Republics in Ancient India, c. 1500 B.C.–500 B.C. c13.s2.114

c13.s2.114

The Pāli sources are not only silent about the exact number of the Sakyan assembly, but also not definite about the existence of a smaller council. It is very likely that they had such a council, as the *Kuṇāla Jātaka* refers to Sakyan *amaccās* or councillors, along with *bhojakās* and *uparājās*.¹ The order of these three words seems significant. The councillors occur after the *bhojakās*, or landholders, and before the *uparājās*. As the *Jātakas* always refer to institutions in monarchical terminology, it is probable that the councillors are the college of rulers of the republic, whereas the viceroys are only the prospective members of the political assembly. Thus, it seems likely that these *amaccās* are really the smaller council of the Sakyas which executed public business. The republics neighbouring on the Sakyas had councils, and it would be almost impossible to carry out the administration through a single elected chief without the aid of a council. The whole assembly would have been unmanageable without the existence of some inner council. No doubt the chief had such a council, chosen from within the assembly, but no definite evidence of its existence and composition can be found, save for the mere mention of the *amaccās* in the *Kuṇāla Jātaka*.