Republics in Ancient India, c. 1500 B.C.–500 B.C. c10.s4.17

c10.s4.17

After sometime they may have realized the disadvantages of having their centre in the foothills, when a great kingdom was rising up to the south of the Ganges. Hence, not satisfied with this centre in the mountains, they moved southwards to Vesāli, a town hitherto almost unknown. The sources already noted² indicate that the Vesāli region was then occupied by the Vajjis, who betray their original political importance through the fact that the Confederacy was named after them and that the region around Vesāli was known as *Vṛji-janapada*.³