The State in Ancient India: A Study in the Structure and Practical Working of Political Institutions in North India in Ancient Times c7.193

c7.193

During this period the assembly is occasionally referred to. In the Śatapatha Brâhmaṇa it seems to take cognisance of currency, of coins such as Kṛṣṇâla and Niṣka.⁵ The Chândogya Upaniṣad mentions the Samiti of the Pañcâlas as presided over by king Pravâhaṇa Jaivali.⁶ But the assembly is now less and less in evidence. It is no longer a regular organ of deliberation or justice. Such a change, in fact, was inevitable with the increase in the size of states and the further progress of the feudal tendency. While the king would gain more and more in power, the people would find it more and more difficult to come together.