Republics in Ancient India, c. 1500 B.C.–500 B.C. c15.s2.t2.13

c15.s2.t2.13

The combined testimony of the *Dīgha Nikāya*, the *Buddhavaṁsa*,⁷ and the *Dhammapada Commentary* shows that the Bulis had no king in the sense that the Magadhans and the Kosalans had. On the other hand, they had a chief or president, like the other republics probably chosen for life, who was assisted by a council and an assembly. We have no positive evidence for the existence of the council. That an assembly existed at Allakappa, however, can be inferred from the *Dīgha Nikāya*.¹ It is beyond doubt that the messenger sent to Kusinārā, if not sent by a king, was sent by important Bulians who must have formed such administrative bodies as a council and an assembly. Smaller republics, like the Nāyas and the Koliyas, had such institutions, and the case of the Bulis of Allakappa was probably the same.