Vedic Age, Mahajanapadas, Buddhism and Jainism

Early Vedic period (c. 1500–1000 BCE)

• Source: the Rig Veda, with 1,028 hymns in 10 mandalas.
• Region: the Sapta Sindhu, the land of seven rivers in Punjab. The Saraswati is the most praised river.
• Polity:
  • The tribe was the jana, led by a chief called the rajan. His job was protecting cattle; the Rig Veda calls him gopati.
  • Assemblies: sabha (elders), samiti (the people), vidatha (oldest; women attended).
  • Bali was a voluntary offering, not a tax.
  • The Battle of Ten Kings (dasarajna) on the Parushni (Ravi): Sudas of the Bharata clan won.
• Economy: pastoral. Cattle were wealth; gavishti, "search for cows", meant war. Some barley (yava) was grown. There was no coinage.
• Society:
  • Tribal and fairly egalitarian. The family was patriarchal, but women such as Apala, Ghosha and Lopamudra composed hymns.
  • The varna idea appears only in the Purusha Sukta of Mandala X, a late addition.
• Religion: worship of nature gods. Indra (war, rain) has the most hymns, then Agni (fire) and Soma. Varuna upheld rta, the cosmic order. Worship was by prayers and sacrifices, with no temples or idols.

Later Vedic period (c. 1000–600 BCE)

• Sources: the Sama Veda (melodies), Yajur Veda (sacrificial formulae), Atharva Veda (charms and folk beliefs), the Brahmanas, the Aranyakas and the Upanishads.
• Region: the centre moved east to the Ganga–Yamuna doab: the Kuru–Panchala region, then Kosala and Videha.
• Polity:
  • Territorial kingdoms (rashtra) emerged and kingship became stronger.
  • Large sacrifices displayed royal power: Rajasuya, Ashvamedha and Vajapeya.
  • The sabha and samiti declined, and the vidatha disappeared.
  • Taxes (bali, bhaga) became regular.
• Economy:
  • Agriculture became central.
  • Iron (shyama ayas, "black metal") was used from about 1000 BCE.
  • Rice (vrihi) and wheat were grown. Painted Grey Ware pottery is typical of the period.
• Society:
  • The four varnas became rigid.
  • The gotra system and the ashrama system (stages of life) emerged.
  • The status of women declined.
• Religion:
  • Rituals grew complex, and Prajapati, Vishnu and Rudra rose in importance.
  • The Upanishads (about 108) reacted against ritualism. They taught atman–brahman unity, karma and rebirth.

Sixteen Mahajanapadas (6th century BCE)

The Anguttara Nikaya (Buddhist) lists them:

• Anga (Champa)
• Magadha (Rajagriha)
• Kashi (Varanasi)
• Kosala (Shravasti)
• Vajji (Vaishali; a republic)
• Malla (Kushinagara and Pava; a republic)
• Chedi
• Vatsa (Kaushambi)
• Kuru
• Panchala
• Matsya
• Surasena (Mathura)
• Assaka (on the Godavari; the only one in the south)
• Avanti (Ujjain)
• Gandhara (Taxila)
• Kamboja

Most were monarchies; Vajji and Malla were gana-sanghas (republics).

Why Magadha rose

1. Iron from the Chotanagpur region (modern Jharkhand), for tools and weapons.
2. Fertile alluvial plains gave a large food surplus.
3. Strategic capitals: Rajagriha was ringed by hills, and Pataliputra stood where the Ganga, Son and Gandak meet.
4. Elephants from the eastern forests were used in war.
5. Ambitious rulers.

Rulers of Magadha

• Haryanka dynasty:
  • Bimbisara (c. 544–492 BCE) expanded through marriages (Kosala, Lichchhavi, Madra) and conquered Anga.
  • Ajatashatru killed his father, defeated the Vajjis using the mahashilakantaka (a catapult) and rathamusala (chariot with maces), and fortified Pataligrama.
  • Udayin founded Pataliputra.
• Shishunaga dynasty: destroyed Avanti. Capital briefly at Vaishali.
• Nanda dynasty: Mahapadma Nanda was called ekarat and "destroyer of all Kshatriyas". Dhana Nanda ruled at the time of Alexander's invasion (326 BCE).

Buddhism

• Gautama Buddha (Siddhartha): born about 563 BCE at Lumbini (Nepal) into the Shakya clan of Kapilavastu.
  • Left home at 29 (mahabhinishkramana).
  • Enlightenment at Bodh Gaya under the pipal tree at 35.
  • First sermon at Sarnath (dharmachakra pravartana).
  • Mahaparinirvana at Kushinagar at 80.
• Teachings:
  • Four Noble Truths: there is suffering; desire causes it; suffering can end; the way is the Eightfold Path (right view, intention, speech, action, livelihood, effort, mindfulness, concentration).
  • The Middle Path.
  • Rejection of the Vedas, sacrifices and the caste hierarchy.
  • Karma and rebirth, and nirvana as the goal.
• The three jewels (triratna): Buddha, Dhamma, Sangha.
• Texts: the Tripitaka in Pali: Sutta, Vinaya and Abhidhamma. The Jataka tales tell the Buddha's previous lives.

Council	Place	Patron	Presided by	Outcome
First (c. 483 BCE)	Rajagriha (Saptaparni cave)	Ajatashatru	Mahakassapa	Sutta and Vinaya Pitakas
Second (c. 383 BCE)	Vaishali	Kalashoka	Sabakami	Split: Sthaviravadins and Mahasanghikas
Third (c. 250 BCE)	Pataliputra	Ashoka	Moggaliputta Tissa	Abhidhamma Pitaka; missionaries sent abroad
Fourth (1st century CE)	Kundalvana, Kashmir	Kanishka	Vasumitra, Ashvaghosha	Split into Mahayana and Hinayana

Jainism

• 24 Tirthankaras. The first was Rishabhadeva, the 23rd Parshvanath, and the 24th Vardhamana Mahavira.
• Mahavira:
  • born about 540 BCE at Kundagrama near Vaishali;
  • attained kaivalya at the age of 42 at Jrimbhikagrama, on the bank of the Rijupalika river;
  • died at Pavapuri (Nalanda district) at 72.
• Teachings:
  • Five vows: ahimsa, satya, asteya (not stealing), aparigraha (non-possession) and brahmacharya. Mahavira added the fifth to Parshvanath's four.
  • Three jewels: right faith, right knowledge, right conduct.
  • Anekantavada and syadvada: truth has many sides.
• Sects: after the famine in Chandragupta Maurya's time, Bhadrabahu went south with followers, who became the Digambaras (sky-clad). Sthulabhadra's followers in the north became the Shvetambaras (white-clad).
• Councils: Pataliputra (about 300 BCE, under Sthulabhadra) and Vallabhi (512 CE), where the canon (Angas) was finalised in Prakrit (Ardhamagadhi).

Exam tip: Bihar is the land of both the Buddha and Mahavira. BPSC asks for the places linked to each life event: Bodh Gaya, Rajgir, Vaishali, Pavapuri, Nalanda. Learn the councils table exactly: place, patron, president, outcome.