16 Mahajanapadas and their Capitals

Every place on this map

1. MagadhaBiharEarliest capital Rajagriha (Girivraja), ringed by stone walls under Bimbisara; Ajatashatru fortified it against Avanti.
2. AngaBiharCapital Champa, identified with Champapuri near Bhagalpur; it covered Bihar and parts of Bengal.
3. KashiUttar PradeshCapital Varanasi; the oldest of the sixteen and a leading textile centre before Kosala absorbed it.
4. KoshalaUttar PradeshCapital Shravasti on the Sarayu; King Prasenajit was a contemporary of the Buddha.
5. VajjiBiharCapital Vaishali; a confederacy of eight clans led by the Licchavis.
6. MallaUttar PradeshA republic with twin centres; the Buddha attained Mahaparinirvana at Kusinagara.
7. VatsaUttar PradeshCapital Kaushambi (Kosambi) on the Yamuna; King Udayana of the Udayana-Vasavadatta romance.
8. ChediUttar PradeshIn Bundelkhand; capital Shuktimati, commonly identified with modern Banda, though the exact site is not fixed.
9. KuruDelhiCapital Indraprastha, identified with the Purana Qila area of Delhi; land of the Bharatas of the Rig Veda.
10. PanchalaUttar PradeshCapitals Ahichhatra in the north and Kampilya in the south; a republic in the Buddha's time.
11. MatsyaRajasthanCapital Viratnagara, modern Bairat; the Pandavas are said to have spent their year incognito here.
12. SurasenaUttar PradeshCapital Mathura on the Yamuna; the land of the Yadava clans.
13. AssakaTelanganaCapital Potali (Podana), identified with Bodhan; the only mahajanapada south of the Vindhyas.
14. AvantiMadhya PradeshNorthern capital Ujjayini on the Shipra, southern capital Mahishmati; the Pradyota dynasty made it the western great power.
15. GandharaPakistanCapital Takshashila between the Indus and the Jhelum; the subcontinent's most famed ancient centre of learning.
16. KambojaJammu & KashmirCapital Rajapura, commonly identified with Rajauri, though the identification is not certain.