Republics in Ancient India, c. 1500 B.C.–500 B.C. c15.s3.t1.1

c15.s3.t1.1

The word Bhagga may have the sense of broken (Sanskrit *bhagna*),⁷ or may be equivalent to the Sanskrit *bhāgya*, fortune or good luck.¹ Some scholars, however, have linked the Bhaggas with the Bhargas of the Sanskrit sources.² The earliest mention of the Bhargas is made in the *Aitareya Brāhmaṇa*, where a Bhārgāyana prince named Kairiśi Sutvan is referred to.³ They also figure in Pāṇini, where they are grouped with the Yaudheyas.⁴ The *Bhīṣma Parva* of the *Mahābhārata* also mentions the Bhargas along with other peoples like the Āndhras, Kirātas, Kosalas, etc.⁵ At another place in the *Mahābhārata*,⁶ and also in the *Harivaṁśa*,⁷ the Bhargas are associated with the Vatsas as well as with the Niṣādas, in the list of peoples conquered by Arjuna.⁸ The *Harivaṁśa* tradition describes the Bhargas and the Vatsas as the two sons of Pratardana and the Buddhist books also associate the Bhaggas with the Vaṁsa prince Bodhi, son of king Udena, who resided in a magnificant palace built for him at Suṁsumāragiri.⁹