Republics in Ancient India, c. 1500 B.C.–500 B.C. c12.s3.71

c12.s3.71

The Mallas had sovereign rights in their territory, and also had the power to exile or punish those who deserved it, as did the Magadhan King Ajātasattu, King Pasenadi of Kosala, and the Licchavis of Vesālī.⁵ But they were no longer a single political unit at the time of the Buddha, as we have already seen.⁶ This must have been due to trouble amongst the Mallas themselves, which probably could not be settled except by dividing the territory into two.⁷ The two branches of the Mallas do not appear to have had very cordial relations. A Buddhist tradition preserved in the Tibetan *Dulva* indicates that after the Buddha's death the Mallas of Pāvā were first to arrive at Kusinārā with their troops, and the words in which they advanced their claim to the relics were rude and uncordial, if not inimical.¹ Usually, however, the two branches seem to have lived in peace with each other.