Vatsa or Vamsa (

Pali Pāli (, IAST: pāl̤i) is a Classical languages of India, classical Middle Indo-Aryan languages, Middle Indo-Aryan language of the Indian subcontinent. It is widely studied because it is the language of the Buddhist ''Pali Canon, Pāli Can ...

and Ardhamagadhi: , literally "calf") was one of the sixteen

Mahajanapadas The Mahājanapadas were sixteen Realm, kingdoms and aristocracy, aristocratic republics that existed in ancient India from the sixth to fourth centuries BCE, during the History of India#Second urbanisation (c. 600 – 200 BCE), second urbanis ...

(great kingdoms) of

Uttarapatha Ancient Hindu and Buddhist texts use Uttarapatha as the name of the Northern part of Jambudvipa (equivalent of present-day North India), one of the " continents" in Hindu mythology. In modern times, the Sanskrit word ''uttarapatha'' is sometimes u ...

ancient India Anatomically modern humans first arrived on the Indian subcontinent between 73,000 and 55,000 years ago. The earliest known human remains in South Asia date to 30,000 years ago. Sedentism, Sedentariness began in South Asia around 7000 BCE; ...

mentioned in the

Aṅguttara Nikāya The ''Aṅguttara Nikāya'' ('; , also translated "Gradual Collection" or "Numerical Discourses") is a Buddhist scriptures collection, the fourth of the five Nikāyas, or collections, in the Sutta Pitaka, which is one of the "three baskets" t ...

Location

The territory of Vatsa was located to the south of the Gaṅgā river, and its capital was the city of or , on the Yamunā river and corresponding to the modern-day location of Kosam.

The early period

The Vatsas were a branch of the Kuru dynasty. During the Rig Vedic period, the Kuru Kingdom comprised the area of present day Haryana/ Delhi and the Ganga-Jamuna Doab, till Prayag/ Kaushambi, with its capital at Hastinapura. During the late-Vedic period, Hastinapura was destroyed by floods, and the Kuru King shifted his capital and all his subjects to a newly constructed capital that was called Kosambi or Kaushambi. In the post Vedic period, when Aryavarta consisted of several Mahajanapadas, the Kuru Dynasty was split between Kurus and Vatsas. The Kurus controlled the Haryana/ Delhi/ Upper Doab, while the Vatsas controlled the Lower Doab. Later, The Vatsas were further divided into two branches—One at

Mathura Mathura () is a city and the administrative headquarters of Mathura district in the states and union territories of India, Indian state of Uttar Pradesh. It is located south-east of Delhi; and about from the town of Vrindavan. In ancient ti ...

, and the other at Kaushambi. The Puranas state that after the washing away of Hastinapura by the Ganges, the king , the great-great grandson of Janamejaya, abandoned the city and settled in . This is supported by the and the attributed to . Both of them have described the king Udayana as a scion of the family (). The Puranas provide a list of ’s successors which ends with king . Other Puranas state that the Vatsa kingdom was named after a king, Vatsa. The

Ramayana The ''Ramayana'' (; ), also known as ''Valmiki Ramayana'', as traditionally attributed to Valmiki, is a smriti text (also described as a Sanskrit literature, Sanskrit Indian epic poetry, epic) from ancient India, one of the two important epics ...

and the

Mahabharata The ''Mahābhārata'' ( ; , , ) is one of the two major Sanskrit Indian epic poetry, epics of ancient India revered as Smriti texts in Hinduism, the other being the ''Ramayana, Rāmāyaṇa''. It narrates the events and aftermath of the Kuru ...

attribute the credit of founding its capital to a Chedi prince or . The

and the Harivansa states the close connection between the Vatsas and the Bhargas ( Bhaggas).

Mahajanapada period

The first ruler of the dynasty of Vatsa, about whom some definite information available is II, Parantapa. While the Puranas state his father’s name was , tells it was . II married a princess of Videha, who was the mother of Udayana. He also married , a daughter of the Licchavi chieftain .Mahajan V.D. (1960, reprint 2007). ''Ancient India'', S.Chand & Company, New Delhi, , pp.171-2 He attacked , the capital of during the rule of . The wife of Śatānīka and the mother of Udayana was Queen Mṛgāvatī (in

Sanskrit Sanskrit (; stem form ; nominal singular , ,) is a classical language belonging to the Indo-Aryan languages, Indo-Aryan branch of the Indo-European languages. It arose in northwest South Asia after its predecessor languages had Trans-cultural ...

) or Migāvatī (in

Prakrit Prakrit ( ) is a group of vernacular classical Middle Indo-Aryan languages that were used in the Indian subcontinent from around the 5th century BCE to the 12th century CE. The term Prakrit is usually applied to the middle period of Middle Ind ...

). She was the daughter of Chetaka, the leader of Vaishali. It is recorded that she ruled as a

regent In a monarchy, a regent () is a person appointed to govern a state because the actual monarch is a minor, absent, incapacitated or unable to discharge their powers and duties, or the throne is vacant and a new monarch has not yet been dete ...

for her son for some period of time, although sources differ about the specific circumstances. According to the Jain canonical texts, Udayana was still a minor when Śatānīka died, so "the responsibility of governing the kingdom fell on the shoulders of queen Migāvatī ... till her son grew old enough". On the other hand,

Bhāsa Bhāsa is one of the earliest Indian playwrights in Sanskrit, predating Kālidasa. Estimates of his floruit range from the 4th century BCE to the 4th century CE; the thirteen plays attributed to him are commonly dated closer to the first or se ...

's ''Pratijñāyaugandharāyaṇa'' says that she took "full charge of the administration" while Udayana was held as a prisoner by King Pradyota of Avanti, and "the way in which she discharged her duties excited the admiration of even experienced ministers". Mrigavati, is notable for being one of the earliest known female rulers in Indian history.

Udayana

Udayana, the son of II by the Videha princess succeeded him. Udayana, the romantic hero of the , the and many other legends was a contemporary of Buddha and of Pradyota, the king of Avanti.

Later history

According to the Puranas, the 4 successors of Udayana were , , Niramitra and . Later, the Vatsa kingdom was annexed by the Avanti kingdom. Maniprabha, the great-grandson of Pradyota ruled at as a prince of Avanti. Vatsa was ultimately annexed into Magadha by Shishunaga.

References

Citations

Sources

* {{Mahajanapada , state=collapsed Kingdoms of the Puru clan Mahajanapadas Former kingdoms History of Uttar Pradesh