Republics in Ancient India, c. 1500 B.C.–500 B.C. c15.s2.t2.16

c15.s2.t2.16

According to the *Dhammapada Commentary*, the extent of Allakapparaṭṭha was only ten leagues, as was the Veṭhadīparaṭṭha, or more accurately the Droṇagrāma settlement of the Dhūmragotra Brāhmaṇas,² ruled by Veṭhadīpaka *rājā*.³ We believe that the kings of Allakappa and Veṭhadīpa-Droṇagrāma were no more than chiefs, and, in the case of the former at least, only the head of a republic. This was also the case with the Koliyarājā of the Koliyas.⁴ The same source further informs us of the intimate relations that existed between the two tribes. This would suggest that the two territories were near each other,⁵ thus revealing the weakness of Kauṭilya's *maṇḍala* theory, according to which they should have been natural enemies.⁶