How many Mahajanapadas were there during the age of Buddha?

Question

Question

This question was previously asked in

SSC Selection Post 2024 (Matriculation Level) Official Paper (Held On: 26 Jun, 2024 Shift 1)

Answer 1

The correct answer is 16.

Key Points

During the lifetime of Lord Gautam Buddha, 16 great powers (Mahajanpadas) existed in the 7th and early 6th centuries BC.
These were Kasi, Kosala, Anga, Magadha, Vajji, Malla, Chedi, Vatsa, Kuru, Panchala, Machcha, Surasena, Assaka, Avanti, Gandhara and Kamboja.

Additional Information

Buddha was born in BC 563 in Lumbini (near the Indo-Nepal Border) and died at the age of eighty in BC 483 at Kushinagar in UP.
At the age of 29, Gautama left home and rejected his life of riches and embraced a lifestyle of asceticism.
After 49 consecutive days of meditation, Gautama attained enlightenment under a pipal tree (Bodhi Tree) at Bodhgaya a village in Bihar.
Buddha gave his first sermon in the village of Sarnath in UP. This event is known as Dharma-Chakra-Pravartana.

Buddhist Councils marked important turning points in early Buddhism, In total, 4 major Buddhist councils were convened-
- The First Council was held soon after the Mahaparinirvan of the Buddha, around 483 BC in the Sattapani cave at Rajgriha.
- The second Council was held in Vaishali.
- The third council was held in 250 BC in Patliputra.
- The fourth Council was held in 72 AD at Kundalvana, Kashmir.