Dictionary of Pali Proper Names v2.c36.257

v2.c36.257

The Sākyans evidently had no king. Theirs was a republican form of government, probably with a leader, elected from time to time. The administration and judicial affairs of the gotta were discussed in their Santhāgāra, or Mote-Hall, at Kapilavatthu.⁶ Ambaṭṭha (q.v.) once visited it on business; so did the envoys of Pasenadi, when he wished to marry a Sākyan maiden (see below). A new Mote-Hall was built at Kapilavatthu while the Buddha was staying at the Nigrodhārāma, and he was asked to inaugurate it. This he did by a series of ethical discourses lasting through the night, delivered by himself, Ānanda, and Moggallāna.⁷