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100-464: The Mahājanapadas were sixteen kingdoms and aristocratic republics that existed in ancient India from the sixth to fourth centuries BCE, during the second urbanisation period. The 6th–5th centuries BCE are often regarded as a major turning point in early Indian history . During this period, India's first large cities since the demise of the Indus Valley civilization arose. It was also

200-599: A belt stretching from Gandhara in the northwest to Anga in the east to Asmaka in the southern part of the Indian subcontinent . They included parts of the trans- Vindhyan region, and all had developed prior to the rise of Buddhism in India. Archaeologically, this period has been identified as corresponding in part to the Northern Black Polished Ware culture. The term " Janapada " literally means

300-550: A descendant of Yayati. The princes of this country are said to have come from the line of Druhyu who was a famous king of the Rigvedic period and one of the five sons of king Yayati of lunar dynasty. The river Indus watered the lands of Gandhara. Taksashila and Pushkalavati , the two cities of this Mahajanapada, are said to have been named after Taksa and Pushkara, the two sons of Bharata , a prince of Ayodhya and younger brother of Lord Rama . According to Vayu Purana (II.36.107),

400-550: A follower of Buddha and made Buddhism the state religion. Udayana's mother, Queen Mrigavati , is notable for being one of the earliest known female rulers in Indian history. Pontic Steppe Caucasus East Asia Eastern Europe Northern Europe Pontic Steppe Northern/Eastern Steppe Europe South Asia Steppe Europe Caucasus India Indo-Aryans Realm The Old French word reaume , modern French royaume ,

500-774: A matter of debate, Suvarṇabhūmi was an important port along trade routes that run through the Indian Ocean , setting sail from the wealthy ports in Basra , Ubullah , and Siraf , through Muscat , Malabar , Ceylon , the Nicobars , Kedah and on through the Strait of Malacca to fabled Suvarṇabhūmi. Ian Glover, Emeritus Reader in Southeast Asian Archaeology at the University of London , has said: “It

600-511: A monarch, yet are not a physical part of his or her "kingdom"; for example, the Cook Islands and Niue are considered parts of the Realm of New Zealand , although they are not part of New Zealand proper. Realm may also be used metaphorically to refer to an area of knowledge, expertise or habitat within which an individual or denizen is pre-eminent or dominant, e.g., "Shakespeare's realm

700-505: A part of the kingdom of Kashmira . The Jataka also gives another name Chandahara for Gandhara. Gandhara Mahajanapada of Buddhist traditions included territories of east Afghanistan , and north-west of the Punjab (modern districts of Peshawar (Purushapura) and Rawalpindi ). Its later capital was Taksashila (Prakrit for Taxila ). The Taksashila University was a renowned centre of learning in ancient times, where scholars from all over

800-706: A rising elite and the wealthy classes at home.” Suvarṇabhūmi means 'golden land' or 'land of gold' and the ancient sources have associated it with one of a variety of places throughout the Southeast Asian region. It might also be the source of the Western concept of Aurea Regio in Claudius Ptolemy 's Trans-Gangetic India or India beyond the Ganges, and the Golden Chersonese of

900-590: A ruler ' , traditionally a monarch (emperor, king, grand duke, prince, etc.). "Realm" is particularly used for those states whose name includes the word kingdom (for example, the United Kingdom ), as elegant variation , to avoid clumsy repetition of the word in a sentence (for example, "The King's realm, the United Kingdom..."). It is also useful to describe those countries whose monarchs are called something other than "king" or "queen"; for example,

1000-538: A sophisticated gold working technology, which relied on the import of substantial quantities of the metal. The Padang Roco Inscription of 1286 CE, states that an image of Buddha Amoghapasa Lokeshvara was brought to Dharmasraya on the Upper Batang Hari - the river of Jambi - was transported from Bhumi Java (Java) to Suvarnabhumi (Sumatra), and erected by order of the Javanese ruler Kertanegara :

1100-632: A sutra of Jainism , gives a different list of sixteen Mahajanapadas: The author of the Bhagavati Sutra (or the Vyākhyāprajñapti ) has a focus on the countries of Madhydesa and of the far east and south only. He omits the nations from Uttarapatha like the Kamboja and Gandhara. The more extended horizon of the Bhagvati and the omission of all countries from Uttarapatha "clearly shows that

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1200-785: Is commonly thought to refer to the Southeast Asian Peninsula, including lower Burma and the Malay Peninsula . However there is another gold-referring term Suvarnadvipa (the Golden Island or Peninsula, where “– dvipa” may refer to either a peninsula or an island ), which may correspond to the Indonesian Archipelago , especially Sumatra . Both terms might refer to a powerful coastal or island kingdom in present-day Indonesia , possibly centered on Sumatra or Java . This corresponds to

1300-552: Is mentioned that merchants of Anga (in present-day Bihar , a state of India that borders with Bengal) regularly sailed to Suvarṇabhūmi, and ancient Bengal was in fact situated very close to Anga, connected by rivers of the Ganges-Brahmaputra Delta . Bengal has also been described in ancient Indian and Southeast Asian chronicles as a "seafaring country", enjoying trade relations with Dravidian kingdoms, Sri Lanka, Java and Sumatra. Sinhalese tradition holds that

1400-454: Is one such site with limited excavation work. The site, called Winka Old City by other archaeologists, contains 40 high-grounds of which only four have been excavated. The Winka site, along with nearby walled sites like Kyaikkatha and Kelasa, have been dated as early as the sixth century. While the archaeology of early Lower Burmese sites requires more work, other urban centres in Myanmar like

1500-616: Is said to have destroyed the famous Kamboja city called Kapisi (modern Begram ) in Paropamisade . The kingdom was located in the region around its capital Varanasi , bounded by the Varuna and Asi rivers in the north and south which gave Varanasi its name. Before Buddha, Kasi was the most powerful of the sixteen Mahajanapadas. Several jataka tales bear witness to the superiority of its capital over other cities in India and speak highly of its prosperity and opulence. These stories tell of

1600-454: Is widely accepted in the 21st century that Suvarnabhumi as reported in early Indian literature was not a specific location which can be marked on a map. Rather, it was an idealised place, perhaps equivalent to Atlantis in Western history, a distant somewhere to the east of India where traders, sailors, and Buddhist and Hindu teachers went to make their fortunes and spread their teachings and bring back gold and other exotic products desired by

1700-572: The Digha Nikaya , mentions twelve Mahajanapadas from the above list and omits four of them (Assaka, Avanti, Gandhara, and Kamboja). Chulla-Niddesa , another ancient text of the Buddhist canon, adds Kalinga to the list and substitutes Yona for Gandhara, thus listing the Kamboja and the Yona as the only Mahajanapadas from Uttarapatha . The Vyākhyāprajñapti (or the Bhagavati Sutra ),

1800-611: The Ashtadhyayi of Pāṇini. In Kautiliya 's Arthashastra , the Vrishnis are described as sangha or republic. The Vrishnis, Andhakas and other allied tribes of the Shoorsaini formed a sangha and Vasudeva ( Krishna ) is described as the sangha-mukhya . Mathura, the capital of Surasena, was also known at the time of Megasthenes as the centre of Krishna worship. The Surasena kingdom had lost its independence on annexation by

1900-588: The Biblical Ophir , whence the ships of Tyre and Israel brought back the gold for the Temple of Jerusalem . The city of Thina was described by Ptolemy’s Geography as the capital city of the country on the eastern shores of the Magnus Sinus ( Gulf of Thailand ). The location of Suvarṇabhūmi has been the subject of much debate, both in scholarly and nationalistic agendas. It remains one of

2000-725: The Daradas and the Gandharas constituted the Kamboja country. The capital of Kamboja was probably Rajapura (modern Rajori) in the south-west of Kashmir. The Kamboja Mahajanapada of the Buddhist traditions refers to this cis-Hindukush branch of ancient Kambojas. The trans-Hindukush region including the Pamirs and Badakhshan which shared borders with the Bahlikas (Bactria) in

2100-465: The Grand Duchy of Luxembourg is a realm but not a kingdom , since its monarch holds the title Grand Duke rather than King. The term may commonly be used to describe any of the " Commonwealth realms ", which are kingdoms in their own right and share the same person as monarch, though they are fully independent of each other. More broadly, a "realm" may encompass territories that are subject to

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2200-652: The Jatakas , the capital of the Kurus was Indraprastha (Indapatta) near modern Delhi which extended seven leagues. At Buddha's time, the Kuru country was ruled by a titular chieftain (king consul) named Korayvya. The Kurus of the Buddhist period did not occupy the same position as they did in the Vedic period but they continued to enjoy their ancient reputation for deep wisdom and sound health. The Kurus had matrimonial relations with

2300-659: The Nanda Empire .) The Kambojans and Gandharans, however, never came into direct contact with the Magadhan state until Chandragupta and Kautilya arose on the scene. But these nations also fell prey to the Achaemenids of Persia during the reign of Cyrus II (558–530 BCE) or in the first year of Darius . Kamboja and Gandhara formed the twentieth and richest satrapy of the Achaemenid Empire. Cyrus II

2400-462: The Rigveda , with their king Kashu Chaidya. The location of the capital city, Suktimati , has not been established with certainty. Historian Hem Chandra Raychaudhuri and F. E. Pargiter believed that it was in the vicinity of Banda, Uttar Pradesh . Archaeologist Dilip Kumar Chakrabarti has proposed that Suktimati can be identified as the ruins of a large early historical city, at a place with

2500-574: The Sri Ksetra Kingdom in modern Pyay were Buddhist as early as the 5th century. The scholarly search for Suvannabhumi within Myanmar is attached to various nationalistic and religious narratives about Suvannabhumi. The fifteenth century legend of Shwedagon Pagoda enshrining a few hairs of the Buddha brought back by Mon merchants highlights the cultural significance placed on early Buddhist missionaries in Myanmar. In many such legends,

2600-564: The Yadavas , the Bhojas, Trigratas, and the Panchalas. There is a Jataka reference to king Dhananjaya, introduced as a prince from the lineage of Yudhishtra . Though a well known monarchical people in the earlier period, the Kurus are known to have switched to a republican form of government during the 6th to 5th centuries BCE. In the 4th century BCE, Kautiliya 's Arthashastra also attests

2700-404: The capital – had become very important at the time of Buddha. Kuśināra is very important in the history of Buddhism since Lord Buddha took last meal at Pava. Buddha was taken ill at Pava and died at Kusinara. It is widely believed that Lord Gautam died at the courtyard of King Sastipal Mall of Kushinagar. Kushinagar is now the centre of the Buddhist pilgrimage circle which is being developed by

2800-567: The foothold of a people . The fact that Janapada is derived from Jana points to an early stage of land-taking by the Jana people for a settled way of life. This process of settlement on land had completed its final stage prior to the times of the Buddha and Pāṇini . The Pre-Buddhist northern Indian sub-continent was divided into several Janapadas, demarcated from each other by boundaries. In Pāṇini's "Ashtadhyayi", Janapada stands for country and Janapadin for its citizenry. Each of these Janapadas

2900-564: The 13th-14th centuries, the border of the new Suvarṇabhūmi or Suphannabhumi met Lavo Kingdom at the Pasak River in the east, the west to Dawei on the coast of the outer sea ( Andaman Sea ), northwest to the south of Mawlamyine , which was the sea trading harbor of the Chaliang Kingdom ( Si Satchanalai ), while the south to the tip of the Malay Peninsula , and the north to Phraek Siracha (present-day Sankhaburi ). In 1351,

3000-502: The 5th to 6th centuries, and translated several Buddhist sūtras from Sanskrit (or a Prakrit ) into Chinese. The oldest archaeological evidence of Indianized civilization in Southeast Asia comes from central Burma, central and southern Thailand, and the lower Mekong Delta . These finds belong to the period of Funan Kingdom or Nokor Phnom, present-day Cambodia, and South Vietnam including part of Burma, Laos, and Thailand, which

3100-676: The Assakas from that of the Mulakas (or Alakas). The country of Assaka lay outside the pale of Madhyadesa . It was located on a southern high road, the Dakshinapatha . At one time, Assaka included Mulaka and abutted Avanti. The country of the Avantis was an important kingdom of western India and was one of the four great monarchies in India in the post era of Mahavira and Buddha, the other three being Kosala , Vatsa and Magadha . Avanti

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3200-638: The Assakas was Potana or Potali, which corresponds present-day Bodhan in Telangana and Paudanya of Mahabharata . In Maharashtra its capital is located in Potali which corresponds to present day Nandura, Buldhana district. The Ashmakas are also mentioned by Pāṇini. They are placed in the north-west in the Markendeya Purana and the Brhat Samhita . The river Godavari separated the country of

3300-777: The Bhagvati list is of later origin and therefore less reliable." The first reference to the Angas is found in the Atharvaveda where they find mention along with the Magadhas , Gandharis and the Mujavats, apparently as a despised people. The Jaina Prajnapana ranks Angas and Vangas in the first group of Aryan people. It mentions the principal cities of ancient India . It was also a great center of trade and commerce and its merchants regularly sailed to distant Suvarnabhumi . Anga

3400-595: The Farrukhabad District. The famous city of Kanyakubja or Kanauj was situated in the kingdom of Panchala. Originally a monarchical clan , the Panchals appear to have switched to republican corporation in the 6th and 5th centuries BCE. In the 4th century BCE, Kautiliya 's Arthashastra also attests the Panchalas as following the Rajashabdopajivin (king consul) constitution. The country of

3500-518: The Gandharas and Kambojas were cognate people. It is also contended that the Kurus, Kambojas, Gandharas and Bahlikas were cognate people. According to Dr T. L. Shah, the Gandhara and Kamboja were nothing but two provinces of one empire and were located coterminously, hence influencing each other's language. Naturally, they may have once been a cognate people. Gandhara was often linked politically with

3600-484: The Gandharas were destroyed by Pramiti (a.k.a. Kalika) at the end of Kali Yuga . Pāṇini mentioned both the Vedic form Gandhari as well as the later form Gandhara in his Ashtadhyayi . The Gandhara kingdom sometimes also included Kashmira . Hecataeus of Miletus (549–468) refers to Kaspapyros (Kasyapura or Purushapura, i.e., modern day Peshawar) as a Gandharic city. According to Gandhara Jataka, at one time, Gandhara formed

3700-705: The Gold and Silver Islands were constantly, so to speak, wandering towards the East. Marco Polo spoke, in the most exaggerated language, of the wealth of gold in Zipangu , situated at the extremity of this part of the world, and had thus pointed out where the precious metals should preferably be sought. Martin Behaim , on his globe of 1492, revived the Argyre and Chryse of antiquity in these regions. In 1519, Cristóvão de Mendonça ,

3800-605: The Greek and Roman geographers and sailors. The Periplus of the Erythraean Sea refers to the Land of Gold, Chryse , and describes it as “an island in the ocean, the furthest extremity towards the east of the inhabited world, lying under the rising sun itself, called Chryse... Beyond this country... there lies a very great inland city called Thina ”. Dionysius Periegetes mentioned: “The island of Chryse (Gold), situated at

3900-725: The Himalayas. According to the Buddhist text Sumangavilasini, the people of Kururashtra (the Kurus) came from the Uttarakuru. Vayu Purana attests that Kuru , son of Samvarsana of the Puru lineage, was the eponymous ancestor of the Kurus and the founder of Kururashtra (Kuru Janapada) in Kurukshetra. The country of the Kurus roughly corresponded to the modern Thanesar , state of Delhi , and Meerut district of Uttar Pradesh . According to

4000-465: The Janapadas of the Majjhimadesa. A bitter line in the Puranas laments that Magadhan emperor Mahapadma Nanda exterminated all Kshatriyas , none worthy of the name Kshatriya being left thereafter. This refers to the Kasis, Kosalas, Kurus, Panchalas, Vatsyas and other neo-Vedic tribes of the east Panjab of whom nothing was ever heard except in the legend and poetry. (The Nandas usurped the throne of Shishunaga dynasty c.  345 BCE , thus founding

4100-449: The Kambojas appear to have crossed the Hindukush and planted colonies on its southern side also. These latter Kambojas are associated with the Daradas and Gandharas in Indian literature and also find mention in the Edicts of Ashoka . The evidence in the Mahabharata and in Ptolemy 's Geography distinctly supports two Kamboja settlements. The cis-Hindukush region from Nurestan up to Rajauri in southwest of Kashmir sharing borders with

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4200-418: The Kambojas. Kautiliya 's Arthashastra attestes the Kambojas republican character and Ashoka 's Edict No. XIII also testifies the presence of the Kambojas along with the Yavanas. Pāṇini's Sutras, though tend to convey that the Kamboja of Pāṇini was a Kshatriya monarchy, but "the special rule and the exceptional form of derivative" he gives to denote the ruler of the Kambojas implies that the king of Kamboja

4300-417: The Kurus following the Rajashabdopajivin (Royal Consul) constitution. The Magadha was one of the most prominent and prosperous of Mahajanapadas. The kingdom of the Magadhas roughly corresponded to the modern districts of Patna and Gaya in southern Bihar and parts of Bengal in the east. The capital city of Pataliputra was bound in the north by the river Ganges, in the east by the river Champa, in

4400-458: The Licchhavis for self-defense but lost their independence not long after Buddha's death and their dominions were annexed to the Magadhan empire. The country of the Matsya or Macchā tribe lay to the south of the Kurus and west of the Yamuna , which separated them from the Panchalas. It roughly corresponded to the former princely state of Jaipur in Rajputana , and included the whole of Alwar with portions of Bharatpur . The capital of Matsya

4500-506: The Magadhan empire. Vajji or Vṛji was a confederacy of neighbouring clans including the Licchavis and one of the principal mahājanapadas of Ancient India . The area they ruled constitutes the region of Mithila in Nepal and northern Bihar and their capital was the city of Vaishali . Both the Buddhist text Anguttara Nikaya and the Jaina text Bhagavati Sutra ( Saya xv Uddesa I) included Vajji in their lists of solasa (sixteen) mahājanapadas. The name of this mahājanapada

4600-407: The Malay Peninsula, Borneo and Java. Benefitting from its strategic location on the narrow Strait of Malacca , the insular theory argued that other than actually producing gold, it might also be based on such a kingdom's potential for power and wealth (hence, "Land of Gold") as a hub for sea-trade also known from vague descriptions of contemporary Chinese pilgrims to India. The kingdom referred to as

4700-403: The Mallakas Kshatriya were a republican people with their dominion consisting of nine territories corresponding to the nine confederated clans. These republican states were known as gaṇasaṅgha s . Two of these confederations – one with Kushinagar (modern Kasia near Gorakhpur ) as its capital and the second with Pava (modern Fazilnagar , 20 kilometres (12 mi) southeast of Kushinagar) as

4800-454: The Suphannabhumi Kingdom was merged into its succeeding state, Ayuttaya , after its last ruler, Uthong , moved eastward to create a new capital Ayutthaya on present-day Ayutthaya Island. A clue referring to the Malay Peninsula came from Claudius Ptolemy 's Geography , who referred to it as Golden Chersonese (literally 'golden peninsula'), which pinpointed exactly that location in South East Asia. The term Suvarṇabhūmi ('land of gold')

4900-455: The Surasenas lay to the east of Matsya and west of Yamuna . This corresponds roughly to the Brij region of Uttar Pradesh, Haryana and Rajasthan . and Gwalior district of Madhya Pradesh . It had its capital at Madhura or Mathura . Avantiputra, the king of Surasena, was the first among the chief disciples of Buddha, through whose help Buddhism gained ground in Mathura country. The Andhakas and Vrishnis of Mathura/Surasena are referred to in

5000-463: The amount of gold discovered in Butuan far exceeds that found in Sumatra, where the much better known flourishing kingdom of Srivijaya is said to have been located.” This despite that most of the gold of Butuan were already looted by invaders. A popular interpretation of Rabindranath Tagore 's poem Amar Shonar Bangla serves as the basis for the claim that Suvarṇabhūmi was actually situated in central Bengal at Sonargaon . In some Jain texts, it

5100-406: The area dating back more than 4,000 years and the findings of 3rd-century Roman coins. The Thai government named the new Bangkok airport, Suvarnabhumi Airport , after the mythic kingdom of Suwannaphum, honouring this tradition that is still debated by scholars for the same reasons as the Burman claim. Suphan Buri (from the Sanskrit, Suvarnapura , "Golden City") in present west/central Thailand,

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5200-421: The center of Dvaravati culture shifted to Lavo , and the people of the sacked Dvaravati moved westward and founded a new city in 807 in the area of the present-day Ladya subdistrict, Kanchanaburi (Kanchanaburi old city) while the affected area was almost left abandoned. The new settlement was named Suvarṇabhūmi and was then renamed Sri Ayutthaya and Kanchanaburi, respectively. At the peak of power around

5300-432: The center of maritime trade between China and India was Srivijaya . Due to the Chinese writing system , however, the interpretations of Chinese historical sources are based on supposed correspondences of ideograms – and their possible phonetic equivalents – with known toponyms in the ancient Southeast Asian civilizations. Hendrik Kern concluded that Sumatra was the Suvarnadvipa mentioned in ancient Hindu texts and

5400-435: The country to the east of the Kurus between the mountains and river Ganges. It roughly corresponded to modern Budaun , Farrukhabad and the adjoining districts of Uttar Pradesh . The country was divided into Uttara-Panchala and Dakshina-Panchala. The northern Panchala had its capital at Adhichhatra or Chhatravati (modern Ramnagar in the Bareilly district ), while southern Panchala had its capital at Kampilya or Kampil in

5500-411: The first king of Sri Lanka, Vijaya Singha , came from Bengal. Moreover the region is commonly associated with golden color - the soil of Bengal is known for its golden color (Gangetic alluvial), golden harvest ( rice ), golden fruits ( mangoes ), golden minerals (gold and clay ) and yellow-brown skinned people. Bengal is described in ancient Sanskrit texts as ' Gaud -Desh' (Golden/Radiant land). During

5600-423: The gold production areas traditionally known in Minangkabau Highlands in Barisan Mountains , Sumatra, and interior Borneo . The eighth-century Indian text Samaraiccakaha describes a sea voyage to Suvarnadvipa and the making of bricks from the gold rich sands which they inscribed with the name “ dharana” and then baked. These pointing out to the direction of western Insular Southeast Asia, especially Sumatra,

5700-518: The inscription clearly identifies Sumatra as Suvarṇabhūmi. Butuan on the southern Philippine island of Mindanao was so rich in treasures that a museum curator, Florina H. Capistrano-Baker, stated it was even richer than the more well-known western maritime kingdom of Srivijaya ; “The astonishing quantities and impressive quality of gold treasures recovered in Butuan suggest that its flourishing port settlement played an until recently little-recognized role in early Southeast Asian trade. Surprisingly,

5800-449: The island of Chryse mentioned in the Periplus of the Erythraean Sea and by Rufius Festus Avienius . The Chinese pilgrim and Buddhist scholar Yijing (義淨), visited the kingdom of Srivijaya on Sumatra in 672 and identified it with Suvarnadvipa , the Island of Gold (金洲 jin-zhou ). The interpretation of early travel records is not always easy. Javanese embassies to China in 860 and 873 CE refer to Java as rich in gold, although it

5900-403: The kings in the neighbouring states honour his order to their heads”. The Inscription is the oldest found mention of Suvarṇabhūmi in Southeast Asia, identifying it with Chenla. The inscription is now exhibited in the National Museum of Cambodia in Phnom Penh. However, his claim and the findings are yet to be peer-reviewed, and remain in doubt with other historians and archaeology experts across

6000-544: The legends, the precious metals were to be gathered from the ground and did not need to be laboriously extracted from the interior of the earth. In spite of their failure, they found it difficult to give up the alluring picture. When they did not find what they sought in the regions which were indicated by the old legends and by the maps based thereon, they hoped for better success in still unexplored regions, and clutched with avidity at every hint that they were here to attain their object. The history of geography thus shows us how

6100-516: The long struggle for supremacy between Kashi and the three kingdoms of Kosala , Anga and Magadha . Although King Brihadratha of Kashi conquered Kosala , Kashi was later incorporated into Kosala by King Kansa during Buddha's time. The Kashis along with the Kosalas and Videhans find mention in Vedic texts and appear to have been a closely allied people. The Matsya Purana and Alberuni spell Kashi as Kausika and Kaushaka respectively. All other ancient texts read Kashi. The country of Kosala

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6200-515: The majority of the kingdom's population were Mon people , while Thai people arrived later, around 50 BCE. The Suvarnabhumi Kingdom was destroyed by the invasion of Funan around the 1st-2nd centuries, and most of its population was forcibly moved to Funan resulting in it being left abandoned. After Funan lost to Bhavavarman I of Chenla in 550, Suvarṇabhūmi de facto became a tributary state of Chenla as well. The kingdom's area reached Lamphakappa Nakhon (ลัมภกัปปะนคร, present-day Lampang ) in

6300-421: The modern-day name Itaha, on the outskirts of Rewa, Madhya Pradesh . The wool of the Gandharis is referred to in the Rigveda . The Gandharas and their king figure prominently as strong allies of the Kurus against the Pandavas in the Mahabharata war. The Gandharas were furious people, well-trained in the art of war. According to Puranic traditions, this Janapada was founded by Gandhara , son of Aruddha,

6400-451: The most mystified and contentious toponyms in Asia. Scholars have identified two regions as possible locations for the ancient Suvarṇabhūmi: Insular Southeast Asia and Southern India . In a study of the various literary sources for the location of Suvarṇabhūmi, Saw Mra Aung concluded that it was impossible to draw a decisive conclusion on this and that only thorough scientific research would reveal which of several versions of Suvarṇabhūmi

6500-461: The narrative of the conversion of Suvarṇabhūmi is that it Burmanizes key historical Buddhist figures. In modern Thailand, government proclamations and national museums insist that Suwannaphum was somewhere on the coast of the central plain, especially at the ancient city of U Thong , which might be the origin of the Mon Dvaravati Culture. These claims are not based on any historical records but on archaeological evidence of human settlements in

6600-415: The national anthem of Bangladesh - Amar Shonar Bangla (My Bengal of Gold), from Tagore's poem - is a reference to this theory. The thirst for gold formed the most powerful incentive to explorers at the beginning of modern times; but although more and more extensive regions were brought to light by them, they sought in vain in the East Indian Archipelago for the Gold and Silver Islands where, according to

6700-421: The neighboring regions of Kashmira and Kamboja . Kambojas are also included in the Uttarapatha. In ancient literature, the Kamboja is variously associated with the Gandhara , Darada and the Bahlika ( Bactria ). Ancient Kamboja is known to have comprised regions on either side of the Hindukush . The original Kamboja was located in eastern Oxus country as neighbor to Bahlika, but with time, some clans of

6800-423: The north, and was ruled in mandala style with five royal cities, including Suvarnabhumi (the present old town of Nakhon Pathom ), Ratchaburi , Singburi , Phetchaburi , and Tanintharyi . The area surrounding the old capital of Suvarnabhumi was resettled in 590 when Sri Sittichai Phromthep (ท้าวศรีสิทธิไชยพรหมเทพ) from Yossothon (possibly the city in Chenla) established the new city, Nakhon Chai Si (old name of

6900-416: The present-day Nakhon Pathom ). Most of its population were Thai people from the Ngao , Yom , and Salween river basins. Lavo was also founded during such a period. Both later created a new kingdom, Dvaravati ; however, the new capital together with the other nearest settlement, Pong Tuek (พงตึก, present-day Ratchaburi) were sacked by Chenla 300 years later, around the 8th-9th centuries. After that,

7000-450: The region. Mon tradition maintains that the Thaton Kingdom in Lower Myanmar was called Suvannabhumi ( Burmese : သုဝဏ္ဏဘူမိ Thuwunnabhumi ). However, dating the Thaton Kingdom independent of traditional chronicles gives an terminus post quem foundation year of 825; even this date remains unattested. There are several sites within Mon State that local archaeologists cite as Suvarṇabhūmi. Suvarnabhumi City in Bilin Township

7100-399: The reign of the Bengal Sultans and the Mughal Empire , central Bengal was home to a prosperous trading town called " Sonargaon " (Golden village), which was connected to North India by the Grand Trunk Road and was frequented by Arab, Persian and Chinese travelers, including Ibn Battuta and Zheng He . Even today, Bengalis often refer to their land as ' Shonar Bangla ' (Golden Bengal), and

7200-517: The south by the Vindhya mountains and in the west by the river Sona. During Buddha's time its boundaries included Anga. Its earliest capital was Girivraja or Rajagaha (modern Rajgir in the Nalanda district of Bihar). The other names for the city were Magadhapura, Brihadrathapura, Vasumati, Kushagrapura and Bimbisarapuri. It was an active center of Jainism in ancient times. The First Buddhist Council

7300-429: The southern high road called Dakshinapatha which extended from Rajagriha to Pratishthana (modern Paithan ). Avanti was an important centre of Buddhism and some of the leading theras and theris were born and resided there. King Nandivardhana of Avanti was defeated by king Shishunaga of Magadha. Avanti later became part of the Magadhan empire. The Chedis, Chetis or Chetyas had two distinct settlements of which one

7400-547: The time of the rise of sramana movements (including Buddhism and Jainism ), which challenged the religious orthodoxy of the Vedic period . Two of the Mahājanapadas were most probably gaṇasaṅgha s (aristocratic republics), and others had forms of monarchy. Ancient Buddhist texts like the Anguttara Nikaya make frequent reference to sixteen great kingdoms and republics that had developed and flourished in

7500-576: The tourism development corporation of Uttar Pradesh. The Mallakas, like the Licchavis , are mentioned by Manusmriti as Vratya Kshatriyas . They are called Vasishthas (Vasetthas) in the Mahapparnibbana Suttanta. The Mallakas originally had a monarchical form of government but later they switched to one of Samgha (republican union), the members of which called themselves rajas . The Mallakas appeared to have formed an alliance with

7600-722: The translation and publication of the Edicts, scholars see these claims as based on nationalism or attempts to claim the title of the first Buddhists in Southeast Asia. Funan (1st–7th century) was the first kingdom in Cambodian history and it was also the first Indianized kingdom that prospered in Southeast Asia. Both Hinduism and Buddhism flourished in this kingdom. According to the Chinese records, two Buddhist monks from Funan, named Mandrasena and Sanghapala , took up residency in China in

7700-681: The very rising of the Sun”. Or, as Priscian put it in his popular rendition of Periegetes: “if your ship… takes you to where the rising sun returns its warm light, then will be seen the Isle of Gold with its fertile soil.” Avienius referred to the Insula Aurea (Golden Isle) located where “the Scythian seas give rise to the Dawn”. Josephus speaks of the “ Aurea Chersonesus ”, which he equates with

7800-404: The village Kosam, 38 miles from Prayagraj ). Kausambi was a very prosperous city where a large number of wealthy merchants resided. It was the most important entrepôt of goods and passengers from the north-west and south. Udayana was the ruler of Vatsa in the 6th-5th century BCE. He was very powerful, warlike and fond of hunting. Initially king Udayana was opposed to Buddhism , but later became

7900-681: The west and the Lohas and Rishikas of Sogdiana / Fergana in the north, constituted the Parama-Kamboja country. The trans-Hindukush branch of the Kambojas remained pure Iranian but a large section of the Kambojas of cis-Hindukush appears to have come under Indian cultural influence. The Kambojas are known to have had both Iranian as well as Indian affinities. The Kambojas were also a well known republican people since Epic times. The Mahabharata refers to several gaṇaḥ (or Republics) of

8000-437: The world came to seek higher education. Pāṇini, the Indian genius of grammar and Kautiliya are the world-renowned products of Taxila University. King Pukkusati or Pushkarasarin of Gandhara in the middle of the 6th century BCE was the contemporary of king Bimbisara of Magadha. Gandhara was located on the northern high road ( Uttarapatha ) and was a centre of international commercial activities. According to one group of scholars,

8100-623: Was English drama," or "A lion's realm is the jungle". Suvarnabhumi Suvarṇabhūmi ( Sanskrit : सुवर्णभूमि ; Pali: Suvaṇṇabhūmi ) is a toponym , that appears in many ancient Indian literary sources and Buddhist texts such as the Mahavamsa , some of the Jataka tales , the Milinda Panha and the Ramayana . Though its exact location is unknown and remains

8200-571: Was Kosala's ruler. Ayodhya , Saketa , Banaras , and Sravasti were the chief cities of Kosala. The Puranas trace the origin of Kurus from the Puru - Bharata family. Kuru was born after 25 generations of Puru's dynasty, and after 15 generations of Kuru, Kauravas and Pandavas were born. Aitareya Brahmana locates the Kurus in Madhyadesha and also refers to the Uttarakurus as living beyond

8300-472: Was a titular head ( king consul ) only. According to Buddhist texts, the first fourteen of the above Mahajanapadas belong to Majjhimadesa ( Mid India ) while the last two belong to Uttarapatha or the north-west division of Jambudvipa . In a struggle for supremacy that followed in the 6th/5th century BCE, the growing state of the Magadhas emerged as the predominant power in ancient India, annexing several of

8400-544: Was annexed by Magadha in the time of Bimbisara . This was the one and only conquest of Bimbisara. The country of Assaka or the Ashmaka tribe was located in Dakshinapatha or southern India. It included areas in present-day Andhra Pradesh , Telangana , and Maharashtra . In Gautama Buddha 's time, many of the Assakas were located on the banks of the Godavari River (south of the Vindhya mountains). The capital of

8500-671: Was at Viratanagara (modern Bairat ) which is said to have been named after its founder king Virata. In Pali literature, the Matsyas are usually associated with the Surasenas. The western Matsya was the hill tract on the north bank of the Chambal . A branch of Matsya is also found in later days in the Visakhapatnam region. The Matsyas had not much political importance of their own during the time of Buddha. The Panchalas occupied

8600-586: Was derived from one of its ruling clans, the Vṛjis. The Vajji state is indicated to have been a republic. This clan is mentioned by Pāṇini , Chanakya and Xuanzang . The Vatsas or Vamsas are called to be a branch of the Kurus . The Vatsa or Vamsa country corresponded with the territory of modern Prayagraj in Uttar Pradesh . It had a monarchical form of government with its capital at Kausambi (identified with

8700-431: Was divided into north and south by the river Narmada . Initially, Mahishamati (Mahissati) was the capital of Southern Avanti, and Ujjaini (Sanskrit: Ujjayini) was of northern Avanti, but at the times of Mahavira and Buddha, Ujjaini was the capital of integrated Avanti. The country of Avanti roughly corresponded to modern Malwa , Nimar and adjoining parts of today's Madhya Pradesh . Both Mahishmati and Ujjaini stood on

8800-538: Was founded in 877-882 as a city of the Mon-speaking kingdom of Dvaravati with the name, Meuang Thawarawadi Si Suphannaphumi ("the Dvaravati city of Suvarṇabhūmi"), indicating that Dvaravati at that time identified as Suvarṇabhūmi. According to Thai chronicles, around 241 BCE, during the times that two Buddhist monks named Sona Thera and Uttara Thera came from Magadha to spread Buddhism to Suvarṇabhūmi,

8900-461: Was given instructions to search for the legendary Isles of Gold, said to lie to "beyond Sumatra", which he was unable to do, and in 1587 an expedition under the command of Pedro de Unamunu was sent to find them in the vicinity of Zipangu (Japan). According to Antonio de Herrera y Tordesillas , in 1528 Álvaro de Saavedra Cerón in the ship Florida on a voyage from the Moluccas to Mexico reached

9000-706: Was held in Rajagaha in the Vaibhara Hills. Later on, Pataliputra became the capital of Magadha. The Mallakas are frequently mentioned in Buddhist and Jain works. They were a powerful people dwelling in Northern India. According to Mahabharata, Panduputra Bhimasena is said to have conquered the chief of the Mallakas in the course of his expedition in Eastern India. During the Buddhist period,

9100-432: Was highly educated. His position was further improved by a matrimonial alliance with Magadha: his sister was married to Bimbisara and part of Kasi was given as dowry. There was, however, a struggle for supremacy between king Pasenadi (Prasenajit) and king Ajatashatru of Magadha which was finally settled once the confederation of Liccavis became conquered by Magadha. Kosala was ultimately merged into Magadha when Vidudabha

9200-536: Was in fact devoid of any deposits. The Javanese would have had to import gold possibly from neighbouring Sumatra, the Malay Peninsula or Borneo, where gold was still being mined in the 19th century and where ancient mining sites were located. Even though Java did not have its own gold deposits, the texts make frequent references to the existence of goldsmiths, and it is clear from the archaeological evidence such as Wonoboyo Hoard , that this culture had developed

9300-546: Was in the mountains of Nepal and the other in Bundelkhand near Kausambi . According to old authorities, Chedis lay near Yamuna midway between the kingdom of Kurus and Vatsas . In the mediaeval period, the southern frontiers of Chedi extended to the banks of the river Narmada . Sotthivatnagara, the Sukti or Suktimati of Mahabharata , was the capital of Chedi. The Chedis were an ancient people of India and are mentioned in

9400-589: Was located to the north-west of Magadha, with its capital at Ayodhya . Its territory corresponded to the modern Awadh (or Oudh) in Central and Eastern Uttar Pradesh . It had the river Ganges for its southern, the river Gandak (Narayani) for its eastern, and the Himalaya mountains for its northern boundary. Later, the kingdom was ruled by the famous king Prasenajit during the era of Mahavira and Buddha, followed by his son Vidudabha ( Virudhaka ). King Prasenajit

9500-590: Was named after the Kshatriya people (or the Kshatriya Jana) who had settled therein. Buddhist and other texts only incidentally refer to sixteen great nations ( Solasa Mahajanapadas ) that existed prior to the time of the Buddha. They do not give any connected history except in the case of Magadha. The Buddhist Anguttara Nikaya , at several places, gives a list of sixteen great states: Another Buddhist text,

9600-545: Was probably to Funan. Furthermore, the Chinese term of “Funan” for Cambodia, may be a transcription of the " Suvaṇṇa " in “Suvaṇṇabhumī”. In December 2017, Dr Vong Sotheara, of the Royal University of Phnom Penh , discovered a Pre- Angkorian stone inscription in the Province of Kampong Speu , Basedth District, which he tentatively dated to 633 AD. According to him, the inscription would “prove that Suvarnabhumi

9700-579: Was the Khmer Empire.” The inscription was issued in the reign of King Isanavarman I (616–637 AD) of the Cambodian Kingdom of Chenla , the successor of Funan and the predecessor of the Khmer Empire . The inscription, translated, read: “The great King Isanavarman is full of glory and bravery. He is the King of Kings, who rules over Suvarnabhumi until the sea, which is the border, while

9800-486: Was the first political centre established in Southeast Asia. Taking into account the epigraphic and archaeological evidence, the Suvarṇabhūmi mentioned in the early texts must be identified with these areas. Of these areas, only Funan had maritime links with India through its port at Óc Eo . Therefore, although Suvarṇabhūmi in time was broadly applied to all lands east of India, particularly Sumatra, its earliest application

9900-594: Was the original. Some have speculated that this country refers to the Kingdom of Funan . The main port of Funan was Cattigara Sinarum statio ( Kattigara the port of the Sinae ). Due to many factors, including the lack of historical evidence, and the absence of scholarly consensus, various cultures in Southeast Asia identify Suvarṇabhūmi as an ancient kingdom there, and claim ethnic and political descendancy as its successor state. As no such claim or legend existed before

10000-522: Was the word first adopted in English; the fixed modern spelling does not appear until the beginning of the 17th century. The word supposedly derives from medieval Latin regalimen , from regalis , of or belonging to a rex ' king ' . The word rex itself is derived from the Latin verb regere , which means ' to rule ' . Thus the literal meaning of the word realm is ' the territory of

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