L7 - Mahajanapadas | Complete course on Ancient History | UPSC Prelims 2024 | Arti Chhawari

Hello everyone, welcome to this comprehensive course on ancient Indian history. In the last session, we were discussing the Vedic period. The last two sessions were about the Vedic period, in which we talked about the early Vedic period and the later Vedic period. In the later Vedic period, I told you about a lot of things, what kind of developments took place. We saw that in the later Vedic period, a lot of systems are emerging. There is the Varna system, there is the caste system. In the same way, you will also see the Ashram system. So, the society is being bound in the circle of rules. Such developments are there in the later Vedic period. You will see them happening in the later Vedic period. In the same way, in the later Vedic period, we can say that the culture is also there. Now, what is this? Culture means, in a way, we are talking about the important rituals of life. Important rituals? In a way, as you have seen, our life is considered to be 100 years. Every part was of 25 years. This system is called the Ashram system. In this, we have studied Brahmacharya, Grihastha, Vanaprastha and Sanyasa. In the same way, the important rituals of life are called Sankars. And in the later Vedic period, you will see that 16 Sankars are developed. From birth to death, you will see. So, the first Sankar here, I will explain all the Sankars to you. And along with this, we will also see how these Sankars have a connection with the Ashram system. We will also try to understand that here. These Sankars are some such Sankars. Obviously, many of you will hear them for the first time. But many people must have heard them. Because these Sankars are performed in family rituals. If you are from a Hindu society, if you follow Hindus, then you will find these Sankars very common. But in general, you get to hear them, but many people may not. So, the first Sankar you get to see here is Garbh Daan. Garbh means womb. Garbh Daan means when the mother conceives the baby. That is called Garbh Daan. And the Garbh Daan ceremony is also done here. Many people perform this ritual. After Garbh Daan, three months of pregnancy is also celebrated, which is called Kumbh Sawan. Similarly, six months is also celebrated, which is called Pimanto Nayan. Basically, to celebrate these ceremonies means that the mother should be celebrated. The new-to-be mother should be given a good environment, a cheerful environment. Garbh Daan is when the mother conceives the baby. Kumbh Sawan is three months of pregnancy. Pimanto Nayan is six months of pregnancy. And similarly, you see next here is the birth of the baby, which is called Jat Karman. After the birth of the baby, the baby's name is kept. That is why you will get to see another ceremony. Nam Karan Ceremony. The name is kept here. After that, after keeping the baby at home for some time, you will see that the baby is taken out here. For the first time, the outside world is shown. So this ceremony is called Nish Karman Ceremony. So you can see that from the birth of a child to here, till his growth, after that marriage, all the events of life, they have been added here in the sixteen sanskars. Then a ceremony comes, Annaprasanna Ceremony. The small child was still drinking liquid milk. But for the first time, he was given food. Ankurit Anaal or rice, boil some rice in milk and feed it. That is, feed some food. That is Annaprasanna Ceremony. Similarly, the next ceremony is Sudha Karan. This is the ceremony in which the child's hair is cut. Nails are cut for the first time. Then comes Karna Veda. Karna Veda. Karna is said to be the ear here. The ear is pierced. That is, the ear is pierced. Small children have their ears pierced after a few months. Girls have their ears and nose. You will see that. And boys have one or two ears pierced. This is also counted in the sixteen sanskars. Karna Veda Ceremony. After the Karna Veda Ceremony, the child starts acquiring some knowledge from his parents at home. That is Vidyaranda. Vidyaranda. The beginning of knowledge, the beginning of knowledge. Vidyaranda. After this, the child has a ceremony here. After the ceremony, he goes to Gurukul with his teacher. And this ceremony is called Upanayan Ceremony. In Upanayan Ceremony, basically, this ceremony is only for boys. And if I say boys, then Brahmin, Kshatriya and Vaishya. Shudras are not allowed. Girls are not allowed. In Upanayan Ceremony, the boy from the Brahmin, Kshatriya family or the boy from the Vaishya family, this ceremony is for him. What is done in this? In this, a sacred thread is tied across the body. A sacred thread is tied across like this. That thread is also called Yajnopavitam here. And after this thread is tied, the child goes to the Ashram with his teacher. He goes to Gurukul. Where he gets further education from his Guru, from his teacher. So what is Upanayan Ceremony actually? In Upanayan Ceremony, your Brahmacharya life, the student life that we discussed here, Brahmacharya Ashram, its beginning is from this Upanayan Ceremony. When the child reaches Gurukul with his teacher, then the knowledge of Vedas is started there. Which we call as Vedaram. Then a child, a girl enters the adolescence period. This entry is also celebrated. You will see, there are many states where when the first menstruation cycle of girls starts, then it is celebrated. Adolescence period is celebrated. This is called as Ritu Shuddhi for Kishan and girls. In the same way, the 14th ceremony is called as Viva. And it starts from Viva. Starting from Viva, you will see here, which is the second Ashram of Ashram system. In the last one, Antyashti comes. Antyashti means, when a person dies, then all the final rituals associated with it, they are called as Antyashti or Antim, the last Sanskar. So, these Sankars are also developed in the later Vedic period. In the same way, the Viva that you are seeing here, in the later Vedic period, from the later Vedic period, different types of marriage are also seen here. So, from the later Vedic period, 8 types of marriage are defined. In these 8 types, the first 4 types were very respected. They were given respect. They were considered as ideal. But the next 8 types that we will study here, they were not considered respectful in the society. They were not considered right. They were not considered ideal. So, first of all, let us study about the ideal marriage types, which were accepted in the society or were defined by some people in the society. Okay? According to the later Vedic texts, we are discussing here. So, the first type that comes is the Brahma Viva. What happens in the Brahma Viva? In the Brahma Viva, there is a father of a bride, there is a father of a daughter. He finds a suitable boy for his daughter. A boy who has followed his duties in the life of a Brahmachari. A boy who has attained Sanatana. Who has good knowledge of the Vedas here, means he is suitable. After finding that girl, the father gets his daughter married to that girl. And then he also gets her married. This marriage is called the Brahma Viva. In today's time, you can also call it a commonly arranged marriage. So, this is the Brahma Viva. But after this, there is another type of marriage, the Daiva Viva. The process is the same. Here, the father finds a suitable match for his daughter. But that boy, that groom, the bridegroom, will be a priest. So, in the Daiva Viva, the father gets his daughter married to a priest. And that priest also reads all the mantras of the marriage. So, this is the Daiva Viva. After this, comes the Prajapatiya Viva. In the Prajapatiya Viva, the father will be the bride and the bridegroom. He will give both of them an animal. A cow, a cattle or any other animal. And in return, he will take a promise from them that both of them should follow their duties all their lives and be beautiful to each other. This is a gift from me. This is a cow or a cattle. Keep it. Take care of it. And start your life like this. In the Prajapatiya Viva, a gift is also given from the father. That gift will always be an animal. After this comes the Arsha Viva. The Arsha Viva is opposite to the Prajapatiya Viva. In the Arsha Viva, the gift is given voluntarily, forcefully. Neither has anyone asked for it, nor is it given forcefully. All this is given voluntarily. In the Arsha Viva also, the groom voluntarily gives the gift to the bride's father. So these are the 8 types of marriages. Brahma Viva, Daiva Viva, Prajapatiya Viva and then Arsha Viva. This was acceptable. But apart from these, other types of marriages were also seen. Because of this, those marriages were also named. So the next thing you see here is Gandharva Viva. What type of marriage is Gandharva Viva? Gandharva Viva means in which the approval of the bride and groom matters. The attendance matters. If the bride and groom are ready to marry each other, then they will get married. Gandharva Viva. The marriages that are coming after Gandharva Viva, were considered very bad in the society. But in many places, those marriages are being seen. So here in this list, the marriages that you see, the weddings that you see here, in those marriages, you see the most dangerous Paishach Viva. You see Rakshash Viva. You see Asur Viva. Now what is the difference between these? We will start with Asur Viva. Asur Viva is considered, if you see the names Asur, Rakshash, Paishach, all these words are used for demons. And these words are also used for types of marriages. So Asur Viva is the marriage in which the groom gives money to the father and buys the bride. He gives money to the father of the bride, purchases the bride and then marries her. In Rakshash Viva, you see that the bride is abducted or kidnapped by the groom and he marries her forcefully. In Paishach Viva, the bride is abducted, she is kidnapped, her chastity, her purity is violated, she is molested and then she is forced to marry. So these were also three types of marriages that were existing in the society. So by doing this, even types of marriages will also be defined at this time in the later Vedic period. So in the later Vedic period, a lot of changes are coming. A lot of changes are coming. A lot of different types of systems are developing. Complexities are increasing in the society. Now what we are going to do is, what we will do here is, we will try to understand the difference. In the early Vedic period, we covered tribal qualities. In the later Vedic period, what changes are coming in tribal qualities. In the early Vedic period, we saw that the king is elected and his position is not hereditary. If he is capable, then he will hold his position. If his son is capable, then he will hold his position. The king is elected. He cannot do his own will. He does not hold absolute authority. Here he calls the assemblies. You will see the assembly committees. The king takes decisions on the advice of the members of the assembly committee. So everything is based on debate and discussion. Plus the king is equal to the rest of his tribe. The king is very close to the people of his tribe. The king can lose his position if the people of his tribe want it. We read all these things in the early Vedic period. And what happened in the later Vedic period? What is starting from the later Vedic period? Here, between the king and the rest of the people of the tribe, a gap is being created. And how is that gap being created? By making the king superior to the rest of the people of the tribe. Here, the rest of the members of the tribe are being made to realize that not everyone can become a king. If someone has become a king, then that position will be hereditary. That king's son should be the next king. Because the position of a king is divine. A king is the one who has been given the rights by God to rule the earth. So not everyone can become a king. So basically, in the later Vedic period, the debate and discussion of the king with the rest of the members of the tribe was slowly declining. The assembly was declining in the later Vedic period. The king started taking a lot of decisions based on his discretion. He started using his powers. The king became more powerful than the rest of the people. You can see a monarchy developing at this time. Another concept that came in the later Vedic period was the concept of social contract. Social contract means the social contract between the king and the rest of the people of the tribe. In the later Vedic period, the tribes that were living near the Indus river were migrating to the Ganga and Yamuna region. They settled down in that plain area. When they settle down, that area is a plain area. It is a fertile area. Iron is also available there. With the help of that iron, they are making ploughs. After making the ploughs, they are able to upturn the soil here. They are able to do good farming. They are able to do good production. They are able to do surplus production. All the work is being done in this region. Here we can see the king. The king is the one who is seen as superior to the rest. It is said that the king has divine rights. God himself has given him the rights to rule. The responsibility of the king is to protect his people and his tribe. The resources that the people need to live are provided by the king. So basically, the king does all the work here. But to do all this work, to protect the tribe, to provide resources to the tribe, the king himself needs resources. Right? Assume that the king has to protect his tribe, the people of his tribe. Then the king has to maintain a separate army. If he has to maintain a separate army, then he has to feed the army. He has to provide grains, water, grains. He has to provide rice and bread. How will the king get the rice and bread? The king will get the rice and bread from the people. So basically, the people pay taxes to the king. In return, the king protects the people. He maintains a separate standing army. We see such a contract between the king and the people till the end of the later Vedic period. In the early Vedic period, there was no standing army. The army was not maintained separately. The people of the tribe used to fight here. But till the end of the later Vedic period, almost 500 B.C. The king used to maintain a separate standing army. To maintain this standing army, the king used to take taxes from his own people. He used to pay taxes in different forms. In the form of grains, wood, etc. In return, the king protects the people. This is a kind of social contract that we see developing here. In the early Vedic period, the people were living a nomadic life. They used to travel from one place to another. But by the end of the later Vedic period, these tribal people migrated near the Ganga river and they started settling down. In the early Vedic period, we used to call the tribe as Jan. What does this Jan do in the later Vedic period? Gradually, these people started settling their feet. And the territory on which they started settling down was called Janpad. Where the people started settling down, they started settling down. In the plain area near the Ganga-Yamuna river, these tribes started settling down. The importance of territory and land will be seen increasing till the end of the later Vedic period. The kingdom is being formed. The Janpad is being formed. And the king rules over these Janpads. He collects taxes from the people of his Janpad. In return, the people of his Janpad give him resources and protect him. Around the Janpad, walls are built around the Janpad. Fortifications are built around the Janpad so that the attacks from outside can be prevented. The army is maintained separately. All these things are done here. Plus, the position of the king has also been inherited. Because the king is being called divine. This idea has become very complex here. The system of governance has become based on birth. The son of the king will become the king. Only the Kshatriyas can become the king. No one else. This kind of society can be seen till the end of the later Vedic period. So, these were some developments. Life has completely changed. In the early Vedic period, what were you studying in the early Vedic period? Women, who used to participate in the Sabha Samitis. But in the later Vedic period, the Sabha Samitis declined. Women's participation in the assemblies has stopped. It has ended. In the early Vedic period, you see polygamy. Monogamy is seen. But in the later Vedic period, polygamy has become more prevalent. That is, more than one wife, more than one husband's wife, polygamy is seen to be more prevalent. Women's condition has deteriorated. Menstruating women were considered impure. Menstruation blood was considered impure. Menstruating women were not allowed to cook food. Nor was their hand-made food eaten. There are many later Vedic texts here. Other than Vedas, like Dharmashastras, here women define their positions and duties. In Dharmashastras, you will see, who is an ideal woman? An ideal woman is one who is dutiful, who is obedient, who gives birth to many male highers, who keeps her husband's respect intact. Such women's duties were defined in the later Vedic texts. So, you can see their condition deteriorating. Earlier, women used to have a say in important debate discussions. But by the end of the later Vedic period, it was all over. So, these are some examples. By the end of the later Vedic period, i.e. 500 BC, many Janapaths started their development. Basically, the point is that these tribes used to live in this area, near the Indus river. But in the later Vedic period, they started migrating. And when they migrate, where do they reach? Here, after migrating from the Indus river, the Ganga and Yamuna, and nearby the Sahayak river, these tribes settled down here. The word for tribe is Jan. And for these settlements, the word we are using is Janpath. You will see this king on these Janpaths. This is the time, around 500-600 BC, when you see Janpaths. There were many Janpaths. We find many names of Janpaths in the later Vedic texts and also in the secondary texts. But, there were some Janpaths because they were very powerful. And these Janpaths were called Mahajanpaths. So, you will see Mahajanpaths. We have understood the reason behind the development of Janpaths. That it was a plain area, a fertile area, good farming was happening, iron was being produced, tilling was happening, surplus was being produced. So, the king used to collect the surplus crop as tax and he used to maintain the army with that. That army used to help to protect the people. All these things were happening till the end of the later Vedic period. Almost 600-500 BC. So, there were so many Janpaths. But, in those Janpaths, some were very powerful. And those were called Mahajanpaths. So, we have a total of 16 Mahajanpaths which you can see on the screen. We can see 16 Mahajanpaths. These 16 Mahajanpaths are mentioned in a lot of texts. There are Buddhist texts, Jain texts, there are some Brahminical sources. So, in the same way, you will get to see a Buddhist literature, a Buddhist text, i.e. Angutaranikai. If you want to know in detail about Angutaranikai, then on this channel, on UPSC Unstoppables, on the playlist, you can check my series Literature in Ancient India. Where I have discussed Hinduism-related texts, Buddhist texts, Jain texts in great detail. So, Angutaranikai is a Buddhist text in which we get to know about 16 Mahajanpaths. Similarly, there is a Jain text called Bhagwati Sutra. In this Bhagwati Sutra also, 16 Mahajanpaths are mentioned. These Mahajanpaths, you can see, are spread across far-off areas. If you see here, I would like to correct one thing. This map is a little wrong. Now, our beautiful India is also complete. So, what will you be able to see here? You will be able to see Kambhoj, Gandhar. You will be able to see Kambhoj, Gandhar in present day Afghanistan. Then you can see Kuru. We had discussed about Kuru in the earlier Vedic period during the tribal conflict. How India and Kuru make the Kuru tribe and they migrate. So, this is the Doab region of Ganga and Yamuna. In the north, you will find Panchal, Kosala, Surasena, Matsya, Avanti, Chetiya or Chedi. Chedi is also called. Vatsya, Kashi, Magad, Vajji, Anga, Malla, Asi. These are your 16 Mahajanpaths. Now, out of these 16 Mahajanpaths, some of them were very powerful and very popular. You will get to hear their names again and again. Like Kosala. Their capital was Ayodhya. Kosala was a Mahajanpath who attacked Kashi and captured Kashi and took it under his control. Kashi is a part of Kosala. An important king of Kosala, Prasenjit, married his sister, Kosala Devi to Magad's king, Bindisar. We will discuss that later. In this Kosala Mahajanpath, there was a clan called Sakya. In this Sakya clan, Gautam Buddha was born. In the coming sessions, when we will discuss Buddhism, you will understand the importance of this Sakya clan. In the same way, you can see Vats whose capital was Kaushumbi. Its important ruler is Udayan. It is said that Vats is actually a part of Kuru tribe. It is said that in Ganga Yamuna, the water level had risen. There was a flood there. Some Kuru moved towards south. They settled here. That is Vats. In the same way, you can see Avanti. Avanti had two capitals. One was north capital, one was southern capital. Ujjain, Mahishamati respectively. Its important ruler was Pragyauta. Okay. You can see Pragyauta here. Some information is wrong here. Pragyauta's daughter is Vasvadatta. You will see her marriage with Udayan, In fact, a very good book has been written Udayan and Vasvadatta are the hero and heroine of the story. We will discuss about them in the coming sessions. These are some important Mahajanpats. In the next discussion, we will discuss about Magad and Vajji in detail. All these Mahajanpats can be divided into two categories. What is the meaning of these 16 Mahajanpats? We can divide these 16 Mahajanpats into two categories. Let's understand the nature of their qualities. There are some Mahajanpats where you can see absolute monarchy. That means only one king is in power and he holds absolute power. He does not share power. Like in Magad, you can see absolute monarchy. Magad was one such Mahajanpat. Similarly, you can call Kausala or Avanti. But there were some Mahajanpats where more than one ruler used to rule. Vajji is one such Mahajanpat. Vajji was a very big Mahajanpat but in this Mahajanpat you can see two or three groups. In Vajji Mahajanpat, you can see Likshavis. In Vajji Mahajanpat, you can see Janatrika. This is a Mahajanpat but it has small groups with different kings. There were Likshavis and Janatrika. Similarly, you can see Videha. In this way, these groups are making a big Mahajanpat. More than one ruler is ruling. If you want to take a decision regarding Mahajanpat, Likshavis, Janatrika, Videha and all these kings discuss together and then take a decision. In this way, you can see Mahajanpat in such a way that there is not one absolute ruler but there are many rulers ruling. Such Mahajanpat are called Ganrajji. Why is it called Ganrajji? What is the meaning of Gan? We have read this word in Rig Veda. Gan means group of rulers. Ganrajji means a group of rulers. There is not one king but there is a group of rulers who are ruling this Mahajanpat. Malla is also a type of Ganrajji. Even Kuru is also Kuru was a Ganrajji but later on absolute monarchy was established. There are two types of Mahajanpat. On one side, you can see absolute monarchy and on other side, you can see Ganrajji. In these Mahajanpat, the first or the most important Mahajanpat is Magad. We will talk about Magad because Magad is also a type of Mahajanpat which will gradually take over all other Mahajanpat. In a way, it will take over all other Mahajanpat. There are many dynasties on Magad. They have ruled. But the first dynasty is Haryanak dynasty. And the known rulers of Haryanak dynasty we cannot say that they are the founders of this dynasty but they are the kings of this dynasty whose information we get in the text. So, the first known ruler of Haryanak dynasty was Bindisar whose rule would have been approximately till this time, 546 to 494 BCE. Bindisar was a king who wanted to spread Magad in all directions. And he adopted two ways of spreading Magad. One way was to attack the nearby kingdoms and win them. And add their territories in his own kingdom. So, you can see the policy of conquest here. The second way to strengthen himself was marriage alliance. Bindisar also nearby big Mahajanpats. For example, Kosala was a big Mahajanpat. So, the princess Kosala Devi who was the sister of King Prasenjit of Kosala was married to Bindisar. And in return, she got Kashi. So, Kashi was included in Magad. Similarly, Vajji was also a very important Mahajanpat. Vajji also had a princess Chillanna. Bindisar also married her. Similarly, in a region called Madra, in Punjab, you can see a small Mahajanpat. The princess Hema was also married to him. So, what can you see here? Either the war is fought and the nearby kingdoms are captured by defeating them. Or with the nearby big kingdoms, a matrimonial alliance is formed and the position is strengthened. For example, Magad got Kashi because of the marriage alliance. But Magad had won Anga. So, Magad attacked him. So, you can see how Bindisar expanded. The biggest challenge for Bindisar was Avanti. Magad has always fought with Avanti. Avanti was a big challenge for Magad. Avanti was a big challenge for Magad's kings. When Bindisar understood that Avanti is also a very important Mahajanpat. It is a very powerful Mahajanpat. So, Bindisar felt that instead of fighting with Avanti, it is better to form a diplomatic alliance. Avanti was a rivalry but Bindisar formed a good relationship with Avanti. So, this way you can see Bindisar. Bindisar is also mentioned when we read about Buddhism and Jainism. Because Bindisar was a king who patronized Buddhist philosophy and Jain philosophy. But unfortunately, many sources say that Bindisar was killed by his son Ajat Shatru. So, the next king is Ajat Shatru. He also had expansionist policies like his father. He also held expansionist policies. What did he want? Expansion. Now, we know that this much area was already included in Magad. Now, what did Ajat Shatru want? He wanted to attack Vajji Sangat. But he tried for a long time but Vajji did not come in his hands. Now, what should be done? He tried a lot but Vajji did not come in his hands. So, what to do? You can see here that Ajat Shatru has a very popular story in which Ajat Shatru sends a minister to Gautam Buddha. The minister goes to Gautam Buddha and says that Ajat Shatru wants to defeat Vajji for a long time but he is not able to do it. What could be the reason behind it? Then, Gautam Buddha clears that Vajji is Ganarajya and the rulers there always make decisions together. Their unity is so strong that Vajji cannot be defeated. So, Gautam Buddha advises Ajat Shatru to go and tell Vajji that he should give up his desire to But Ajat Shatru finds a loophole in this answer. He understands that Vajji is so powerful because all the rulers are dealing with each other very well. All the rulers are making decisions together. They are united. If all the kings of Vajji are defeated, then Vajji can be weakened with the help of Divide and Rule and then Vajji can be captured. And this is what Ajat Shatru did. He captured Vajji with the help of Divide and Rule. The army of Ajat Shatru used to have different types of weapons which used to kill on a massive level. Ajat Shatru himself is the patron of Buddhism. He is the one who patronized Buddhist philosophy and Buddhism. He donated a lot to Buddhist monks and nuns. Ajat Shatru built a lot of Chaitya Vihars i.e. places for monks and nuns to stay or prayer halls. Ajat Shatru was the patron of Buddhism but along with that Ajat Shatru also holds a lot of expansionist policies. After Ajat Shatru, the next ruler of the Haryanak dynasty was Udayan. Udayan's contribution was that he gave Magadh a new capital and that new capital was part of Udayan. That new capital was established by Udayan. After that, the Haryanak dynasty became weak and a new dynasty was established on Magadh. That was Shishunag dynasty. The interesting thing is that Shishunag was no one else. Shishunag was a minister under the Haryanak dynasty. When he saw that the Haryanak dynasty was weak, then he changed the throne of the Haryanak dynasty and established his own dynasty on Magadh. We do not know the names of We do not know much about them. But we do know about a very important ruler of Shishunag dynasty, Kaal Ashok. Kaal Ashok was also a Buddhist patron. He was the one who patronized Buddhism He was the one who patronized the second Buddhist council. The first Buddhist council was patronized by Azad Shatru and the second was patronized by Kaal Ashok. Shishunag dynasty is remembered for one more reason and that was Magadh's attack on Avanti. Shishunag was ruling Magadh when Avanti was captured by Shishunag. For so many years, the Haryanak dynasty was trying to capture Avanti but they were not able to do so. Finally, Shishunag dynasty was the dynasty which was able to capture Avanti and the territory of Avanti was also added to Magadh. You can see that Magadh is slowly expanding itself. It is spreading itself and expanding itself. When does Magadh reach its apex level? Magadh reaches its apex level during the time of Nand dynasty. When Nand dynasty rule was established on Magadh. The most powerful ruler of Nand dynasty or the founder of this particular dynasty was Mahapadmananda. There are many rumours about Mahapadmananda that Mahapadmananda did not come from Kshatriya clan. That is why he is also called Destroyer of Kshatriyas. But it is true that Mahapadmananda reached Magadh at its apex level and slowly this entire area went to Magadh. Mahapadmananda was the last ruler of Nand dynasty. His name was Dhanananda. Dhanananda was not a good ruler. We will discuss the story of Dhanananda and how Nand dynasty and Maurya dynasty came to an end in our upcoming episodes. Today we just wanted to understand how Mahajanpadas used to be and how they developed. You must be able to see that compared to other Mahajanpadas, Magadh is the most powerful Mahajanpada. So a very valid question arises here that what was there in Magadh due to which it was so powerful and it was able to expand itself. Along with expanding itself, you can see to a very large area. Along with this, you can see very important dynasties coming to Magadh. So what is the reason that Magadh was becoming so successful whereas other Mahajanpadas were slowly settling in Magadh. So what is the reason behind it? There must be some reason. The very first thing that we see here is the resourceful area of Magadh. Magadh, this huge Mahajanpada that you can see here, is a very resourceful area. You can see rivers here, trees here. All these are resourceful areas. Here you can see iron deposits. The use of these iron deposits can be done to make weapons. These weapons can be used on battlefields. The land is so fertile that it is cultivated in surplus. The crop that grows in surplus is collected by the kings in the form of tax. In the jungles, timber is found to make chariots. In the jungles, elephants are found. These elephants are also recruited into the army. So the very first reason is that this area is a very resourceful area. Many resources are found here. But don't you think that if a king is not good, then these resources are of no use? If a person does not know when, where and how to use these resources, then no matter how many resources you give him, he will waste them. Another major reason for the success of Magadh is that they are the enthusiastic and ambitious rulers of Magadh. For example, Bindisar, Azad Sadro, Mahapadmananda. If these ambitious kings were not there, then all these resources would have been wasted. Along with this, the capitals of Magadh were very strategic. The first capital of Magadh was Rajgriha. Rajgriha is also called Rajgir. Rajgriha was a capital surrounded by mountains. It was difficult to penetrate and reach here. So the invaders could never reach the capital. The second capital of Magadh was Patlibutra. Patlibutra was surrounded by rivers. The rivers were used for transportation and movement in North, South, East and West. With the help of these rivers, the soldiers of Patlibutra were able to protect the capital. So the capital of Magadh was very good. Another reason behind the success of Magadh was the unorthodox character of Magadhan society. When you see Magadh spreading and expanding, you should understand that till this time, the society was not that complex. All the developments like marriage system, ashram system, caste system have come, but they are not that rigid. The society has not developed its rudeness. They are just starting. This is why the internal conflicts in the kingdom used to reduce. The kings used to internal conflicts and external expansion. These are some reasons because of which Magadh was more successful than In the next session, we will discuss how the Mauryan Empire was established from the Nand dynasty. I have discussed the Mahajanpada part in a very short time because it is not very important for us. We have to understand the establishment of Mahajanpada and the growth of Magadh. The next dynasty is very important that is Maurya dynasty. We will discuss Maurya dynasty in the next episode. That's all for today. I will give you a small information. Between 25th and 31st of August, you will be able to see me in special classes on the Unacademy app. In this Ancient History series, the topics that we have discussed and the MCQs I will cover in the last week of August in my special classes. You can enroll these special classes in my profile. Here, we will do MCQs because if we are not able to solve the MCQs then it is of no use. Enroll my special classes. In the description box of this particular video, you will get all the information. With this, on Unacademy Plus, there is a subscription offer and 50% discount. You will be able to complete your syllabus easily with the help of great educators. You can avail this 50% discount. This offer is valid till 25th August. You can use the code ARTI170. In the same way, Unacademy UPSC test series is now live. You can join the test series of prelims and mains. Unacademy Super Combat Test DV5 version exam is back on 27th August. This exam is on Sunday. Participate in this exam at 11 am. It is a very exciting Friday week. That's all for today. Thank you so much. Take care.