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English · हिन्दी · తెలుగు · தமிழ் · മലയാളം · मराठी · ಕನ್ನಡ

Quick recap: The Mahajanapadas, Buddhism and Jainism on one page

தமிழில் விளக்கம்

The Mahajanapadas, Buddhism and Jainism · Quick recap · Fact-checked on · how we check

Written with AI from the sources listed at the bottom of this page, then fact-checked by a separate AI.

All three parts condensed for quick revision: the second urbanisation, the sixteen Mahajanapadas, the rise of Magadha and the invasions of the northwest; the Buddha's life, teaching, sangha, texts, councils and schools; and Jainism, the other new schools and the two faiths compared, with one table and eight mixed questions.

Each idea is explained first in Tamil (தமிழ்), ending with the English and Hindi exam terms, followed by the same point in exam English. UPSC Prelims is in English or Hindi, so understand it in Tamil and revise it in English.

கி.மு. 6–4 நூற்றாண்டுகளில் கங்கைச் சமவெளியில் இரண்டாம் நகரமயமாக்கம்: இரும்பு, நெல் மிகை, நாணயங்கள், வணிகப் பாதைகளால் ஊர்கள் மீண்டும் நகரங்களாயின — கிராமச் சந்தை பெரிய கடைவீதியானது போல. பௌத்த நூல்கள் பதினாறு மகாஜனபதங்களின் பட்டியலைத் தருகின்றன; விந்தியத்துக்குத் தெற்கே இருந்தது அஸ்மகம் மட்டுமே. பெரும்பாலானவை முடியாட்சிகள், சில கண-சங்கங்கள் — வைசாலியின் வஜ்ஜி சங்கம் புகழ்பெற்றது. நான்கு பெரும் சக்திகள்: கோசலம், வத்சம், அவந்தி, மகதம். (→ English: Mahajanapada · gana-sangha · second urbanisation · हिन्दी: महाजनपद · गण-संघ · दूसरा नगरीकरण)

In exam EnglishBetween the sixth and fourth centuries BCE the Ganga plain went through a second urbanisation. Iron tools, a rice surplus, punch-marked coins, Northern Black Polished Ware and long routes such as the Uttarapatha brought back towns, guilds and rich householders. Buddhist texts, above all the Anguttara Nikaya, give a list of sixteen mahajanapada states stretching from Gandhara in the northwest to Anga in the east; only one of them, Ashmaka on the Godavari, lay on the far side of the Vindhya range. Most were monarchies, but some were gana-sangha states governed by clan assemblies, the Vajji league of Vaishali led by the Lichchhavis being the best known, along with the Mallas and the Shakyas. Four powers stood out: Kosala, Vatsa, Avanti and Magadha.

மகதம் வென்றது: வளமான நிலம், அருகில் இரும்பு, ஆறுகள், யானைகள், மலைகள் சூழ்ந்த ராஜகிருகம், பின்னர் ஆற்றுக் கோட்டை பாடலிபுத்திரம், நிற்காத அரசர்கள் — போட்டியில் எல்லா ஆயுதமும் உள்ள வீரர் போல. பிம்பிசாரர் அங்கத்தை இணைத்தார், அஜாதசத்ரு வஜ்ஜிகளை வீழ்த்தினார், உதயின் பாடலிபுத்திரத்தைத் தலைநகராக்கினார்; சிசுநாகர் அவந்தியை அடக்கினார்; நந்தர் மிகப் பெரிய படையை அமைத்தனர். வடமேற்கில் பாரசீக டேரியஸ், பின்னர் அலெக்சாண்டர் வந்தனர். (→ English: Magadha · Haryanka · Nanda · Alexander · हिन्दी: मगध · हर्यंक · नंद · सिकंदर)

In exam EnglishMagadha won that contest. It had fertile rice land, iron ore close by, rivers for trade and defence, elephants from its forests, a capital ringed by hills at Rajagriha and later a river fortress at Pataliputra, and kings who stopped at little. Under the Haryankas, Bimbisara annexed Anga and used marriage alliances, Ajatashatru fought Kosala and broke the Vajjis, and Udayin made Pataliputra the capital. Shishunaga then crushed Avanti, his successor Kalashoka is linked with the second Buddhist council, and the Nandas, starting with Mahapadma, built the richest and largest army in the north. Meanwhile the northwest fell first to Darius I of Persia, who made Gandhara and Hindush provinces of his empire, and then, in 326 BCE, to Alexander, whose march halted at the Beas after his victory over Porus at the Hydaspes (Jhelum).

புத்தர் கதை நான்கு ஊர்களில்: லும்பினி (பிறப்பு), புத்தகயா (ஞானம்), சாரநாத் (முதல் போதனை), குசிநகர் (மறைவு). நான்கு உன்னத உண்மைகள் துன்பத்துக்குக் காரணம் ஆசை என்று சொல்லி எண்வகை நெறியைக் காட்டுகின்றன; இலக்கு நிர்வாணம். சங்கம் எல்லோரையும் சேர்த்தது; திரிபிடகம் மூன்று கூடைகள். நான்கு சங்கீதிகள்; தேரவாதம் பாலியில், மகாயானம் போதிசத்துவர் இலட்சியத்துடன். ஆசியா முழுதும் பரவி, வீட்டில் மட்டும் வாடியது — தொலைவுக் கிளைகள் பசுமையாக, வேர் அருகே காய்ந்த மரம் போல. (→ English: Buddhism · Four Noble Truths · Eightfold Path · nirvana · हिन्दी: बौद्ध धर्म · चार आर्य सत्य · अष्टांगिक मार्ग · निर्वाण)

In exam EnglishThe same towns bred doubt about costly sacrifice and Brahmana privilege, and wandering shramana teachers offered new paths. Siddhartha of the Shakyas, born at Lumbini, left home at twenty-nine, was enlightened at Bodh Gaya, preached first at Sarnath and died at Kushinagar. In his Four Noble Truths, craving is named as the root of suffering and the Eightfold Path as the way out of it, a middle way between luxury and self-torture; he denied a lasting self, kept karma and rebirth, and named the goal nirvana. The sangha admitted all varnas and, later, nuns. The Pali Tripitaka holds the Vinaya, the Sutta (with the Jatakas) and the Abhidhamma. Four councils met at Rajagriha, Vaishali (where the order first split), Pataliputra and Kashmir. Theravada kept the Pali canon; Mahayana raised the bodhisattva and Buddha images; Vajrayana added tantric rites. The faith crossed Asia but waned at home as bhakti grew, patrons left and monasteries were sacked.

சமணத்தில் 24 தீர்த்தங்கரர்கள்; கடைசியானவர் மகாவீரர், பார்சுவநாதரின் நான்கு விரதங்களுடன் பிரம்மச்சரியத்தைச் சேர்த்தார். 12 ஆண்டு தவத்துக்குப் பின் கைவல்யம் பெற்றார். எல்லாவற்றிலும் ஆன்மா, கர்மம் ஒட்டும் தூசி, தவமே கழுவும் நீர். ஐந்து விரதங்களில் முதலாவது அகிம்சை; மும்மணிகள் — நம்பிக்கை, அறிவு, ஒழுக்கம். அனேகாந்தவாதம் — உண்மைக்குப் பல கோணங்கள். சுவேதாம்பரர், திகம்பரர் பிரிவுகள். ஆசீவகர் விதியையும், சார்வாகர் 'சாவுடன் எல்லாம் முடியும்' என்பதையும் நம்பினர். (→ English: Jainism · tirthankara · ahimsa · anekantavada · हिन्दी: जैन धर्म · तीर्थंकर · अहिंसा · अनेकांतवाद)

In exam EnglishJainism counts Mahavira as the last of twenty-four tirthankara teachers, after Rishabhanatha and Parshvanatha, whose four vows Mahavira extended with celibacy. Born at Kundagrama near Vaishali to a Jnatrika chief and a Lichchhavi mother, he reached kaivalya after twelve years of austerity and died at Pava. Jains see souls in every thing, karma as matter that clings to them, and severe austerity as the way to shed it; the five vows begin with ahimsa, kept far more strictly than in Buddhism, and right faith (samyak darshana), right knowledge and right conduct together form the triratna (three jewels). anekantavada teaches that truth has many sides. Councils at Pataliputra and Vallabhi fixed the Agamas in Ardhamagadhi, and the Shvetambara and Digambara sects parted ways. Beside them the Ajivikas of Gosala preached fate and the Charvakas denied any life after death. Buddhism and Jainism shared roots but differ on the self, austerity, non-violence and their fate in India.
The chapter at a glance
TopicKey points to hold
Sixteen statesAnguttara Nikaya list; Ashmaka alone south of the Vindhyas; Vajjis the leading gana-sangha
Rise of MagadhaHaryanka (Bimbisara, Ajatashatru, Udayin) → Shishunaga → Nanda
InvasionsDarius I: Gandhara and Hindush; Alexander, 326 BCE: Hydaspes, halt at the Beas
Buddha's placesLumbini, Bodh Gaya, Sarnath, Kushinagar
Buddhist councilsRajagriha, Vaishali, Pataliputra, Kashmir (Ajatashatru, Kalashoka, Ashoka, Kanishka)
Buddhist schoolsTheravada (Pali, arhat); Mahayana (Sanskrit, bodhisattva); Vajrayana (tantra)
Jain teachersRishabhanatha 1st; Parshvanatha 23rd (four vows); Mahavira 24th (added celibacy)
Jain sects and textsShvetambara and Digambara; Agamas in Ardhamagadhi; councils at Pataliputra and Vallabhi
Other schoolsAjivikas (Gosala, niyati, Barabar caves); Charvaka or Lokayata (materialism)

Exam traps

Recap

Practice questions

Q1. Which Mahajanapada lay to the south of the Vindhyas?

  1. Avanti
  2. Chedi
  3. Ashmaka
  4. Vatsa
Show answer

Answer: C. Ashmaka

Answer (c). Ashmaka, on the Godavari, was the only one beyond the Vindhyas. Avanti (a), with Ujjayini, Chedi (b) and Vatsa (d), with Kaushambi, all lay to the north of the range.

Q2. Consider the following statements:
1. Bimbisara annexed Anga to Magadha.
2. Shishunaga is credited with ending the power of Avanti.
Which of the statements given above is/are correct?

  1. 1 only
  2. 2 only
  3. Both 1 and 2
  4. Neither 1 nor 2
Show answer

Answer: C. Both 1 and 2

Answer (c). Both statements are correct: Bimbisara took Anga in the east, and Shishunaga later destroyed Avanti, Magadha's old rival. Options (a) and (b) leave out a true statement, and (d) rejects both.

Q3. The Buddha's 'middle way' refers to

  1. a balance between Vedic ritual and Upanishadic knowledge
  2. a path between a life of pleasure and severe self-mortification
  3. a compromise between monarchy and gana-sangha rule
  4. the region between the Ganga and the Yamuna
Show answer

Answer: B. a path between a life of pleasure and severe self-mortification

Answer (b). Having tried both a prince's comforts and extreme fasting, the Buddha taught a path avoiding both. He rejected ritual rather than balancing it with knowledge (a); the middle way is about personal practice, not forms of government (c); and it has nothing to do with geography (d).

Q4. Match the Buddhist council with its patron:
A. First B. Second C. Third D. Fourth
1. Kanishka 2. Ashoka 3. Kalashoka 4. Ajatashatru
Select the correct answer using the code given below.

  1. A-4, B-3, C-2, D-1
  2. A-3, B-4, C-2, D-1
  3. A-4, B-2, C-3, D-1
  4. A-1, B-3, C-2, D-4
Show answer

Answer: A. A-4, B-3, C-2, D-1

Answer (a). Ajatashatru supported the first council at Rajagriha, Kalashoka the second at Vaishali, Ashoka the third at Pataliputra and Kanishka the fourth in Kashmir. Option (b) swaps the first two patrons, (c) swaps Kalashoka and Ashoka, and (d) swaps Ajatashatru and Kanishka.

Q5. Consider the following statements:
1. Theravada keeps its scriptures in Pali, and its highest goal is to become an arhat.
2. The bodhisattva ideal is central to Theravada.
Which of the statements given above is/are correct?

  1. 1 only
  2. 2 only
  3. Both 1 and 2
  4. Neither 1 nor 2
Show answer

Answer: A. 1 only

Answer (a). Statement 1 is correct. Statement 2 is wrong: the bodhisattva ideal is the mark of Mahayana. So (b) and (c) are wrong, and (d) is wrong because statement 1 is true.

Q6. Who among the following is regarded as the twenty-third tirthankara of Jainism?

  1. Rishabhanatha
  2. Parshvanatha
  3. Mahavira
  4. Makkhali Gosala
Show answer

Answer: B. Parshvanatha

Answer (b). Parshvanatha, remembered as a prince of Varanasi who taught four vows, is the 23rd. Rishabhanatha (a) is the first, Mahavira (c) the 24th, and Makkhali Gosala (d) led the Ajivikas and was not a tirthankara.

Q7. Consider the following statements about Jainism:
1. Its canonical Agamas are written in Ardhamagadhi Prakrit.
2. Its doctrine of anekantavada holds that every event is fixed by fate.
Which of the statements given above is/are correct?

  1. 1 only
  2. 2 only
  3. Both 1 and 2
  4. Neither 1 nor 2
Show answer

Answer: A. 1 only

Answer (a). Statement 1 is correct. Statement 2 is wrong: anekantavada says reality is many-sided; the belief that fate fixes everything is niyati, taught by the Ajivika Makkhali Gosala. So (b) and (c) are wrong, and (d) is wrong because statement 1 is true.

Q8. Which one of the following is a point of difference between Buddhism and Jainism?

  1. Acceptance of karma and rebirth
  2. Rejection of the authority of the Vedas
  3. Belief in a permanent soul
  4. Use of the people's languages for teaching
Show answer

Answer: C. Belief in a permanent soul

Answer (c). Jainism sees eternal souls in all things, while the Buddha denied a permanent self (anatta). Karma and rebirth (a), rejection of Vedic authority (b) and teaching in the people's languages (d) are shared by both faiths.

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