Anga Mahajanapada

Anga
আঙ্গ
unknown (?~1100 BCE)–unknown (?~500 BCE)
Anga and other kingdoms of the late Vedic period
Capital		Champa
Religion		Vedic Hinduism Buddhism
Government		Monarchy
Historical era		Bronze Age, Iron Age
•	Established	unknown (?~1100 BCE)
•	Disestablished	unknown (?~500 BCE)
Today part of		India (West Bengal) (Bihar)  Bangladesh

Anga was an ancient Indian kingdom that flourished on the eastern Indian subcontinent and one of the sixteen mahajanapadas ("large state"). It lay to the east of its neighbour and rival, Magadha, and was separated from it by the river Champa. The capital of Anga was located on the bank of this river and was also named Champa. It was prominent for its wealth and commerce. Anga was annexed by Magadha in the 6th century BCE.

Counted among the "sixteen great nations" in Buddhist texts like the Anguttara Nikaya, Anga also finds mention in the Jain Vyakhyaprajnapti’s list of ancient janapadas. Some sources note that the Angas were grouped with people of ‘mixed origin’, generally in the later ages.

According to the Mahabharata (I.104.53-54) and Puranic literature, Anga was named after Prince Anga, the founder of the kingdom. A king Bali, the Vairocana and the son of Sutapa, 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. The princes were named Anga, Vanga, Kalinga, Sumha and Pundra.

The Ramayana (1.23.14) narrates the origin of name Anga as the place where Kamadeva was burnt to death by Siva and where his body parts (angas) are scattered.

The earliest mention occurs in the Atharvaveda (V.22.14) where they are listed alongside the Magadhas, Gandharis and the Mujavatas, all apparently as a despised people. Puranic texts place the janapadas of the Angas, Kalingas, Vangas, Pundras (or Pundra Kingdom - now some part of Eastern Bihar, West Bengal and Bangladesh), Vidarbhas, and Vindhya-vasis in the Purva-Dakshina division.