Describe the salient features of Mahajanapadas.
The main features of the Mahajanapadas are as follow:
1. Mahajanapadas were forms of early states and were mostly ruled by kings. However there were oligarchy also known as Gana and Sanghas, where group of people shared power and were collectively known as Rajas.
2. Mahajanapadas had its own capital and it was fortified. It was where the king lived.
3. Mahajanapadas developed gradually a standing armies and bureaucracy.
4. There was the system of taxation, taxes were collected fromt the masses.
5. There developed a notion where king was supposed to come from Kshatriya, with its roles and duties.
Discuss the evidence of craft production in early historic cities. In what ways is this different from the evidence from Harappan cities?
How do historians reconstruct the lives of ordinary people?
Compare and contrast the list of things given to the Pandyan chief (Source 3) with those produced in the village of Danguna (Source 8). Do you notice any similarities or differences?
List some of the problems faced by epigraphists.
