Vajji


Vajji or Vrijji was a confederacy of neighbouring clans including the Licchavis and one of the principal mahājanapadas of Ancient India. The area they ruled constitutes the region of Mithila in northern Bihar and their capital was the city of Vaishali.
Both the Buddhist text Aṅguttara Nikāya and the Jaina text Bhagavati Sūtra included Vajji in their lists of solasa mahājanapadas. The name of this mahājanapada was derived from one of its ruling clans, the Vṛjis. The Vajji state is indicated to have been a republic. This clan is mentioned by Pāṇini, Chanakya and Xuanzang. In Xuanzang's record, two clans were linked with Vajji/Mithila by 646: Vaishali and Vrijji. Vaishali was both Buddhist and Hindu while Vrijji was predominantly Hindu and the capital of it Zhanshuna.

The territory

The territory of Vajji was located north of the Ganges in Bihar and extended up to the Madhesh region. On the west, the Gandaki River was probably the boundary between Vajji and the Malla mahājanapada and possibly also separated it from the Kosala mahājanapada. On the east, its territory probably extended up to the forests along the banks of the rivers Koshi and Mahananda. The capital of this mahājanapada was Vaishali. Other important towns and villages were Kundapura or Kundagrama, Bhoganagara and Hatthigama.

Ruling clans

The rulers of Vajji were a confederacy of the eight clans of whom the Vajjis, the Licchavis, the Kshatrikas and the Videhas were the most important. Manudeva was a famous king of the Licchavi who desired Amrapali after he saw her dance in Vaishali.
The identities of the other four clans are not certain. However, in a passage of the Sutrakritanga, the Ugras, the Bhojas, the Kauravas and the Ikshvakus are associated with the Kshatrikas and Licchavis as the subjects of the same ruler and the members of the same assembly.