Hindu Administrative Institutions c12.s3.98

c12.s3.98

This institution of *pūga* is well known to the Buddhist literature¹ wherein there are abundant references to it in the very sense in which it was understood by *Kāśika* or *Mitramiśra*. The *Kāśika* mentions a number of *pūgas* such as *lauhadhvajiya*—standard of red colour, *śaibya* identified with Sibioi subdued by Alexander,² *śatakīya* and *devadattaka*. Both *Vīramitrodaya* and *Vivāda-ratnākara* agree that the institution of *pūga* also meant an association of merchants and others. The former uses the term in two other senses also: (1) A group of people of different castes with no fixed calling and (2) those who ride on elephants, horses, etc. Dr. Mookerji remarks, ‘The *pūga* is based on citizenship—the territorial principle. It was thus the federation of all sectional or communal assemblies.’ This institution has for its basis the local community, its area covering something more than a village or a township.³ It is further corroborated by the *Vyavahāramayūkha* which explains the *pūga* as a form of *śreṇi* but consisting of a body composed of various castes and of various professions.¹