Republics in Ancient India, c. 1500 B.C.–500 B.C. c10.s4.14

c10.s4.14

The occupation of Mithilā by the republican Licchavis seems to have been the cause of the overthrow of monarchy in Videha and establishment of a republic. The change of constitution at Mithilā cannot be explained if we do not suppose that the Licchavis, before approaching the southern city of Vesālī in Videha, first stayed for a while at Mithilā. We hear of no strife between the Videhan king and the Licchavis. Further, the *Brāhmaṇas* and the *Rāmāyaṇa* tell of Janaka ruling over Mithilā. But in the Buddhist literature we find Videha as a republic and the Vajjian Confederacy, led by the Licchavis, as holding the supreme power in what had been the Videhan kingdom.¹ It is quite likely that the Licchavis seized Videha from some weak king after Janaka without much conflict, and established a republic on the ruins of the old monarchy. Perhaps a prerequisite for establishment of the Licchavian power and republic in Videha was the destruction of hereditary monarchy.