Republics in Ancient India, c. 1500 B.C.–500 B.C. c13.s2.65

c13.s2.65

B.C. Law associates the name with the *śāka* tree. He relies in this respect on Bharata, the commentator of *Amarakoṣa*, but gives no reference to the passage. However, Law translated the relevant piece from the *Koṣa*, "*Śāka* is a kind of tree. A king of the Ikṣavāku dynasty is known as Śākya because he lives near the *śāka* tree. His posterity was known as Śākyas."⁴ This bears a close resemblance to the Pāli passage quoted above, which is also found in the *Sumaṅgala Vilāsinī* and the *Sutta Nipāta* commentary.⁵ The Tibetan Buddhist tradition also refers to the manner in which they came to be known as Śākyas: "King Virūḍhaka thought one day of his comely sons, so he asked his courtiers what had become of them; then they told him their adventures. 'The daring young men! The daring young men', he exclaimed; and from this they became known as 'Śākyas'."⁶ Both the Tibetan tradition and that of Bharata derive their information from the *Dīgha Nikāya* account.