The Mauryan Polity c6.s2.t1.1

c6.s2.t1.1

Within the imperial territorial limits were several political communities which, we may, for the sake of convenience, call “sovereign states within the empire”. A peculiarity about them is that these were not under the direct rule of the emperor though they were inside the empire. Their constitution was of republican character.⁵ These were several in number and on all parts of the Empire. In the south and south-west, communities possessing such republican character are the Āndhras, Bhojas, Rāṣṭrikas and Pulindas. The classical writings refer to the vastness of the territory, and the fertility of the soil of the Āndhras (Andaræ).⁶