Republics in Ancient India, c. 1500 B.C.–500 B.C. c9.s4.38

c9.s4.38

B. C. Law states that "it does not appear to have been a completely democratic republic, but an oligarchy, citizenship being confined to members of the confederate clans".⁵ He further says that "what the real number of de facto *rājās* was, we do not know".⁶ That the Licchavian *saṅgha* or *gaṇa* was not "a completely democratic republic, but an oligarchy" is unobjectionable, but how could the "confederate clans" be members of the Licchavian republic? The Licchavis themselves were merely one of the confederate members, albeit the most important of the Vajjian League.