Following is a detailed description of the major monarchy and republican kingdoms of the sixth century BCE:
1. Monarchical kingdoms:
1. Kausal – This kingdom was spread in Awadh area of Uttar Pradesh. Ayodhya is described as the capital in the Ramayana. It was ruled by Dilip, Raghu, Dashrath and Sriram of Suryawanshi clan in the ancient times. Buddhist scriptures describe Shravasti as its capital.
2. Magadh – Areas of Gaya and Patna districts of Bihar were included in its area. The oldest capital of this kingdom was Giriraja and later on it was shifted to Rajgrih and Patliputra.
3. Vatsa – This was situated in the south of the Ganga and west of Kashi and Kausal. Kaushambhi, its capital, was famous for trade. It is approximately 48 kms away from Allahabad. During the period of Lord Buddha, King Udayan ruled the state. After his death, it was forcefully merged with Magadh.
4. Avanti – The present day Ujjain and part of the Narmada valley formed this kingdom. Ujjain was the capital of its northern part and Mahismati was the capital of its southern part. It was ultimately merged with Magadh later.
2. Republican kingdoms :
1. Vajji – This kingdom was situated in the north of river Ganga up to the hills of Nepal. The river Gandak formed its boundaries on the west and it was spread up to the banks of rivers Koshi and Mahanadi. It was a federal kingdom consisting of eight small kingdoms. Vaishali was its capital. Later on, the king of Magadh merged it into Magadh.
2. Malla – This kingdom was situated in Kushinara and Pawa area near Patna district of present day Bihar and in Gorakhpur and Deoria districts of present day Uttar Pradesh. This kingdom was divided into two parts. One part had Kushinara as its capital and the other’s capital was Pawa. Mallas were famous for their courage and love for wars. It was ultimately conquered by Magadh.
3. Panchal – This kingdom was situated in present day Badaun and Farrukhabad, Ruhelkhand and Central Doab region. Ahichhatra was the capital of northern Panchal and Kampilya was the capital of southern Panchal.
4. Kamboj – This kingdom was situated in the north-western part of India. Rajpur was its capital. Dwarka was the major city of this state. It was initially a kingdom and later on it became a republic.
