Republics in Ancient India, c. 1500 B.C.–500 B.C. c7.310

c7.310

There are a number of passages in the Vedic literature where the word *rājan* occurs in the plural and has the connotation of "nobles" or "chiefs" rather than kings.³ Moreover, there are some mentions of the "nobles" in relation to the *samiti*, while the *samiti* sometimes figures independently of the *sabhā*, mainly in the *Atharva Veda* where it is only connected with the *sabhā* in four hymns.⁴ Thus, the independent occurrences of the word *samiti* in the Vedic literature and its relation with the *rājās*, or "nobles", give evidence of a different type of non-monarchical constitution.