Republics in Ancient India, c. 1500 B.C.–500 B.C. c14.19

c14.19

The Koliyas, unlike the Videhas—but like the Sakyas, Mallas, Licchavis, etc. do not figure in the Brāhmaṇical literature under this name. Possibly they were known by some other name during the pre-Buddhist period,⁴ but we have no specific statement to this effect. Further, unlike the Licchavis and the Mallas, but like the Nāyas and Sakyas, the Koliyas did not receive even a mere mention at the hands of secular writers such as Pāṇini and Kauṭilya. Neither the *Vārtikakāra* Kātyāyana nor the *Bhāṣyakāra* Patañjali alludes to these people. The Jainas also appear to have neglected them. Thus, the only known source for the reconstruction of the Koliyan political history and for the understanding of their system of government is the literature of the Buddhists.