Republics in Ancient India, c. 1500 B.C.–500 B.C. c10.s7.22

c10.s7.22

Following the old Brāhmaṇic tradition, Manu treats them contemptuously. According to the Lawgiver, a Vaiśya male and a Brāhmaṇa female produce a *Vaideha*,¹ whom he considers as base-born (*apa-sada*).² A secondary use of the word is shown in reference to their profession, "the service of women."³ According to Manu again, the *Vaidehakas* are the "lowest of mortals" along with the Sūtas, Cāṇḍālas and Māgadhas.⁴ The *Mahābhārata*⁵ and the *Rāmāyaṇa*⁶ refer to Videha and Mithilā, and the heroine of the latter epic is the Vaidehī Sītā. But the epics only record Videha as a kingdom and not as a republic. The tradition on which these stories are based evidently looks back to the pre-republican period.