Republics in Ancient India, c. 1500 B.C.–500 B.C. c7.581

c7.581

Thus the Vedic literature provides no valid evidence for the *vidatha's* tribal character or its political connotation. The *sabhā* and *samiti* are generally recognized as political institutions, and, according to our findings, the *viś* was also, in its constitutional aspect, a Vedic assembly. This surely leaves little scope for any more political assemblies existing among the simple farming and cattle-breeding communities of the Vedic Aryans. By comparing the Vedic *gaṇa* with the Roman assemblies, Professor Sharma implies that the *gaṇa* was also the same kind of assembly, thus making a total of five assemblies operating during the Vedic period. This, as already stated, was not the case.