(Source: 6th NCERT History Chapter 6)
1. The
priests divided people into four groups, called varnas.
2. The first varna
was that of the brahmin. Brahmins were expected to study (and
teach) the Vedas, perform sacrifices and receive gifts.
3. In the
second place were the rulers, also known as kshatriyas. They were
expected to fight battles and protect people.
4. Third were
the vish or the vaishyas. They were expected to be farmers, herders,
and traders. Both the kshatriyas and the vaishyas could perform
sacrifices.
5. Last were
the shudras, who had to serve the other three groups and could not
perform any rituals. Often, women were also grouped with the shudras. Both
women and shudras were not allowed to study the Vedas.
6. The word
janapada literally means the land where jana set its foot, and settled down.
7. About 2500
years ago, some janapadas became more important than others, and were
known as mahajanapadas.
8. Most mahajanapadas
had a capital city, many of these were fortified. This means
that huge walls of wood, brick or stone were built around them.
9. As the
rulers of the mahajanapadas were (a) building huge forts (b) maintaining
big armies,
they needed more resources. And they
needed officials to collect these. So, instead of depending on occasional gifts
brought by people, as in the case of the raja of the janapadas,
they started collecting regular taxes.
•
Taxes on crops were the most important. This
was because most people were farmers. Usually, the tax was fixed at 1/6th of
what was produced. This was known as bhaga or a share.
•
There were taxes on crafts persons as well.
These could have been in the form of labour. For example, a weaver or a smith
may have had to work for a day every month for the king.
•
Herders were also expected to pay taxes in the
form of animals and animal produce.
•
There were also taxes on goods that were
bought and sold, through trade.
•
And hunters and gatherers also had to provide forest
produce to the raja.
10. Magadha became
the most important mahajanapada in about two hundred years.
11. Many
rivers such as the Ganga and Son flowed through Magadha. This was important for
(a) transport, (b) water supplies (c) making the land fertile.
12. Parts of
Magadha were forested.
13. Elephants,
which lived in the forest, could be captured and trained for the army.
14. Forests
also provided wood for building houses, carts and chariots. Besides, there were
iron ore mines in the region that could be tapped to make strong tools and
weapons.
15. Magadha
had two very powerful rulers, Bimbisara and Ajatasattu, who used all possible means
to conquer other janapadas.
16. Mahapadma Nanda
was another important ruler. He extended his control up to the north-west part
of the subcontinent.
17. Rajagriha
(present-day Rajgir) in Bihar was the capital of Magadha for several years.
18. Later the
capital was shifted to Pataliputra (present-day Patna).
19. While
Magadha became a powerful kingdom, Vajji, with its capital at Vaishali (Bihar),
was under a different form of government, known as gana or sangha.
20. In a gana
or a sangha there were not one, but many rulers. Sometimes, even
when thousands of men ruled together, each one was known as a raja.
These rajas performed rituals together. They also met in assemblies, and
decided what had to be done and how, through discussion and debate.