Republics in Ancient India, c. 1500 B.C.–500 B.C. c6.s2.6

c6.s2.6

² Prof. Sharma himself derives the word from *gaṇ*, but he further argues that "although literally the term *gaṇa* does not mean a tribe but an artificial collection of people not necessarily belonging to the same tribe, it appears that in most cases in the Vedic literature this term is used in the sense of a tribal organization" (*op. cit.*, p. 82).