Page 42 - SST Class 06
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JANAPADAS AND MAHAJANAPADAS and the agricultural techniques continues to
The kingdom had been formed from groups of provide employment to a large number of peo-
people, commanded by their chieftains. The ple.
people or the jana, now, led a settled life. The
leaders of some groups were, now, called rajas or
1. The agricultural crops continued to be domesti-
kings. Most often, early rajas were selected by
cated over the years since man took to a settled
people to lead to community. As a result of rituals
life. Do you find any new crops that farmers
and sacrifices, the leadership had also become
grow now but were not grown earlier?
hereditary. With the rise in number of clans and
2. What do you know about Painted Grey Ware?
groups, they were named after the ruling clan in
each area. Where these clans set foot and settled Mahajanapadas
down were known as Janapadas.
The Mahajanapadas were a set of sixteen king-
Each clan occupied some major area, separated doms that existed in ancient India. It all began
from the other clan. The important janapadas are when the tribes (janas) of the late Vedic period
shown in the map on next page. Archaeological decided to form their own territorial communi-
excavations have revealed that there existed ties, which eventually gave rise to new and
japadas in the areas around Delhi such as purana permanent areas of settlements called states or
Quila, in Delhi, Hastinapur, near Meerut, Janapadas. In the sixth century BC, present day
Atranjikhera, near Etah in Uttar Pradesh. They Bihar and eastern Uttar Pradesh became centers
have also been able to find out as to how the of political activities as the region was not only
people lived in huts, tended cattle and other fertile, but also closer to the iron production
animals. The people of the janapadas also grew centers. Iron production played a crucial role in
crops like rice, wheat, barley, pulses, sugarcane, expanding the territorial states of the region.
mustard and sesame. It may be mentioned as per These expansions helped some of these
the Varna system described above that only the ‘janapadas’ turn into large states or ‘mahajana-
warrior class people or Kshatriyas owned land padas.’ Most of these ‘mahajanapadas’ were
and they employed farm labourers. monarchical in nature, while some of them were
They also exercised enormous influence over the democratic states. Many prominent ancient
king and enjoyed this political patronage. Buddhist texts make frequent references to the
In the later Rig Vedic period, a variety of new ‘16 great kingdoms’ (mahajanapadas) that
occupations had emerged, chiefly on account of flourished between the sixth and the fourth
discovery of metals like tin, copper, silver, gold centuries BCE. These 16 kingdoms included
and iron. A large number of new crafts had also kingdoms like Anga, Gandhara, Kuru and
emerged. On the basis of archaeological excava- Panchala, which are mentioned in the great
tions, pottery of this period is described as Indian epic ‘Mahabharata.’
Painted Grey Ware. History of the Mahajanapadas
Many dishes, saucepans and bowls had been In order to settle down permanently, simple land-
decorated and painted. As is obvious, the earlier grabbing process was started by the tribes, which
Black and Grey Wares, were now painted. Many eventually turned into well-planned communities.
designs of animals and geometric patterns were These communities gave rise to states or
drawn. These new crafts, pottery, improved tools ‘janapadas’ and tribal identity became a major
Social Science-6 42