Republics in Ancient India, c. 1500 B.C.–500 B.C. c13.s2.104

c13.s2.104

We are not certain of the exact number of the Sakyan general assembly, but from Buddhaghosa's statement that there were 80,000 families in the clan of the Buddha ² it would appear fairly large. Jayaswal suggests that the Sakyan council was composed of 500 members.³ However, he gives no authority to support this claim, but appears to base it on the *Lalitavistara*.⁴ From the context it is obvious that he made this statement without serious thought, as the following statement of his, based on Rockhill, reads: “The Śākyas are said to have had a law that each citizen could have only one wife”.⁵