Republics in Ancient India, c. 1500 B.C.–500 B.C. c15.s3.t2.14

c15.s3.t2.14

The *Jātaka* tells us that the architect who built this palace was blinded so that he could not build another like it.⁹ The *Dhammapada* Commentary, however, dramatically narrates that the architect had been warned of this by Bodhi's friend, and that he escaped on a magic bird.¹⁰ We do not believe that there is any truth in either version, which contains a widespread theme in folk tradition, or that such a magnificant palace even existed at Suṁsumāragiri. But the significant point, attested by almost all the sources, is that a Vatsan prince lived at the Bhaggan capital, apparently as a viceroy of his father. The texts do not explicitly state this, but the fact that the prince lived there, and erected a building at the Bhaggan capital, would strongly suggest that the Bhaggas were not free—at least in their external affairs and foreign policy. It is possible then that they were a republican tribe with modified independence.