Republics in Ancient India, c. 1500 B.C.–500 B.C. c7.492

c7.492

Zimmer held the view that the *vidatha* sometimes meant a "smaller assembly" than the *samiti*.⁴ This view has been rightly criticized by the writers of the *Vedic Index* who say that "we have no ground to be certain that such smaller assemblies ever existed at an early date in India or elsewhere among the Aryan peoples."⁵ In Jayaswal's opinion religious life was organized through the "*vidatha* assembly, which had existed even earlier than the *samiti*". "It seems", he writes, "to have been the parent folk-assembly from which the *sabhā*, *samiti* and *senā* differentiated, for we find the *vidatha* associated with civil, military and religious functions."⁶ This, however, is too adventurous a view and cannot be substantiated by our sources.⁷ Professor Thieme, somewhat following Oldenberg, attempted yet another etymology and derived it from *vi-dhā*, primarily meaning "verteilen, zuteilen", and also "order" in the secondary sense.⁸ In Thieme's view these meanings can fit almost all the contexts.⁹ We do not support his hypothesis because in our opinion this interpretation of *vidatha* seems to be valid only for a few occurrences of the word.¹⁰