Bihar in Mahajanapada period

Before the birth of Buddha, around the sixth century BCE, India was divided into 16 Mahajanapadas, whose mention we find in the Buddhist text ‘Anguttarnikaya‘ and the Jain text ‘Bhagavati Sutra’. At that time, three of 16 Mahajanapadas of India-Magadha, Anga, Vajji and Hiuen Tsang called were in Bihar.

Anga: The first mention of Anga kingdom is found in the Atharvaveda this place near Bhagalpur as Chennpo. There were a total of 25 kings in Anga Kingdom of which the first Arya king was Titukshi.

• Anga Mahajanapada included Bhagalpur and Munger districts of modern Bihar. Its capital was
• Kunti’s son Karna, famous in the Mahabharata, was the last Arya king of Anga.
• After the Mahabharata war, there was a continuous struggle between the kingdom of Anga and Magadha. During this time, the last three kings of Anga were Dadhivahan, Dradhvarman and Brahmadatta respectively.
• Dadhivahana’s daughter Chandana was the first woman to adopt Jainism (inspired by Mahavira).
• King Bimbisara of Magadha merged this state with the Magadha Empire during the reign of Brahmadatta, the last king of Anga and appointed his son Ajatashatru as the governor of Anga.

Vajji Sangha: Vajji Sangha was a prestigious republic among the 10 major republics of Buddha’s time. Lichchavi Republic was located to the north of Ganga river and included the present day Vaishali and Muzaffarpur areas of Tirhut division. The republic was a union of 8 clans, of which Videha, Gyatrik, Lichchavi and Vajji were the most important.

• Vaishali was the capital of the Vajji union. This city was divided into three parts.
• The Licchavi Republic of the Vajji Sangha was the first republic state known in history. The most powerful member of the Vajji confederacy was the Licchavi kingdom, whose rulers were.
• Kautilya has mentioned the Licchavi state as Rajshabdopjiwi Sangha. In this Shatrik/Gyatrik was another member, whose head was Siddhartha. Siddhartha’s son Mahavira was born in 540 BCE in Kundgram (Vaishali).
• Mahavira’s mother Trishala was the sister of Chetak, the chief of the Licchavi kingdom.
• The constitution and administration of the Vajji union was like a federal oligarchy.
• The assembly of kings was called Sanstha. All the kings had equal authority in the Sanstha, but the elders enjoyed more respect.
• Famous dancer Amrapali was appointed as the ‘Nagarvadhu of Vaishali’ under Vajji Sangh and was related to Magadha King

Licchavi Republic of Vaishali

• In the ancient republics located in Bihar, the Licchavi republic was the largest and most powerful during Buddha’s time.
• The world’s first republic was established in Vaishali by the Lichchhavis.
• This republic was founded by Vishal, the son of Suryavanshi king Ikshvaku, and the area later became famous as ‘Vaishali’.
• The Lichchhavis had built the famous Katagarshala in Mahavan for the Nirvana of Mahatma Buddha.
• Chelna, the daughter of King Chetak, the head of the Vajji union, was married to Bimbisara, the Magadha king.
• The Lichchavi kingdom of Vaishali changed from monarchy to republic in the 7th century BCE. The first ruler of the Vaishali dynasty was Namnedishta, while the last king was Suti or Pramati. There were a total of 24 kings in this dynasty.

Amrapali: This was Vaishali/Lichchavi’s royal/court dancer and supremely beautiful and artistic courtesan. In that era, the post of political dancer was considered very prestigious and respected. After the request to enter the Sangha, Amrapali was admitted by Mahatma Buddha as a nun in his Sangha and addressed her as Arya Amba. Amrapali was the second woman to enter the Buddhist Sangha. Prior to this, the first woman to enter the Buddhist Sangha was Prajapati Gautami, Buddha’s stepmother/aunt.

Jivaka: The famous physician of Magadha king Bimbisara, Jivaka was a follower of Buddha. Bimbisara sent Jivaka to Takshashila (Kashmir) for education, where he studied Ayurveda extensively. Later, he became an the royal physician and opened his own clinic at Ambavan (Amrodyan) near Rajagriha where he met Mahatma Buddha and became his follower. It was because of his medical expertise that Bimbisara had sent Jivaka to treat the diseased king Pradyota of Avanti.