Republics in Ancient India, c. 1500 B.C.–500 B.C. c11.24

c11.24

Mahāvīra is almost invariably referred to after the name of his clan.⁹ The Sanskrit commentator used the appellation *Jñātaputra*, but he is never mentioned in any source as *Siddhārtha-putra*. He is referred to as the son of *Khattiya-Siddhattha*, but the popular designation of Mahāvīra with the earlier writers is after his clan and not his father. This may be due to the fact that the texts preserving his doctrine were at first orally transmitted and only written long after his death, by which time his clan, which had probably embraced his faith, was of greater renown than his father. The peculiar coincidence of its Pāli equivalent *Nātaputta* or *Nātha-putta* may be explained by the similar practice of Buddhists who often referred to their own teacher along with his tribal designation—*Sakka-muni* (Sanskrit *Śākya-muni*), the sage of the Sakyas.