The document discusses kingdoms and early republics in ancient India. It describes how some rajas were chosen by the people, while others performed the ashvamedha ritual to prove their legitimacy. The ashvamedha involved letting a horse roam freely and allowing other rajas to stop it, which may lead to battle. If they let it pass, they accepted the raja's power. It also describes the varna system of dividing society into brahmins, kshatriyas, vaishyas, and shudras. Janapadas were early settlements and kingdoms that some rajas came to rule over. Some janapadas grew into the sixteen mahajanapadas, which were
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ASHWAMEDHA
IT WAS ONE OF THE RITUAL PERFOMED BY
THE RAJAS IN WHICH A HORSE WAS LET
LOOSE TO WANDER FREELY AND WAS
GUARDED BY RAJAS MEN.
IF THE HORSE WANDERED INTO THE
KINGDOM OF OTHER RAJAS AND THEY
STOPPED IT, THEY HAD TO FIGHT .
IF THEY ALLOWED THE HORSE TO PASS THEY
ACCEPTED THE POWER OF THE RAJA.
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THERE ARE FOUR VARNAS
BRAHMINS
TO STUDY VEDAS AND PERFORM SACRIFICES.
KSHATRIYAS
RULERS WHO FOUGHT BATTLES
AND PROTECTED PEOPLE
VAISHYAS
FARMERS,TRADERS AND HERDERS
SHUDRAS
WERE TO SERVE OTHER THREE GROUPS
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JANAPADAS
The rajas who performed these big sacrifices were
now recognized as being rajas of janapadas rather
than janas. The word janapada literally means the
land where the jana set its foot, and settled down .
Archaeologists have excavated a number of
settlements in these janapadas, such as Purana Qila
in Delhi, Hastinapur near Meerut, 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.
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MAHAJANAPADAS
About 2500 years ago, some janapadas became more
important than others, and were known as mahajanapadas.
Most mahajanapadas had a capital city, many of these were
fortified. This means that huge walls of wood, brick or stone
were built around them. Forts were probably built because
people were afraid of attacks from other kings and needed
protection. It is also likely that some rulers wanted to show
how rich and powerful they were by building really large, tall
and impressive walls around their cities. Also in this way, the
land and the people living inside the fortified area could be
controlled more easily by the king. Thousands, if not lakhs
of bricks or stone had to be prepared. This in turn meant
enormous labour, provided, possibly, by thousands of men,
women and children.
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TAXES
Taxes on crops were the most important. This
was because most people were farmers.
Usually, the tax was fixed at 1/6th of what was
produced. This was known as Bhaga
There were taxes on craftspersons as well.
These could have been in the form of labour.
Herders were also expected to pay taxes in
the form of animals and animal produces.
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CHANGES IN AGRICULTURE
Major changes in agricultural are
I. The growing use of iron plough shares . Heavy
and clayey soil could be turned into good land
and more grain could be produced.
II. People began transplanting paddy .This led to
increased production, as many plants
survived.Slave men ,women and landless
agricultural labourers had to do this work.
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(A) MAGADHA
Magadha Empire lasted from 684 B.C - 320 B.C in
India. The two great epics Ramayana and
Mahabharata mention the Magadha Empire. It is
said that the Shishunaga dynasty founded the
Magadha Empire. Some of the greatest empires
and religions of India originated here. The Gupta
Empire and Mauryan Empire started here. The
great religions, Buddhism and Jainism were
founded in Magadha empire.
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(A) MAGADHA
Magadha Empire gained much power and
importance during the rule of King Bimbisara and
his son and successor Ajatshatru. Bimbisara is
said to have been murdered by his son Ajatshatru.
The Magadha Empire in India extended in the
modern day Bihar and Patna and some parts of
Bengal. Magadha Empire was a part of the 16
Mahajanapadas. The empire extended up to River
Ganges and the kingdoms of Kosala and Kashi
were annexed. The places that came under the
Magadha Empire were mostly republican in nature
and the administration was divided into judicial,
executive and military functions.
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(B) VAJJI / VRIJJI
Vrijji, Pali Vajji, confederacy of the Licchavis
and neighbouring peoples in Bihar, India, that
existed from the 6th century BC to the 4th
century BC. Its capital was at Vaishali(Bihar). It
was governed as an aristocratic republic.
Gautama Buddha is said to have modeled the
organizational structure of the Buddhist
monastic order, sangha, on the government of
the Vrijji. In the 4th century BC the marriage of
Chandragupta to a Licchavi princess helped
establish the Mauryan dynasty.
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(B) VAJJI / VRIJJI
Vajji was under a different
form of government,
known as gana or
sangha.GANA is used for a
group that has many
members whereas a
SANGHA means
organisation or
association. In a gana or a
sangha thousands of
rulers were there, each
called a RAJA. These rajas
discussed matters
together.
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EXERCISES
State whether true or false:
(a) Rajas who let the ashvamedha horse pass through their
lands were invited to the sacrifices. Ans : True
(b) The charioteer sprinkled sacred water on the king.
Ans : False
(a) Archaeologist have found palaces in the settlements of
the janapadas. Ans : False
(a) Pots to store grain were made out of Painted Grey ware.
Ans : False
(a) Many cities in Mahajanapadas were fortified. Ans : True
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EXERCISES
WHY DID THE RAJAS OF MAHAJANAPADAS BUILD FORTS?
An:
To protect their people from attacks
from other kings. Another reason for
building of forts might be the desire to
show how rich and powerful the raja was.
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EXERCISES
MCQ
1.Which mines were found in Magadha empire?
Copper mines
Iron ore mines
Manganese mines
All the above
2. Soldiers were paid ___________and maintained by the
king throughout the year.
Silver coins
In the form of land
Regular salaries
None of the above
