wood for building houses and chariots.
3. There were iron ore mines in the region that was used to make strong tools and weapons.

The ashvamedha or horse sacrifice was a ritual in which a horse is let loose to wander and it was guarded by the raja’s men. If the horse wandered into the kingdoms of other rajas and they stopped it, they had to fight. If they allowed the horse to pass, it meant that they accepted that the raja who wanted to carry out the sacrifice was stronger than them. These rajas were then invited to the sacrifice, which was performed by especially skilled priests, who were rewarded with gifts. The raja who organized the sacrifice was recognized as being very powerful, and all those who came brought gifts for him.

Alexander lived in Macedonia in Europe and wanted to conquer the whole world. But he was able to conquer only the parts ofEgypt, West Asia and some parts of the South Asia.

There were several different groups in society at that time — priests and warriors, farmers, herders, traders, crafts persons, labourers, fishing folk, and forest people. Some priests and warriors were rich, as were some farmers and traders. Others, including many herders, craftsmen, labourers, fishermen and huntsmen and gatherers, were poor.

The priests divided people into four groups, called varnas. According to them, each varna had a different set of functions.

1. The first varna was that of the brahmin. Brahmins were expected to study (and teach) the Vedas, perform sacrifices and receive gifts.
2. In the second place were the rulers, also known as kshatriyas. They were expected to fight battles and protect people.
3. Third were the vish or the vaishyas. They were expected to be farmers, herders, and traders. Both the kshatriyas and thevaishyas could perform sacrifices.
4. Last were the shudras, who had to serve the other three groups and could not perform any rituals. Often, women were also grouped with the shudras. Both women and shudras were not allowed to study the Vedas.

In a gana or Sangha there were not one, but many rulers. Sometimes, even when thousands of men ruled together, each one was known as a raja, they together formed a republic. These rajas performed rituals together. They also met in assemblies and took decisions through discussions and debate. When they were attacked by the enemy, they gathered together and decided what to do.

Archaeologists have excavated a number of settlements in these janapadas, such as Purana Qila in Delhi, Hastinapur nearMeerut, and Atranjikhera, near Etah (the last two are in Uttar Pradesh). They found that people lived in huts, and kept cattle as well as other animals. They also grew a variety of crops — rice, wheat, barley, pulses, sugarcane, sesame and mustard.

The people of janapadas made clay(earthen) pots. Some of these were grey in colour, others were red. One special type of pottery found at these sites is known as Painted Grey Ware. As is clear from the name, these were grey pots and had painted designs, usually simple lines and geometric patterns.

The capital city of mahajanapadas was fortified with huge walls of wood, bricks or stones around them because people were afraid of attacks from other kings and needed protection. Some rulers wanted to show how rich and powerful they were by building huge walls and forts.

The fortification helped the rajas in many ways; they were able to control the people and land inside the fortification.

For building huge forts and maintaining big armies, the rulers needed more resources. So the rulers collected regular levy instead of depending on occasional gifts from the people.

The system of government in Vajji was known as gana or sangha. Vajji was administered by not one but many rulers. Each ruler was known as a raja. These rajas performed all the rituals together. All these rajas met in assemblies. Through discussions and debates in these assemblies they decided what had to be done and how. Both Buddha and Mahavira belonged to ganas and sanghas.

Taxes were collected in Mahajanapadas from the common people to build the infrastructure of the city and to maintain big armies for the protection of the city. Taxes from the crops were the most important source of revenue for the king’s officials. The crops tax was fixed at 1/6th of the produce or bhaga (share). Crafts people were also made to pay taxes in the form of labour provided for a day to the king. Herders were made to pay taxes in kind and would have to give up animals or animal produce as tax. There were taxes on tradable goods and forest produce also. The king was the main beneficiary of these taxes.

A republican Mahajanapad was ruled by a group elected by the common people called the sangha. Monarchies were ruled by kings and his word was law.