Asoka founded the most powerful secret society on earth: that of the Nine Unknown Men. What can have been the aim of these men?
Mahajanpadas
During the life time of Lord Gautam Buddha, sixteen great powers (Mahajanpadas/Mahajanpadas)
existed in the 7th and early 6th centuries BC. Among the more important
republics were the Sakyas of Kapilavastu and the Licchavis of Vaishali. Besides
the republics, there were monarchical states, among which the important ones
were Kaushambi (Vatsa), Magadha, Kosala and Avanti. These states were ruled by
vigorous personalities who had embarked upon the policies of aggrandisement and
absorption of neighbouring states. However, there were distinct signs of the
republican states while those under the monarchs were expanding.
The political structure of the ancient Indo-Aryans appears to have started
with semi-nomadic tribal units called "Jana". Early Vedic texts attest several
Janas or tribes of the Aryans, living in semi-nomadic tribal state, fighting
among themselves and with other Non-Aryan tribes for cows, sheep and green
pastures. These early Vedic Janas later coalesced into Janapadas of the Epic
Age.
The term "Janapada" literally means the foothold of a tribe. The fact that
Janapada is derived from Jana points to an early stage of land-taking by the
Jana tribe for a settled way of life. This process of first settlement on land
had completed its final stage prior to the times of Buddha and Panini. The
Pre-Buddhist North-west region of Indian sub-continent was divided into several
Janapadas demarcated from each other by boundaries. In Panini, Janapada stands
for country and Janapadin for its citizenry. These Janapadas were named after
the tribes or the Janas who had settled in them. By circa 600 BCE, many of these
Janapadas had further evolved into larger political entities by the process of
land-grabbing which eventually led to the formation of kingdoms known in
Buddhist traditions as the Mahajanapadas or the great nations (Sanskrit: Maha =
great, Janapada = country).
The Buddhist and other texts only incidentally refer to sixteen great nations
(Solasa Mahajanapadas) which were in existence before the time of 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 nations:
1. Kasi
2. Kosala
3. Anga
4. Magadha
5. Vajji (or Vriji)
6. Malla
7. Chedi
8. Vatsa (or Vamsa)
9. Kuru
10. Panchala
11. Machcha (or Matsya)
12. Surasena
13. Assaka
14. Avanti
15. Gandhara
16. Kamboja
The Jaina Bhagvati Sutra gives slightly different list of sixteen
Mahajanapadas viz: Anga, Banga (Vanga), Magadha, Malaya, Malavaka, Accha, Vaccha,
Kochcha (Kachcha?), Padha, Ladha (Lata), Bajji (Vajji), Moli (Malla), Kasi,
Kosala, Avaha and Sambhuttara. Obviously, the author of Bhagvati has a focus on
the countries of Madhydesa and of 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
the Bhagvati list is of later origin and therefore less reliable (Political
History of Ancient India, 1996, p 86; History & Culture of Indian People, Age of
Imperial Unity, p 15-16).
The main idea in the minds of those who drew up the Janapada lists was
basically more tribal than geographical, since the lists include names of the
people and not the countries. As the Buddhist and Jaina texts only casually
refer to the Mahajanapadas with no details on history, the following few
isolated facts, at best, are gleaned from them and other ancient texts about
these ancient nations.
