Anga

Anga (अंग aṅga) was a kingdom that flourished on the eastern Indian subcontinent from c. 12th to 6th century BCE until it was annexed by the kingdom of Magadha in the same century. Counted among the "sixteen great nations" (solas Mahajanapadas) in Buddhist texts like the Anguttara Nikaya, Anga also finds mention in the Jain Vyakhyaprajnapti’s list of ancient janapadas. According to Mahabharata, Karna ruled the Kingdom during the period.

Some refer that the Angas were grouped with people of ‘mixed origin’, generally in the later ages.

Etymology

Mahabharata (I.104.53-54) and Puranic literature attest that the name Anga had originated eponymously from the name of Prince Anga, the founder of the kingdom. According to some scriptures (Mahabharata and some Puranas), 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 princes later founded kingdoms named after themselves. The prince Vanga founded Vanga kingdom, in the current day region of Bangladesh and part of West Bengal. The prince Kalinga founded the kingdom of Kalinga, in the current day region of coastal Orissa, including the North Sircars.