The Mahajanapadas

• Angutara Nikaya, a Buddhist scripture- 16 great kingdoms or Mahajanapadas at the beginning of 6th century BC in India.
• Emergence during the Vedic Age.
• Emergence mainly due to the development of eastern Uttar Pradesh during the 6th and 4th century BCE where agriculture florished due to the availability of fertile lands and iron production increased due to availability of iron ore in large quantities.
• Thus resulted in the expansion of the territories of the janapadas and later addressed as 16 highly developed regions or the Mahajanapadas.

Emergence

• The Janapada - The major kingdom of Vedic period.
• Aryans - The most powerful tribes and were called as "Janas" , jana means 'people'  , pada means 'foot'.
• By 6th century BC , there are 22 different janapadas.
• Socio-economic development chiefly due to the use of iron tools in agriculture and military, along with religious and political developments lend to the rise of the Mahajanapadas from small kingdoms or janapadas.
• During that period, the political centre shifted from the west of the indo gangetic plains to the eastern side of it.
• This was due to better fertility of the land became of more rainfall and rivers. This region was closer to iron production centres.