Republics in Ancient India, c. 1500 B.C.–500 B.C. c11.63

c11.63

It may be implied in a statement in the *Sūtra Kṛtāṅga* that the Nāyas had, besides their chief, an assembly which the text says “consisted of Nāyas, and sons of Nāyas; warriors and sons of warriors; commanders and sons of commanders; and generals and sons of generals,”⁴ much like that of the Licchavis and others. However, unlike that of the Licchavis, the number constituting the Nāya assembly is unspecified. Although commanders and generals existed among the Licchavis because of their large army and also amongst the army of the Vajjian Confederacy (if at all there was such a separate force), it seems fantastic to hear of commanders and generals amongst the small clan of the Nāyas. A small force for police duties may have existed, as such a body is mentioned in the *Kalpa Sūtra*.⁵ The Nāyas may have contributed to the Vajjian army at the time of the war between Ajātasattu and the Vajjians, but it is unlikely, in the light of the sources, that they had commanders, generals and a large standing army. This is yet another example of the gross exaggeration and unreliability of the Jaina sources. Probably the Nāya assembly consisted, like that of their close neighbours the Licchavis, of the heads of the Kṣatriya families.