Pramāṇa · Search · About · API

Republics in Ancient India, c. 1500 B.C.–500 B.C. c12.s1: Early History and Status

Republics in Ancient India, c. 1500 B.C.–500 B.C. c12.s1

Language
English

Early History and Status

c12.s1.1

The Mallas are not referred to in any of the Vedic sources in the sense of a tribe, but only in the sense of "professional wrestlers."[¹] Hence the word does not find a place in the *Vedic Index*. The Mallas as a tribe are first referred to in the list of the sixteen *Mahājanapadas* in the *Aṅguttara Nikāya* and other Buddhist texts.[²] In the *Majjhima Nikāya* the Mallas, along with the Licchavis, are quoted as being typical examples of a *saṅgha* or *gaṇa*.[³] The Mallakas are mentioned among the communities living by the title of *rājā* in the *Arthaśāstra*.[⁴]

c12.s1.2

¹ *Cf.* Monier Williams, *Skt.-Eng. Dic.*, *s.v.* *Malla*.

c12.s1.3

² *Aṅguttara*, i, p. 213; iv, pp. 252, 256, 260; *Mahāvastu*, i, p. 34; ii, p. 2; iii, pp. 208ff; *Dīgha*, ii, p. 235; *cf.* *Vinaya*, ii, p. 146 fn; *CHI*, i, pp. 172ff; *PHAI*, pp. 95ff; *DPPN*, ii, pp. 453-4.

c12.s1.4

³ *Majjhima*, i, p. 231.

c12.s1.5

⁴ *Arthaśāstra*, xi, pp. 376ff; *cp.* Pāṇini, iv, 2, 120.

c12.s1.6

The list of sixteen *Mahājanapadas* is found in many sources and this suggests that it should be taken to refer to the political divisions of India shortly before the time that Buddhism arose, if not earlier. This view is strengthened by the fact that Aṅga, which was once an independent political unit, had already become a part of the Magadhan kingdom at the time of the Buddha.[⁵] The fate of Kāsī, also mentioned in the list, had been sealed with its conquest by its rival, the Kosalan kingdom.[⁶] The list is interesting and significant in that its components are names, not of countries, but of peoples. This shows that the main idea in the minds of those who drew up or used this old list was still of tribal and not geographical designations.[⁷] In our opinion this also indicates the antiquity of the Mallas and points to the difficulty in accurately locating them geographically.

c12.s1.7

⁵ *Vinaya*, i, p. 179; *Jāt.*, v, p. 316; vi, p. 271; *cf.* Rhys Davids, *Buddhist India*, p. 23; *CHI*, i, p. 173.

c12.s1.8

⁶ *Saṁyutta*, i, p. 83; ii, p. 403; *Jāt.*, iv, pp. 343, 442; v, p. 41; *cf.* Rhys Davids, *Buddhist India*, pp. 3ff, 24ff.

c12.s1.9

⁷ *Cf.* Rhys Davids, *Buddhist India*, p. 23; *CHI*, i, p. 173.

c12.s1.10

We know that the Videhas were an older people, as they are clearly mentioned in the *Brāhmaṇa* texts,¹ and that the Licchavis, who are not mentioned in these sources, were comparatively latecomers.² The position of the Mallas is much the same as that of the Licchavis in point of time, or perhaps even a little earlier.³ The Mallas are referred to in the *Mahābhārata*, whereas the Licchavis are not.⁴ This may be due to the fact that at the time of the first composition of the Epic the Licchavis still occupied northern regions and had not yet moved southwards to Vesāli.⁵

c12.s1.11

¹ *Cf.* above, pp. 137ff.

c12.s1.12

² *Cf.* above, pp. 88ff.

c12.s1.13

³ *Cf.* Oldenberg, *Buddha*, p. 399 fn.

c12.s1.14

⁴ *Mbh.* (Poona edn.), *Bhīṣma*, 10, 45, *Sabhā*, 27, 3-11, etc.; cf. Sörensen, *Mbh. Names Index*, *s.v.* *Malla*.

c12.s1.15

⁵ *Cf.* above, pp. 91ff.

c12.s1.16

All the sources appear to take the Mallas as a single political entity, but there is evidence that they were divided into two branches. As both branches of this tribe had the same form of government, it might have seemed irrelevant to the ancient writers to take note of the partition in this connection. It is, however, evident from the account of the last scene of the Buddha's life depicted in the *Mahāparinibbāna Sutta* ⁶ that the Mallas were no longer a single political entity. Perhaps that is why each branch claimed a separate share in the relics of the Buddha. Likewise, each section built a *stūpa* and gave a feast to mark this event. Though ethnically the same people with the same form of government, the partitioned territories had their own land with their centres of political power at Pāvā and Kusinārā respectively.⁷

c12.s1.17

⁶ *Dīgha*, ii, pp. 72ff., especially pp. 164ff.

c12.s1.18

⁷ *Ibid.*, pp. 164ff.

c12.s1.19

It appears likely that the Mallas were Kṣatriyas, like the Videhas, the Licchavis and the Nāyas. They came from the Madhyadeśa, the "Middle Country," probably after the Videhas. They are often referred to as Vāseṭṭhas ⁸ after the Brāhmaṇic *gotra* they had adopted, in keeping with the practice of other clans of northeast India of that period. The deaths of the great founders of Buddhism and Jainism in two Malla capitals brought forth many a significant passage in the Pāli and the Prākrit texts which help us in discussing the republican institutions of these peoples.

c12.s1.20

⁸ *Ibid.*, pp. 163ff.

Linked texts (13)