Vatsa Kingdom
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Mahajanapada
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| Anga | |
| Assaka (Asmaka) | |
| Avanti | |
| Chedi | |
| Gandhara | |
| Kashi | |
| Kamboja | |
| Kosala | |
| Kuru | |
| Magadha | |
| Malla (Mallarashtra) | |
| Machcha (Matsya) | |
| Panchala | |
| Surasena | |
| Vriji | |
| Vatsa (Vamsa) | |
Vatsa (Pali:Vaṁsa, Ardhamagadhi: Vaccha) was one of the solasa (sixteen) Mahajanapadas (great kingdoms) of Uttarapatha of ancient India mentioned in the Anguttara Nikaya it was situated in the Gangatic plain with Kausambi as its capital, now known as Kosam a small town in Uttar Pradesh. There is an archeological site known as Kosam Ruins in this town which is believed to be the Kausambi of Ancient India. Vatsa's geographical location was near the confluence of the Ganges and Yamuna rivers. Its capital was Kauśāmbī (present day Kosam, 35 miles southwest of Allahabad).
The Vatsas were a branch of the Kuru dynasty. During the Rig Vedic period, the Kuru Kingdom comprised the area of Haryana/ Delhi and the Ganga-Jamuna Doab, till Prayag/ Kaushambi, with its capital at Hastinapur. During the late-Vedic period, Hastinapur was destroyed by floods, and the Kuru King Nicakṣu shifted his capital with the entire subjects to a newly constructed capital that was called Kosambi or Kaushambi. In the post Vedic period, when Arya Varta consisted of several Mahajanpads, the Kuru Dynasty was split between Kurus and Vatsas. The Kurus controlled the Haryana/ Delhi/ Upper Doab, while the Vatsas controlled the Lower Doab. Later, The Vatsas were further divided into two branches -- One at Mathura, and the other at Kaushambi.
The Puranas state that after the washing away of Hastinapura by the Ganges, the Bhārata king Nicakṣu, the great-great grandson of Janamejaya, abandoned the city and settled in Kauśāmbī. This is supported by the Svapnavāsavadattā and the Pratijñā-Yaugandharāyaṇa attributed to Bhāsa. Both of them have described the king Udayana as a scion of the Bhāratas family (Bhārata-kula). The Puranas provide a list of Nicakṣu’s successors which ends with king Kṣemaka. Other Puranas state that the Vatsa kingdom was named after a Kaśī king, Vatsa. The Ramayana and the Mahabharata attribute the credit of founding its capital Kauśāmbī to a Chedi prince Kuśa or Kuśāmba.
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Wikipedia