State and Government in Ancient India c23.s1.21

c23.s1.21

Republics reasserted themselves during this period on the downfall of the Mauryan dynasty. The evidence of the coinage show that the Kuṇindas, the Yaudheyas, the Arjunāyanas and the Mālavas became independent by *c.* 150 B. C. The central executive of the republic was however tending to become hereditary, especially during the times of stress and strain. The Nāndasā Yūpa inscription shows how the family of Śri-Soma, who succeeded in recovering the independence of Mālwā by overthrowing the power of the Western Kshatrapas, was at the helm of affairs at least for three generations.¹ In some cases the head of the republic used to have the title of the Mahārāja, as in the case of the Sanakānīkas in Central India. In other republics, as in the case of the Mālavas, though the headship had become hereditary, the royal title was not permitted. No republican president was however allowed to issue coins in his own name; the coin legends like *Malavānāṁ jayaḥ*, *Yaudheya-gaṇasya jayaḥ* show that the coinage was in the name of the republic and not in that of its head.