Republics in Ancient India, c. 1500 B.C.–500 B.C. c14.15

c14.15

The allusion of the *Jātaka* to the Koliyas once dwelling in a hollow jujube tree² cannot be accepted. But the unanimity of almost all the Pāli sources in relating them to the *kola* tree is strong evidence and cannot be dismissed. As there is no contradictory information, the emphasis on the relation of the Koliyas with the *kola* is great, and probably decisive. We suggest that the Koliyas dwelt in a region where *kola* trees grew in abundance, and this was the fact which impelled the Sakyas to call them dwellers in the hollow of *kolas*. Koliya may be a tribal name of totemic character, like the name of the Licchavis, which, if our suggestion is correct, is connected with *ṛkṣa*, “bear”.³