Kosala

Kosala Kingdom
c. 1100 BCE–c. 500 BCE
Kosala and other kingdoms of the late Vedic period
Capital		Ayodhya
Religion		Vedic-Hinduism Buddhism Jainism
Government		Monarchy
Historical era		Bronze Age, Iron Age
•	Established	c. 1100 BCE
•	Disestablished	c. 500 BCE

Kosala (Sanskrit: कोसल) was an ancient Indian kingdom, corresponding roughly in area with the region of Awadh in present-day Uttar Pradesh. It emerged as a small state during the late Vedic period, with connections to the neighboring realm of Videha. According to the Buddhist text Anguttara Nikaya and the Jaina text, the Bhagavati Sutra, Kosala was one of the Solasa (sixteen) Mahajanapadas (powerful realms) in 6th to 5th centuries BCE and its cultural and political strength earned it the status of a great power. However, it was later weakened by a series of wars with the neighbouring kingdom of Magadha and, in the 4th century BCE, was finally absorbed by it.

The Kosala region had three major cities, Ayodhya, Saket and Shravasti, and a number of minor towns as Setavya, Ukattha, Dandakappa, Nalakapana and Pankadha. According to the Puranas and the Ramayana epic, Ayodhya was the capital of Kosala during the reign of Ikshvaku and his descendants. Shravasti is recorded as the capital of Kosala during the Mahajanapada period (6th–5th centuries BCE), but post-Maurya (2nd–1st centuries BCE) kings issued their coins from Ayodhya (see below).

The mention of Kosala is not found in the early Vedic literature. It is mentioned as a region in the later Vedic texts of the Satapatha Brahmana and the Kalpasutras.