| S. No. | Mahajanapada (Modern Area) | Capital(s) |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Anga (districts of Munger and Bhagalpur in Bihar) | Champa / Champanagari |
| 2 | Magadha (districts of Patna, Gaya and Nalanda in Bihar) | Girivraj, Rajgir/Rajgir (Bimbisara), Patliputra (Udayin), Vaishali (Shishunaga), Patliputra (Kalasoka) |
| 3 | Vajji (districts of Muzaffarpur & Vaishali in Bihar) | Videha, Mithila, Vaishali |
| 4 | Malla (districts of Deoria, Basti, Gorakhpur and Siddharthnagar in U.P.) | Kushinara and Pawa |
| 5 | Kashi (district of Varanasi in U.P.) | Varanasi |
| 6 | Kosala (districts of Faizabad, Gonda, Bahraich in U.P.) | North Kosal–Sravasti / Sahet–Mahet, South Kosal–Saket / Ayodhya |
| 7 | Vatsa (districts of Allahabad, Mirzapur in U.P.) | Kausambi |
| 8 | Chedi (Bundelkhand area) | Shaktimati / Sotthivati |
| 9 | Kuru (Haryana and Delhi area) | Indraprastha (modern Delhi) |
| 10 | Panchala (Ruhelkhand, Western U.P.) | North Panchal–Ahichhatra, South Panchal–Kampilya |
| 11 | Shurasena (Brajmandal) | Mathura |
| 12 | Matsya (Alwar, Bharatpur and Jaipur in Rajasthan) | Viratangar |
| 13 | Avanti (Malwa) | North Avanti–Ujjayini, South Avanti–Mahishmati |
| 14 | Ashmaka (between the rivers Narmada and Godavari) | Potana / Patali |
| 15 | Gandhara (western part of Pakistan and Afghanistan) | Taxila (near Rawalpindi), Pushkalavati |
| 16 | Kamboja (Hazara district of Pakistan) | Rajapur / Hataka |
Buddhist literature (Anguttara Nikaya, Mahavastu) and Jain literature (Bhagavati Sutta) present a list of 16 Mahajanapadas (e. great states) with minor variation in names
There were two types of states- monarchical and non monarchical/republican. Monarchial states-Anga, Magadha, Kashi, Kosala, Vatsa, Chedi, Shursena, Matsya, Avanti, Gandhara.
Republican States-Vajji, Malla, Kuru, Panchal, Kamboja, Shakya (Kapilvastu), Koliyas (Ramgrama), Moriya (Pipplivana)
Rise of Magadha
The political history of India from 6th century BC onwards is the history of struggle for supremacy between four states-Magadha, Kosala, Vatsa and Avanti.
Ultimately the kingdom of Magadha emerged as the most powerful one and succeeded in founding an empire.
Reason of Magadha’s Success
1. Magadha enjoyed an advantageous geographical position in the age of iron, because the richest iron deposits were situated not far away from Rajgir, the earliest capital of Magadha and could be used for making weapons and implements. Iron axes were perhaps useful in clearing the thick forests, and iron tipped plough-shares ploughed the land better and helped to increase grain production.
2 Magadha lay at the centre of the middle Gangetic plain. The alluvium, once cleared of the jungles, proved immense fertile and food surplus was thus available. 3. Magadha enjoyed a special advantage in military organisation. Although the Indian states were well acquainted with the use of horses and chariots, it was Magadha which first used elephants on a large scale in its war against its neighbours.