Indian History : In the later Vedic period, the tribal organisations changed its identity and gradually shifted to the territorial identity, and the area of settlement were now regarded as janapadas or states. In transition from tribe to monarchy, they lost the essential democratic pattern of the tribe but retained the idea of government through an assembly representing the tribes. These states consisted of either a single tribe such as Shakyas, Kolias, Malas etc. The people in the lower Ganges Valley and Delta, which were outside the Aryan pale, were not incorporated. There was, therefore, a strong consciousness of the pure land of the Aryans called Aryavarta. Each janapada tried to dominate and subjugate other janapadas to become Mahajanapadas.
| 16 Mahajanapadas | Capitals | Locations |
|---|---|---|
| Gandhara | Taxila | Covering the region between Kabul and Rawalpindi in North Western Province. |
| Kamboja | Rajpur | Covering the area around the Punch area in Kashmir |
| Asmaka | Potana | Covering modern Paithan in Maharashtra; on the bank of River Godavari |
| Vatsa | Kaushambi | Covering modern districts of Allahabad and Mirzapur |
| Avanti | Ujjain | Covering modern Malwa (Ujjain) region of Madhya Pradesh. |
| Surasena | Mathura | Located in the Mathura region at the junction of the Uttarapath & Dakshinapath |
| Chedi | Shuktimati | Covering the modern Budelkhand area |
| Maila | Kushinara, Pawa | Modern districts of Deoria, Basti, Gorakhapur in eastern Uttar Pradesh. Later merged into Maghada Kingdom |
| Kurus | Hastinapur Indraprastha | Covering the modern Haryana and Delhi area to the west of River Yamuna |
| Matsya | Virat Nagari | Covering the area of Alwar, Bharatpur and Jaipur in Rajasthan |
| Vajjis | Vaishali | Located to the north of the River Ganga in Bihar. It was the seat of united republic of eight smaller kingdoms of which Lichhavis, Janatriks and Videhas were also members. |
| Anga | Champa | Covering the modern districts of Munger and Bhagalpur in Bihar. The Kingdoms were later merged by Bindusara into Magadha. |
| Kashi | Banaras | Located in and around present day Varanasi in Uttar Pradesh. |
| Kosala | Shravasti | Covering the present districts of Faizabad, Gonda, Bahraich, etc. |
| Magadga | Girivraja/Rajgriha | Covering modern districts of Patna, Gaya and parts of Shahabad. |
| Panchala | Ahichhatra (W. Panchala), Kampilya (S. Panchala) | Present day Rohilkhand and part of Central Doab in Uttar Pradesh. |
