The State in Ancient India: A Study in the Structure and Practical Working of Political Institutions in North India in Ancient Times c11.2

c11.2

Vedic literature, the Sûtras, the Epics and the Jâtakas give an inkling into the administrative practices of different regions and ages but they afford little help towards the reconstruction of regular political history. It is not until the last quarter of the 4th century B.C. that any connected account of political events can be commenced and administrative data examined in the light of well-authenticated institutions. Nevertheless, a few facts can be gleaned about the political transactions of the two centuries which preceded the foundation of the Mauryan empire. The most important sources of information are the Buddhist and Jaina¹ literatures which, though primarily ethical and philosophical, incidentally give some political facts because the founders of Buddhism and Jainism sprang from aristocratic families and came into contact with crowned heads in their career. In several Buddhist works occurs the following list of the sixteen great states :—