By 500 BCE, sixteen monarchies and "republics" known as the Mahajanapadas — Kasi , Kosala , Anga , Magadha , Vajji (or Vriji), Malla , Chedi , Vatsa (or Vamsa), Kuru , Panchala , Matsya (or Machcha), Surasena , Assaka , Avanti , Gandhara , and Kamboja — stretched across the