Harappan cities were part of an earlier urban civilisation. After its decline, many communities continued in rural settlements and regional cultures developed. The end of major cities did not mean people or all knowledge disappeared.

During the first millennium BCE, important urban centres developed in the Ganga plains, parts of the Indus basin and nearby regions. They later connected with urban growth elsewhere. Historians call this broad phase the Second Urbanisation.

In many mahajanapadas, the raja was the highest authority, supported by ministers and councils. Succession was often hereditary. Magadha, Kosala and Avanti were powerful examples, but their institutions were not identical.

Rulers collected revenue to maintain administration, armies and defences. They could wage war or make alliances. Collecting resources created power, but also placed demands on the people who produced them.

Texts associate Brahmins with learning and ritual, Kshatriyas with rule and warfare, Vaishyas with production and trade, and Shudras with service and other work. These are historical prescriptions, not natural abilities or a rule for what people should do today.

Jati, occupation, marriage and inherited status interacted differently across places and periods. Some people changed occupations; exclusion and unequal treatment also existed. No community is naturally superior or inferior. Historical study must describe discrimination without defending it.