Janapadas were the realms, republics, and kingdoms of the Vedic period on the Indian subcontinent. The Sanskrit term "janapada" is a compound term composed of two words: "janas" and "pada." "Jana" means "people" or "subject," while "pada" means "foot" and has a double meaning of "realm, territory" and "subject population". The janapadas flourished between 1500 BCE and 500 BCE, according to literary evidence. As society became more settled and adopted agriculture as their main occupation, tribes or groups of people settling down in particular areas came to be called "janapadas," which literally means "areas where the tribe puts its foot down".
The janapadas were small kingdoms of the Vedic Age period. With the development of iron in parts of Northern India, the janapadas became more powerful. Some of the janas evolved into their own janapadas, while others appear to have mixed. The rise of Mahajanapadas further set the stage for the rise of different empires in India. The kings of these newly established Mahajanapadas began to maintain their armies and forts to protect their kingdoms and expand territories at the same time. The Mahajanapadas came into existence from the sixth century to 300 BCE and were larger or great kingdoms.
