The Mahajanapada Period (600 BC – 325 BC)
From the sixth century BC, iron tools and implements began to be widely used. This helped in the production of surplus foodgrains. The surplus could be collected by princes to meet their military and administrative needs. It could also be given to the new towns coming up. All this enabled the people to lead a settled life, to stick to their land, and also to expand at the cost of the neighbouring virgin areas. The rise of large states with towns as their capitals strengthened the territorial idea.
From the sixth century BC, iron tools and implements began to be widely used. This helped in the production of surplus foodgrains. The surplus could be collected by princes to meet their military and administrative needs. It could also be given to the new towns coming up. All this enabled the people to lead a settled life, to stick to their land, and also to expand at the cost of the neighbouring virgin areas. The rise of large states with towns as their capitals strengthened the territorial idea.
