Republics in Ancient India, c. 1500 B.C.–500 B.C. c9.s1.64

c9.s1.64

Our theory seems to place the Licchavis in the proper historical context and explains the silence of the pre-Buddhist sources about them. Smith’s suggestion of their Tibetan origin, seems less substantial than our theory that they were an offshoot of the Brāhmanic peoples of Madhyadeśa. Though this is admittedly based chiefly on the slender evidence of the etymology of their name, it fits the known historical facts of the period better than any other hypothesis.