Textbook
India's Ancient Past
The expanded version of the classic old-NCERT ancient India text; clear and exam-friendly.
Mahajanapadas
c. 600–321 BCE
Map layer: Mahajanapadas & Gana-sanghas
Sixteen great realms and many republics (gana-sanghas); Magadha gradually absorbs its rivals.
Main polities of this period
| Name | Type | Span | Region | Capital |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Magadha ★ | Mahajanapada | c. 700–321 BCE | East | Rajagriha, later Pataliputra |
| Kosala | Mahajanapada | c. 1,100–460 BCE | Gangetic Plain | Shravasti / Ayodhya |
| Kashi | Mahajanapada | c. 1,000–500 BCE | Gangetic Plain | Varanasi |
| Vatsa | Mahajanapada | c. 1,000–400 BCE | Gangetic Plain | Kaushambi |
| Avanti | Mahajanapada | c. 1,000–345 BCE | Central | Ujjayini / Mahishmati |
| Surasena | Mahajanapada | c. 800–350 BCE | North | Mathura |
| Kamboja | Mahajanapada | c. 800–330 BCE | Northwest | Rajapura |
| Anga | Mahajanapada | c. 700–540 BCE | East | Champa |
| Assaka / Asmaka | Mahajanapada | c. 700–350 BCE | Deccan | Potali / Bodhan |
| Kalinga | Kingdom | c. 700–261 BCE | East | Tosali |
| Vajji / Vrijji Confederacy | Confederacy | c. 600–468 BCE | East | Vaishali |
| Malla | Gana-sangha (republic) | c. 600–400 BCE | Gangetic Plain | Kushinara / Pava |
| Achaemenid Gandhara & Hindush | Foreign imperial province | c. 518–330 BCE | Northwest | |
| Licchavi | Gana-sangha (republic) | c. 600–468 BCE | East | Vaishali |
| Shakya | Gana-sangha (republic) | c. 600–480 BCE | Gangetic Plain | Kapilavastu |
| Koliya | Gana-sangha (republic) | c. 600–450 BCE | Gangetic Plain | Ramagrama |
| Moriya of Pipphalivana | Gana-sangha (republic) | c. 600–400 BCE | Gangetic Plain | Pipphalivana |
Also existing during this period
Chedi
Central · c. 1,000–300 BCE
Videha
East · c. 1,100–600 BCE
Panchala
Gangetic Plain · c. 1,100–350 BCE
Later Vedic Polities
Gangetic Plain · c. 1,000–600 BCE
Kuru
North · c. 1,200–350 BCE
Gandhara
Northwest · c. 1,200–518 BCE
Mauryan Empire
Pan-Indian · c. 321–185 BCE
Early Pandyas (Sangam era)
South · c. 400 BCE – c. 300 CE
Anuradhapura Kingdom
Sri Lanka · c. 437 BCE – c. 1017
Matsya
West · c. 1,100–350 BCE
Events
| Year | Event | Polity |
|---|---|---|
| c. 600 BCE | Rise of the sixteen Mahajanapadas Territorial states replaced tribal janas across north India. |
|
| c. 599 BCE | Birth of Vardhamana Mahavira | Vajji / Vrijji Confederacy |
| c. 563 BCE | Birth of Siddhartha Gautama at Lumbini | Shakya |
| c. 540 BCE | Bimbisara annexes Anga | Haryanka Dynasty |
| c. 528 BCE | The Buddha's enlightenment at Bodh Gaya | |
| c. 527 BCE | Mahavira's nirvana at Pavapuri | |
| c. 518 BCE | Achaemenid Persia annexes Gandhara | Achaemenid Gandhara & Hindush |
| c. 492 BCE | Ajatashatru becomes king of Magadha | Haryanka Dynasty |
| c. 483 BCE | Mahaparinirvana of the Buddha | Malla |
| c. 483 BCE | First Buddhist Council at Rajagriha | Haryanka Dynasty |
| c. 468 BCE | Ajatashatru defeats the Vajji confederacy | Haryanka Dynasty |
| c. 460 BCE | Pataliputra becomes Magadha's capital | Haryanka Dynasty |
| c. 413 BCE | Shishunaga dynasty replaces the Haryankas Shishunaga later annexed Avanti. |
Shishunaga Dynasty |
| c. 400 BCE | Panini composes the Ashtadhyayi Sanskrit grammar was fixed in about 4,000 sutras. |
Gandhara |
| c. 383 BCE | Second Buddhist Council at Vaishali | Shishunaga Dynasty |
| c. 345 BCE | Mahapadma Nanda founds the Nanda dynasty | Nanda Dynasty |
| 327 BCE | Alexander crosses the Hindu Kush into Gandhara | |
| 326 BCE | Battle of the Hydaspes Alexander won but restored Porus as a vassal king. |
|
| 326 BCE | Alexander's army mutinies at the Beas Alexander turned back and left India in 325 BCE. |
|
| 325 BCE | Alexander's army sails down the Indus | |
| c. 321 BCE | Chandragupta Maurya overthrows the Nandas The Nanda dynasty ended and the Mauryan Empire was founded. |
Mauryan Empire |
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