Vatsa
Topic: Janapadas, Mahajanapadas and the Second Urbanisation · NCERT: Class 7, Ch 4 "New Beginnings: Cities and States"
Meaning
Vatsa was one of the sixteen mahajanapadas of c. 600 BCE. It lay on the river Yamuna, in present-day Uttar Pradesh. It was a monarchy, meaning a hereditary king ruled it. Its capital was Kaushambi, near Prayagraj. Vatsa counted among the four strongest states of its time, together with Magadha, Kosala and Avanti. Kaushambi was also the starting point of the Dakshinapatha, the road to the south.
Example
King Udayana ruled Vatsa from Kaushambi in c. 6th–5th century BCE, in the time of the Buddha. Later Sanskrit plays, such as Bhasa's Svapnavasavadattam, made him famous.
Don't confuse with
- Vajji: the names sound alike, but Vajji was a gana-sangha (a state ruled by an assembly) in north Bihar, with Vaishali as its centre. Vatsa was a monarchy.
Related concepts
- Mahajanapada
- Gandhara
- Kuru
- Kosala
- Prasenajit
- Udayana of Vatsa
- Kaushambi
- Avanti
- Pradyota of Avanti
- Ashmaka