https://indianpedia.org/index.php?action=history&feed=atom&title=AngaAnga - Revision history2026-07-30T06:54:36ZRevision history for this page on the wikiMediaWiki 1.45.4https://indianpedia.org/index.php?title=Anga&diff=455457&oldid=prevMohit8811 at 18:55, 1 March 20262026-03-01T18:55:32Z<p></p>
<p><b>New page</b></p><div>{{Short description|Ancient kingdom of India}}<br />
{{about|the historical kingdom|Cultural, linguistic, and historical region of Bihar, India|Angika#Anga Region}}<br />
{{Use dmy dates|date=October 2022}}<br />
{{Use Indian English|date=December 2015}}<br />
{{Infobox former country<br />
| native_name = <br />
| conventional_long_name = Aṅga<br />
| common_name = Anga<br />
| era = [[Iron Age]]<br />
| government_type = [[Monarchy]]<br />
| year_start = Unknown (~1100 BCE)<br />
| year_end = c. 530 BCE<br />
| s1 = Haryanka dynasty{{!}}Magadha<br />
| image_map = Late Vedic Culture (1100-500 BCE).png<br />
| image_map2 = Mahajanapadas (c. 500 BCE).png<br />
| image_map2_caption = Aṅga and other Mahajanapadas in the Post Vedic period<br />Aṅga is the easternmost, south of [[Vajjika League|Vajji]] and east of [[Magadha (Mahajanapada)|Magadha]]<br />
| image_map_alt = Anga<br />
| image_map_caption = Aṅga and other kingdoms of the late [[Vedic period]]<br />
| capital = [[Champapuri]] (near modern [[Bhagalpur]]) and [[Malinipuri|Malini]] (near modern [[Munger]]), Bihar<br />
| Angika_languages = <br />
| religion = [[Historical Vedic religion]]<br>[[Jainism]]<br>[[Buddhism]]<br />
| currency = <br />
| title_leader = [[Raja]] (King)<br />
| leader_name1 = [[Karna]]<br>[[Brahmadatta of Anga|Brahmadatta]]<br />
| year_leader1 = mid 6th century BCE<br />
| today = <br />
| demonym = <br />
| area_km2 = <br />
| area_rank = <br />
| GDP_PPP = <br />
| GDP_PPP_year = <br />
| HDI = <br />
| HDI_year = <br />
}}<br />
{{History of Bihar}}<br />
{{History of Bengal|Ancient}}<br />
'''Anga'''{{efn|{{langx|sa|अङ्ग}}, {{IAST3|Aṅga}}}} was an ancient [[Indo-Aryan peoples|Indo-Aryan]] [[tribe]] of eastern [[South Asia]] whose existence is attested during the [[Iron Age in India|Iron Age]]. The members of the Aṅga tribe were called the '''Āṅgeyas'''.{{sfn|Raychaudhuri|1953|p=106-110}}<br />
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Counted among the "sixteen great nations" in [[Buddhist texts]] like the [[Anguttara Nikaya]], Aṅga also finds mention in the Jain [[Vyakhyaprajnapti]]'s list of ancient [[janapadas]].<br />
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==Location==<br />
Annga proper was located between the [[Chandan River|Champa]] river to the west and the [[Rajmahal hills]] to the east. However, at times, its territories did extend to the sea in the south, or included [[Magadha (Mahajanapada)|Magadha]] in the west.{{sfn|Raychaudhuri|1953|p=106-110}}<br />
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The capital of Anga, named Campā, was located at the confluence of the Champa and [[Ganges|Ganga]] rivers, and corresponds to the modern-day area of [[Champapuri|Champapuri]] and Champanagar in [[Bhagalpur]] the eastern part of the Indian state of [[Bihar|Bihar]]. According to the [[Jataka tales|{{transliteration|pi|Jataka}}]]s, Champa was also called Kala-Champa, while [[Puranas|Puranic texts]] claim its ancient name was Malini.{{sfn|Raychaudhuri|1953|p=106-110}}<br />
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The other important cities within the Anga kingdom included {{transliteration|pi|Assapura}} ([[Sanskrit]]: {{transliteration|sa|Ashvapura}}) and {{transliteration|pi|Bhaddiya}} ([[Sanskrit]]: {{transliteration|sa|Bhadrika}}).{{sfn|Raychaudhuri|1953|p=106-110}}<br />
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== Etymology ==<br />
According to the [[Mahabharata]] (I.104.53–54) and [[Puranic]] literature, ''Aṅga'' was named after Prince Anga, the founder of the kingdom, and the son of Vali, who had no sons. So, he requested the sage, Dirghatamas, to bless him with sons. The sage is said to have begotten five sons through his wife, the queen Sudesna.<ref name=vayu>{{cite book|title=Cultural History from the Vāyu Purāna|year=1946|publisher=Motilal Banarsidass Pub.|pages=46|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Jmnm-smZm6oC&pg=PA46 |author=Devendrakumar Rajaram Patil|isbn=9788120820852}}</ref> The princes were named Aṅga, [[Vanga kingdom#References in the Mahabharata|Vaṅga]], [[Kalinga (Mahabharata)|Kaliṅga]], [[Suhma kingdom#References in Mahabharata|Sumha]] and [[Pundra kingdom#References in Mahabharata|Pundra]].<ref name=enHindu>{{cite book|title=Encyclopaedia of the Hindu World, Volume 1|year=1992|publisher=Concept Publishing Company|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=w9pmo51lRnYC&q=Bali+Kalinga+Vanga&pg=PA18|author=Gaṅgā Rām Garg|isbn=9788170223740}} The prince Vaṅga founded [[Vanga kingdom|Vaṅga kingdom]], in the current day region of southern [[Bangladesh]] and the eastern part of southern [[West Bengal]]. The prince Kalinga founded the kingdom of [[Kalinga (historical kingdom)|Kalinga]], in the current day region of coastal Orissa, including the North Sircars. Also the price Pundra founded [[Pundra kingdom|Pundra]] consisting of the northern regions of [[West Bengal]] and [[Bangladesh]]. The prince [[Suhma]] founded [[Suhma kingdom]] in the western part of southern [[West Bengal]].</ref><br />
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The [[Ramayana]] (1.23.14) narrates the origin of name ''Aṅga'' as the place where Kamadeva was burnt to death by Siva and where his body parts (''aṅgas'') are scattered.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.valmikiramayan.net/bala/sarga23/bala_23_frame.htm | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221103150640/http://www.valmikiramayan.net/bala/sarga23/bala_23_frame.htm|archive-date=November 3, 2022 |title=Bala Kanda Book I, Chapter 23}}</ref><br />
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== Early history ==<br />
Aṅga was first mentioned in the [[Atharvaveda|{{transliteration|sa|Atharvaveda}}]], where it was connected to the [[Gandhara|Gāndhārī]]s, Mūjavats, and [[Magadha (Mahajanapada)|Māgadhī]]s. The founder of Aṅga might have been the king Aṅga Vairocana, who is mentioned in the [[Aitareya Brahmana|{{transliteration|sa|Aitareya Brāhmaṇa}}]] as a ruler who had been consecrated by the Aryan ritual of {{transliteration|sa|Aindra mahābhiśeka}}.{{sfn|Raychaudhuri|1953|p=106-110}}<br />
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Vedic literature such as the {{transliteration|sa|Baudhāyana Dharmasūtra}} nevertheless listed the Āṅgeyas with peoples described as being of "mixed origin."{{sfn|Raychaudhuri|1953|p=106-110}}<br />
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Aṅga was a powerful kingdom at the time of the {{transliteration|sa|Aitareya Brāhmaṇa}}, which mentions the "world conquest" of one of the Āṅgeya kings. The Āṅgeya capital of Campā itself was counted until the time of the Buddha's death among the six most prominent cities of northern India, along with [[Rajgir|Rājagaha]], [[Shravasti|Sāvatthī]], [[Sāketa]], [[Kosambi|Kosāmbī]], and [[Varanasi|Vārāṇasī]].{{sfn|Raychaudhuri|1953|p=106-110}}<br />
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During the Iron Age, Aṅga expanded to include Vaṅga within its borders, with the capital city of Campā being a wealthy commercial centre from where traders sailed to [[Suvarnabhumi|Suvarṇabhūmi]]. According to the [[Kathasaritsagara|{{transliteration|sa|Kathā-sarit-sāgara}}]], the Āṅgeya city of Viṭaṅkapura was located on the shores of the sea.{{sfn|Raychaudhuri|1953|p=106-110}}<br />
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During the 6th century BCE, the king of Aṅga was Dadhivāhana,{{sfn|Raychaudhuri|1953|p=106-110}} who was married to the [[Licchavi (tribe)|Licchavika]] princess Padmāvatī, who was herself the daughter of the consul of the Licchavika republic, [[Chetaka|Ceṭaka]].<ref>{{cite book |last=Deo |first=Shantaram Bhalchandra |date=1956 |title=History of Jaina Monachism from Inscriptions and Literature |location=[[Pune]], [[India]] |publisher=[[Deccan College Post-Graduate and Research Institute]] |page=71 |isbn=978-9-333-68377-7 }}</ref> Ceṭaka's sister [[Trishala|Trisalā]] was the mother 24th [[Jainism|Jain]] [[Tirthankara|Tīrthaṅkara]], [[Mahavira|Mahāvīra]], thus making Ceṭaka his uncle and Padmāvatī his cousin; Ceṭaka himself had become an adept of the teachings of Mahāvīra and made the Licchavika capital of [[Vaishali (ancient city)|Vesālī]] a bastion of Jainism, and the marriages of his daughters contributed to the spreading of Jainism across northern India.<ref>{{cite book |last=Jain |first=Kailash Chand |date=1974 |title=Lord Mahāvīra and His Times |url=https://archive.org/details/in.ernet.dli.2015.72385 |location=[[Delhi]], [[India]] |publisher=[[Motilal Banarsidass]] |page=67 |isbn=978-8-120-80805-8}}</ref> The daughter of Dadhivāhana and Padmāvatī, Candanā or Candrabālā, became the first woman convert to Jainism shortly after Mahāvīra attained [[Kevala jnana|{{transliteration|sa|Kevala}}]].{{sfn|Raychaudhuri|1953|p=106-110}}<br />
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Under Dadhivāhana's rule, Aṅga had conquered its western neighbour, the state of [[Magadha (Mahajanapada)|Magadha]], hence why the {{transliteration|pi|Vidhura Paṇḍita Jātaka}} described the Māgadhī capital of Rājagaha as a city of Aṅga.{{sfn|Raychaudhuri|1953|p=106-110}} This conquest brought Aṅga in direct contact with Magadha's western neighbour [[Vatsa]], whose king Śatānīka attacked the Āṅgeya capital of Campā out of fear of Dadhivāhana's expansionism. Dadhivāhana instead sought friendly relations with Vatsa, and he gave his daughter in marriage to Śatānīka's son, [[Udayana (king)|Udayana]].{{sfn|Raychaudhuri|1953|p=106-110}} After Śatānīka's death from dysentery at the same time as a campaign against Vatsa was being carried out by the king [[Pradyota]] of [[Avanti (Ancient India)|Avanti]], the latter became the overlord of Vatsa, and Udayana lived as a captive at the court of Pradyota, in [[Ujjain|Ujjenī]].<ref>{{cite journal |last=Smith |first=R. Morton |date=1957 |title=On the Ancient Chronology of India (II) |url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/596129 |journal=Journal of the American Oriental Society |volume=77 |issue=4 |pages=266–280 |doi= 10.2307/596129|jstor=596129|url-access=subscription }}</ref><br />
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During Udayana's captivity, the state of [[Kalinga (historical region)|Kaliṅga]] attacked Aṅga and took Dadhivāhana captive. It was once Pradyota had restored Udayana to his throne, after the latter's marriage to his daughter Vāsavadattā, that Udayana was able to defeat Kaliṅga and restore Dadhivāhana on the Āṅgeya throne, and Dadhivāhana's daughter Priyadarśikā was married to Udayana; according to the later play [[Priyadarsika|{{transliteration|sa|Priyadarśikā}}]], which itself rests on historical records,{{sfn|Raychaudhuri|1953|p=203}} the Āṅgeya chamberlain took brought her into the refuge of the forest-king Vindhyaketu, from where she was captured by Udayana's army and, given the name Āraṇyikā ("she who is from the forest") after being assumed to be Vindhyaketu's daughter, was brought to Vatsa to become servant of Vāsavadattā, and later married Udayana after the Āṅgeya chamberlain recognised her as once Udayana had defeated Kaliṅga.<ref>{{cite journal |last=Davane |first=G. V. |title=The Legend of Udayana |date=1957 |url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/42930814 |journal=Bulletin of the Deccan College Post-Graduate and Research Institute |volume=18 |pages=344–373 |jstor=42930814}}</ref><br />
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Aṅga's prosperity ended when, in the middle of the 6th century BCE, the Māgadhī crown prince [[Bimbisāra|Bimbisāra Śreṇika]] avenged his father's defeat against Aṅga by defeating and killing the Āṅgeya king [[Brahmadatta of Anga|Brahmadatta]], after which Aṅga became part of the Māgadhī empire, and Campā became the seat of a Māgadhī viceroy.{{sfn|Raychaudhuri|1953|p=106-110}}{{sfn|Raychaudhuri|1953|p=117}}<br />
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== Later history ==<br />
During his pilgrimage there in the end of the 4th century, the Chinese monk [[Faxian]] noted the numerous Buddhist temples that still existed in Campā, transliterated {{transliteration|zh|Chanpo}} in Chinese (瞻波 {{zh | hp=Zhānbō| w=Chanpo}}){{#tag:ref|Campā (Indian, not Vietnamese) was also transliterated, besides 瞻波, in the records as Zhanbopo (瞻博婆) and Zhanpo (瞻婆、瞻匐、瞻蔔、詹波、闡蔔、閻波、占波)<ref name=BL>佛光電子大辭典 (''Buddha's Light Electronic Dictionary''). Taiwan: Buddha's Light Publishing ([[Fo Guang Shan]])</ref>|group="N.B."}}. The kingdom of Aṅga by then had long ceased to exist; it had been known as Yāngjiā (鴦伽) in Chinese.{{#tag:ref|Anga was also transliterated, besides 鴦伽, in the records as 鴦迦 (different [[radical (Chinese)|radical]] for ''jiā''), 泱伽 (same pronunciation), Yāngjué (鴦掘), Àng'é (盎誐). Sometimes by [[metonymy]], the kingdom would be called the 'State of Champa'‘’, ''i.e''., 瞻波國.<ref name=BL/>|group="N.B."}}<br />
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== Varman rule on Anga ==<br />
In the 11th–12th century, Anga region was under the control of [[Varman dynasty (Bengal)|Varman dynasty]]. Belava copperplate of Bhojavarman mentions that Jatavarman under the leadership of his father Vajravarman conquered Anga and established the rule of his family.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Sharma |first=R. S. |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=93tDAAAAYAAJ&q=jatavarman+yadava+anga |title=A Comprehensive History of India: A.D. 985–1206 |date=1992 |publisher=People's Publishing House |isbn=978-81-7007-121-1 |language=en}}</ref><br />
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== See also ==<br />
* [[Anga (region)]]<br />
* [[Magadha (Mahajanapada)|Magadha]]<br />
* [[Anga Lipi]]<br />
* [[Mahajanapadas]]<br />
* [[Magadha-Anga war]]<br />
* [[History of India]]<br />
* [[History of Hinduism]]<br />
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== Notes ==<br />
{{Notelist}}{{Reflist}}<br />
<references group="N.B."/><br />
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== References ==<br />
{{refbegin}}<br />
* {{cite book|last1=Jha|first1=D. N.|author-link1=D. N. Jha|title=Ancient India : in historical outline|date=1999|publisher=Manohar Publishers & Distributors|location=New Delhi|isbn=9788173042850}}<br />
* {{cite book|last1=Malalasekera|first1=G. P.|author-link1=Gunapala Piyasena Malalasekera|title=Dictionary of Pali Proper Names|date=2003|orig-year=1937|publisher=Asian Educational Services|isbn=9788120618237|url=http://www.palikanon.com/english/pali_names/c/campaa.htm|language=en}}<br />
*{{cite book |last=Raychaudhuri |first=Hemchandra |author-link=Hem Chandra Raychaudhuri |date=1953 |title=Political History of Ancient India: From the Accession of Parikshit to the Extinction of Gupta Dynasty |publisher=[[University of Calcutta]] }}<br />
* {{cite book|last1=Singh|first1=Upinder|author-link1=Upinder Singh|title=A history of ancient and early medieval India : from the Stone Age to the 12th century|date=2008|publisher=Pearson Longman|location=New Delhi|isbn=9788131716779|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Pq2iCwAAQBAJ}}<br />
{{refend}}<br />
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{{Santhal Pargana Division topics |state=collapsed}}<br />
{{Mahajanapada}}<br />
[[Category:Anga| ]]<br />
[[Category:Historical regions in India]]<br />
[[Category:Mahajanapadas]]<br />
[[Category:Kingdoms in the Mahabharata]]<br />
[[Category:Indo-Aryan peoples]]<br />
[[Category:6th-century BC establishments in India]]<br />
[[Category:6th-century BC disestablishments in India]]<br />
[[Category:Cities and towns in Anga Desh| ]]<br />
[[Category:States and territories disestablished in the 6th century BC]]</div>Mohit8811