Republics in Ancient India, c. 1500 B.C.–500 B.C. c9.s5.132

c9.s5.132

The *Mahāparinibbāna Sutta*³ pays an eloquent tribute to the merits of the Vajjian political institutions, to their firm resolve to defend their system of government, and to their social customs and economic prosperity. The statement in this text, in the light of other references, suggests that the war of Ajātasattu and the Vajjians was not merely a contest between two rival states for the purpose of expansion and annexation. It also involved a keen “tug-of-war” between two different systems of government, between two sets of principles, in short between two political philosophies. It may be compared to the struggle between King Philip of Macedon and the neighbouring republics of Thebes and Athens.⁴ The Indian Philip, assisted by his Brāhmaṇa minister, was determined to “utterly destroy the Vajjians”.