- About 2500 years ago, some Janapadas became more important than others and came to be known as Mahanjanapadas.
- According to the Buddhist text Anguttara Nihaya, there was 16 Mahajanapadas.
Kashi Varanasi
Kosala Shravasti
Anga Champa
Magadh Girivraja or Rajgriha
Vajji Vaishali
Malla Kushinagar (Gorakhpur district of Uttar Pradesh) and Pava
Chedi Sotthivati (Suktimati; probably located in the Banda district of UP)
Vatsa Kausambi
Kuru Hastinapur, Indraprastha and Isukara
Panchal Northern Panchal —Ahicchtra (Bareilly district of UP); Southern Panchal Kampilya
Matsya Viratnagar
Surasena Mathura
Assaka Pratisthana
Avanti Ujjain and Mahismat
Gandhara Taxila
Kamboj Rajpur