Republics in Ancient India, c. 1500 B.C.–500 B.C. c6.s1.28

c6.s1.28

None of these works has even hinted⁴ that there existed different forms of aristocratic government or quasi-republican political communities in Vedic India besides the generally acknowledged monarchies. We have found evidence for the existence of such institutions in Vedic India not so much by the discovery of new sources as by a new approach and more systematic handling and careful analysis of the *Vedas*. The same method enables us to throw new light on the relationship between the *sabhā* and the *samiti*. It reveals that in a special variety of the Vedic aristocracies—where both these institutions existed side by side—the former was a comparatively small council chiefly composed of the most influential members of the community, whereas the latter was a bigger assembly consisting of the heads of families of the tribe.⁵