Republics in Ancient India, c. 1500 B.C.–500 B.C. c15.s3.t2.17

c15.s3.t2.17

As usual the commentaries give a fanciful etymology of the chief city of the Bhaggas. They state that it was so called because when it was being built a crocodile (*suṁsumāra*) made a noise in a lake nearby.¹ The late *Apadāna* mentions the Bhaggas with the Kārushas in a list of tribes.² This throws no light on the republican institutions of this political community, but does show that the Bhaggas were remembered as a separate ethnic group. Later generations may have remembered this tribe, because of its internal independence and republican institutions, even though it was subordinate to the Vatsan king.