Republics in Ancient India, c. 1500 B.C.–500 B.C. c8.23

c8.23

We have found that the Vajjis are more frequently mentioned than the Licchavis in the Buddhist Canon and the Sanskrit literature while there is no mention at all of the Vajjis in the Jaina literature, but only of the Licchavis.³ These references to the Vajjis suggest that they were also an independent tribe like the other two known tribes of the Confederacy. They may have been the most powerful tribe in the region later occupied by the Licchavis. In the Sanskrit version of the *Mahāparinirvāṇa Sūtra* we find *vṛjiṣu janapadeṣu* mentioned at least six times.⁴ This might suggest that the region which the Confederacy occupied was also named after the Vajjis. Parallels to this can be suggested from China being named after the Chins, Germany after the Germani, France after the Franks, Britain after the Britons. These geographical names persisted long after the tribes had lost their identity, and the areas covered by the names expanded in the course of time.