Republics in Ancient India, c. 1500 B.C.–500 B.C. c7.293

c7.293

This hymn is addressed to the Earth and refers to both the *sabhā* and the *samiti*, but there is not a single mention of a *rājā* or king in this long hymn of 63 verses. The hymn is very significant and strengthens the view that the *sabhā*-*samiti* political communities were republics. It appears to be the composition of a republican who prayed to the Earth to set his people free from rivals (verse 41), and the allusion to the Earth's "abandoning god-insulting barbarians" (verse 37) indicates the confidence and establishment of Vedic Culture. These people praise the heroes (verse 25) and wish not to be hated by anyone (verses 18, 23, 24). This seems to contain a plea for peaceful co-existence with neighbouring tribes. They prize the "honey of speech" (verse 16) and verse 11 states that the singer had stood upon the earth "unharrassed, unsmitten, unwounded. . .", indicative of a republic at peace. He seeks "brilliancy, strength and the highest position in the realm."¹ The reference to the "abandoning of the god-insulting barbarians" also points to a period when the Vedic people had already established themselves. Thus, it seems to fit in with the suggestion that the *sabhā-samiti* type of government developed out of the earlier political communities governed by "popular" monarchy.