Republics in Ancient India, c. 1500 B.C.–500 B.C. c9.s1.45

c9.s1.45

In this question the crucial point seems to have been missed. We cannot determine the origin of a people unless we can link them to a certain ethnic group or linguistic category. The fact that the word Licchavis seems to be of Indo-European origin, suggests that they had at least some Aryan blood or had come much under Aryan influence. The Aryans had been moving eastwards by stages since they entered India. There were also associations with non-Aryan elements of the Indian population, to which the stocks that had migrated to the greatest distances were especially exposed. This may have played some part in the fact that the *Prācyas*, or easterners, were referred to “in a hostile or contemptuous tone.” The writer of the *Aitareya Brāhmaṇa* and Manu refer to the *Prācyas* and the Licchavis respectively, in such a tone.¹ This may also show that the Licchavis had customs of which people raised in the Vedic tradition did not approve; hence they are absolutely neglected in the pre-Buddhist period.