Republics in Ancient India, c. 1500 B.C.–500 B.C. c7.415

c7.415

Significantly, however, hardly any reference is made in the voluminous *Brāhmaṇa* texts³ to the republican or quasi-republican institutions of the early Vedic period, and whenever the *sabhā* or *samiti* are found, their connotation has changed entirely from that of the earlier popular institutions. During the 6th century B.C. a number of republican states certainly existed in northeastern India, as is attested by the sacred literature of the Buddhists and Jainas.⁴ Now the question arises, was there some relationship between the early Vedic aristocracies and the northeastern republics of the time when the Buddha and the Kevalin preached their respective doctrines of the Middle Path and rigorous asceticism?