Sixteen great states
sixteen great states
[十六大国] (Jpn juroku-daikoku )
Also, sixteen major states, sixteen great kingdoms, or sixteen great countries. Sixteen countries that existed in India during the time of Shakyamuni. Most were located in the northern part of the Indian subcontinent, particularly the Ganges Valley. The names of the sixteen countries differ among Buddhist sutras. The Long Agama Sutra lists them as Anga, Magadha, Kashi, Kosala, Vriji, Malla, Chedi, Vatsa, Kuru, Panchala, Ashvaka, Avanti, Ma-tsya, Shurasena, Gandhara, and Kamboja. In Shakyamuni's time, the two greatest powers were Magadha, in the lower Ganges Valley, and Kosala, in the middle Ganges Valley. Control of the Kashikingdom, which was situated between Magadha and Kosala, became a point of conflict between those two countries. The Magadha kingdom conquered many other countries in Shakyamuni's time and thereafter established its supremacy as an empire.
