Republics in Ancient India, c. 1500 B.C.–500 B.C. c12.s1.6

c12.s1.6

The list of sixteen *Mahājanapadas* is found in many sources and this suggests that it should be taken to refer to the political divisions of India shortly before the time that Buddhism arose, if not earlier. This view is strengthened by the fact that Aṅga, which was once an independent political unit, had already become a part of the Magadhan kingdom at the time of the Buddha.[⁵] The fate of Kāsī, also mentioned in the list, had been sealed with its conquest by its rival, the Kosalan kingdom.[⁶] The list is interesting and significant in that its components are names, not of countries, but of peoples. This shows that the main idea in the minds of those who drew up or used this old list was still of tribal and not geographical designations.[⁷] In our opinion this also indicates the antiquity of the Mallas and points to the difficulty in accurately locating them geographically.