Page 43 - SST Class 06

factor in defining the territory of a
Ancient towns
particular state. Gradually, some KAMBOJA MAGADHA Mahajanapadas
of these states began to expand Takshashila
and hence came to be known as GANDHARA Chenab
the mahajanapadas. Since expan- Ravi Vipasa
KURU
sion involved annexing of neigh- Satluj Kurukshetra
boring states, certain ‘mahajana- Indus Indraprastha PANCHALA
padas’ started conquering other SURASENA MALLA Kapilavastu
Mathura Shravasti VIDEHA SHAKYAS
‘janapadas’ in order to extend KOSALA LICHCHHAVIS
MATSYA Ayodhya Vaishali
their kingdoms as per the king- Charmanvati Kaushambi KASHI Pataliputra Champa
VATSA Prayag Rajagriha ANGA Tropic of Cancer
dom’s prosperity and wealth. CHEDI MAGADHA
AVANTI
Early stages of settlement of the Ujjayini I N D I A
Tamralipti
tribes happened before the time of Bhrigukachchha
the Buddha. Hence, historical ASMAKA
Pratisthana B A Y
references of these ‘mahajana-
O F
padas’ can be found in ancient ARABIAN
Godavari
B E N G A L
Buddhist texts. Many such texts SEA Krishna
talk about ‘16 great kingdoms’
that flourished between the sixth
and the fourth centuries BCE. The
period between the sixth and Kaveri
Present International
fourth centuries BCE is considered Boundary of India
extremely important in early
Indian history as it witnessed the I N D I A N TAMRAPARNI O C E A N
(CEYLON)
emergence of massive Indian
rajas of mahajanapadas had to maintain huge
cities, which were built after the armies as discussed above. They also needed
fall of the Indus Valley Civilization. These massive
huge resources for building forts. They needed
Indian cities were home to the 16 great kingdoms
officers, soldiers and other officials to run the
described in the ancient texts. In the modern era
administraiton. They also needed resources for
the term ‘mahajanapadas’ is often used to refer
the construction of roads, bridges and sarais. This
the 16 great kingdoms which are mentioned
led to the introduction of levying taxes. The rajas
above.
could no longer be solely dependent on gifts, as
was the practice earlier and as stated above. One
of the amatyas (ministers) was put in charge of
1. How were the janapadas and mahajanapadas
diferent from each other? collecting taxes.
2. Why did the rajas of mahajanapadas build forts? g Taxes were levied on agricultural crops.
Usually tax was fixed at 1/6th of the prod-
Taxes uct. This tax was known as bhaga or share.

The activities and duties of the kings had become g Taxes on Crafts : Some of the craftsmen
more visible. The king was, now, regarded as the and blacksmiths rendered free service to the
defender and protector of the society. The new king, for a day, every month.

Social Science-6 43