Republics in Ancient India, c. 1500 B.C.–500 B.C. c9.s5.39

c9.s5.39

It is obvious from the Jaina sources that the Licchavis were on good terms with the Mallas and the tribal peoples of Kāsi and Kosala.⁴ These four are always referred to as a group in the Prākrit texts. As we have already suggested,⁵ this shows that the Licchavis actually did form a League together with these and other peoples to face common danger during troubled periods. The *Majjhima Nikāya* also attests to the friendly relations existing between the Kosala king Pasenadi and the Licchavis. The former, talking to the Buddha, speaks of the latter as being his friends.⁶ But there were occasional disputes and quarrels among these republics. Bandhula,¹ the Mallian general of the Kosalan kingdom, consented to fulfil his wife's desire to have a bath in the consecration tank of Vesālī which was forbidden to those who were not Licchavian *rājās*. The Licchavian kings attempted to deter him, despite Mahāli's advice to the contrary. It seems that in the end the general got the better of his Licchavian opponents.