th Century B.C. consisted 16 kingdoms of monarchical forms of government. Some of the kingdoms had republic government which is an important feature of ancient Indian history. In the republics, an elected King was the head of government. There was a ‘council’ to support it. The Licchavis Kingdom had a republic government.
16 Mahajanapadas, their capital and its present name are as below
Sr. No. |
Mahajanapadas |
Capital |
Present Name |
|
1 |
Magadha |
Rajagriha | Patna, Gaya |
|
2 |
Anga | Champa | Bhagalpur, Munger |
|
3 |
Vajji | Mithila / Videh / Vaishali |
Muzaffarpur, Darbhanga |
|
4 |
Kasi | Varanasi | Varanasi |
|
5 |
Kosala | Shravasti / Ayodhya | Faizabad |
|
6 |
Panchala | Ahichchhatra / Kampili | Badayun, Bareilly, Farrukhabad |
|
7 |
Malla | Kushawati | |
|
8 |
Chedi | Sakitamati | Deoria |
|
9 |
Surasena | Mathura | Mathura |
|
10 |
Kambhoja | Hataka | |
|
11 |
Avanti | Ujjain, Mahishmati |
Malwa |
|
12 |
Kuru | Indraprastha |
Delhi, Maratha, Haryana |
|
13 |
Matsya | Biratnagar | Jaipur |
|
14 |
Vatsa | Kaushambi | Allahabad |
|
15 |
Asmaka | Grooming |
The only district of south India |
|
16 |
Gandhara | Takshshila |
Rawalpindi and Peshawar |