Political structure in South Asia
Gana-Sangha [1] or Gana-Rajya [2] was a type of tribe and clan structure of aristocratic republics in ancient India. [3]
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Gana-Sangha [1] or Gana-Rajya [2] was a type of tribe and clan structure of aristocratic republics in ancient India. [3]
The word gaṇa ( /ˈɡʌnə/ ; Sanskrit: गण) in Sanskrit and Pali means group or community. It can also be used to refer to a body of attendants and can refer to any assemblage or association of men formed for the attainment of the same aims, denotes the gathering of a given community. The word sangha [4] in Sanskrit means association, assembly, company or community. For instance, in Buddhism, sangha refers to the monastic community of bhikkhus (monks) and bhikkhunis (nuns).
The phrase gana sangha can be translated as (rule by) tribal assembly. In ancient Buddhist texts like the Anguttara Nikaya [5] which make frequent reference to the great states in ancient India, the texts often use the phrase to refer a type of aristocratic rule, contrast to monarchy (साम्राज्य samarajya in Sanskrit).
Among the mahajanapadas , the sixteen great states in ancient India, two followed the gana sangha rule: Vajji and Mallakas. Many smaller states and tribes near these great states also had the gana sangha form of government, such as the Koliyas, and the Shakyas, the small tribal state which Gautama Buddha was born to. [6]
The gana sanghas were generally located in the periphery of the major ancient Indian states, both geographically and culturally, and tend to occupy the higher ground near the Himalayas. [1] The gana sanghas of Vajji, Malla, Koliya, and Shakya mentioned above all situated at the foothills of Himalayas, near eastern Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Terai region of Nepal. In contrast, the states which followed a monarchical government (saamarajya) were generally located in the flood plains of the Ganges.
According to the Buddhist sources, key characteristics of the gana sangha seem to include a gana mukhya (chief), [7] and a deliberative assembly (sangha). Elected by the gana sangha, the chief apparently always belonged to a family of the noble class of Kshatriya Varna . The chief coordinated his activities with the assembly; in some states, he did so with a council of other nobles. [8] The assembly met regularly, and would discuss all major state decisions. This body also had full financial, administrative, and judicial authority. Other officers, who rarely receive any mention, obeyed the decisions of the assembly.
The general make-up of the gana sanghas was either that of a single clan (e.g. Shakya), or a confederacy of clans (e.g. Vajji). Most of the gana sanghas are aristocratic in nature: For instance, the Licchavis, the ruling clan of Vajji, had a primary governing body of 7,077 rajas, the heads of the most important families. On the other hand, the smaller state of Shakyas and Koliyas, during the period around Gautama Buddha, had the assembly open to all men, rich and poor. [9] [10]
The gana sanghas in India it is generally believed existed as early as the 6th century BC, and persisted in some areas until the 4th century. The ancient Buddhist texts provide many accounts of the various ancient Indian states at the time of the Buddha, including their forms of governments and political workings. Among the larger mahajanapadas , Mallas, centered in the city of Kusinagara, and the Vajji (or Vṛji) confederation, centered in the city of Vaishali, existed as early as the 6th century BC, and both of their administrations were divided into executive, judicial, and military functions. [11] Even in the other kingdoms of the mahajanapadas , their monarchical rule would also include republican communities such as the Community of Rajakumara, The villages at this era also had their own assemblies under their village heads called gramakas.
The Arthashastra , an ancient Indian handbook for monarchs on how to rule efficiently, sometimes referred to as " The Prince of Ancient India", also contains a chapter on how to deal with the sanghas (assemblies), which includes injunctions on manipulating the noble leaders. Yet the chapter does not mention how to influence the mass of the citizens, indicating that the gana sangha is more of an aristocratic or oligarchical body, rather than democracy in a modern or even Athenian sense. [12]
Outside Indian sources, Diodorus, a Greek historian who wrote two centuries after the time of Alexander the Great's invasion of India (now Pakistan and northwest India) mentions that independent and democratic states existed in India. [13]
Scholars differ over how best to describe the gana sangha governments, and the vague, sporadic quality of the evidence allows for wide disagreements. Some emphasize the central role of the assemblies and thus tout them as democracies; other scholars focus on the upper-class domination of the leadership and possible control of the assembly and see an oligarchy or an aristocracy. [14] [15]
The rulers always belonged to warrior class. This is mentioned in Hindu, Buddhist and Jain texts. [14] The aristocrats were always from kshatriya (warrior) class. This leads many scholars to claim that the true nature of gana sanghas is not comparable to truly democratic institutions. [15] [16]
Siddhartha Gautama, most commonly referred to as the Buddha, was a wandering ascetic and religious teacher who lived in South Asia, during the 6th or 5th century BCE and founded Buddhism. According to Buddhist legends, he was born in Lumbini, in what is now Nepal, to royal parents of the Shakya clan, but renounced his home life to live as a wandering ascetic. After leading a life of mendicancy, asceticism, and meditation, he attained nirvana at Bodh Gaya in what is now India. The Buddha then wandered through the lower Indo-Gangetic Plain, teaching and building a monastic order. Buddhist tradition holds he died in Kushinagar and reached parinirvana.
Kshatriya is one of the four varnas of Hindu society and is associated with the warrior aristocracy. The Sanskrit term kṣatriyaḥ is used in the context of later Vedic society wherein members were organised into four classes: brahmin, kshatriya, vaishya, and shudra.
Shakya was an ancient clan of the northeastern region of South Asia, whose existence is attested during the Iron Age. The Shakyas were organised into a gaṇasaṅgha, also known as the Shakya Republic. The Shakyas were on the periphery, both geographically and culturally, of the eastern Indo-Gangetic Plain in the Greater Magadha cultural region.
The Kambojas were a southeastern Iranian people who inhabited the northeastern most part of the territory populated by Iranian tribes, which bordered the Indian lands. They only appear in Indo-Aryan inscriptions and literature, being first attested during the later part of the Vedic period.
Kosala, sometimes referred to as Uttara Kosala was one of the Mahajanapadas of ancient India. It emerged as a small state during the Late Vedic period and became one of the earliest states to transition from a lineage-based society to a monarchy. By the 6th century BCE, it had consolidated into one of the four great powers of ancient northern India, along with Magadha, Vatsa, and Avanti.
Ancient Hindu and Buddhist texts use Uttarapatha as the name of the Northern part of Jambudvipa, one of the "continents" in Hindu mythology. In modern times, the Sanskrit word uttarapatha is sometimes used to denote the geographical regions of North India, Western India, Central India, Eastern India, Northeast India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, and Nepal in just one term. The pronunciation of the word varies depending on the regional language of the speaker.
The Mahājanapadas were sixteen kingdoms and aristocratic republics that existed in ancient India from the sixth to fourth centuries BCE, during the second urbanisation period.
The Yadava were an ancient Indian people who believed to be descended from Yadu, a legendary king of Chandravamsha lineage.
Panchala was an ancient kingdom of northern India, located in the Ganges-Yamuna Doab of the Upper Gangetic plain which is identified as Kanyakubja or region around Kannauj. During Late Vedic times, it was one of the most powerful states of ancient India, closely allied with the Kuru Kingdom. By the c. 5th century BCE, it had become an oligarchic confederacy, considered one of the solasa (sixteen) mahajanapadas of the Indian subcontinent. After being absorbed into the Mauryan Empire, Panchala regained its independence until it was annexed by the Gupta Empire in the 4th century CE.
The Vajjika or VrijikaLeague, Confederacy, or Sangha, also called simply Vajji or Vriji, was an ancient Indo-Aryan league which existed during the later Iron Age period in north-east South Asia.
The kingdom of Surasena was an ancient Indian region corresponding to the present-day Braj region in Uttar Pradesh, with Mathura as its capital city. According to the Buddhist text Anguttara Nikaya, Surasena was one of the sixteen Mahajanapadas in the 6th century BCE. Also, it is mentioned in the Hindu epic poem Ramayana. The ancient Greek writers refer to the Sourasenoi and its cities, Methora and Cleisobra/Kleisobora.
Matsya was an ancient Indo-Aryan tribe of central South Asia whose existence is attested during the Iron Age. The members of the Matsya tribe were called the Mātsyeyas and were organised into a kingdom called the Matsya kingdom.
Anussati means "recollection," "contemplation," "remembrance," "meditation", and "mindfulness". It refers to specific Buddhist meditational or devotional practices, such as recollecting the sublime qualities of the Buddha, which lead to mental tranquillity and abiding joy. In various contexts, the Pali literature and Sanskrit Mahayana sutras emphasise and identify different enumerations of recollections.
The Haryanka dynasty was the ruling dynasty of Magadha between 544 BC and 413 BC. Initially, the capital was Rajagriha. Later, it was shifted to Pataliputra, near present-day Patna in India during the reign of Udayin. Bimbisara is considered as the founder of the dynasty.
The Buddha was born into a noble family in Lumbini in 563 BCE as per historical events and 624 BCE according to Buddhist tradition. He was called Siddhartha Gautama in his childhood. His father was king Śuddhodana, leader of the Shakya clan in what was the growing state of Kosala, and his mother was queen Maya. According to Buddhist legends, the baby exhibited the marks of a great man. A prophecy indicated that, if the child stayed at home, he was destined to become a world ruler. If the child left home, however, he would become a universal spiritual leader. To make sure the boy would be a great king and world ruler, his father isolated him in his palace and he was raised by his mother's younger sister, Mahapajapati Gotami, after his mother died just seven days after childbirth.
Mahākapphina (Pali) or Mahākapphiṇa (Sanskrit), also called Mahā Kapphina Thera, was an eminent Arhat from Uttarapatha and is considered foremost among those who taught the monks. Mahākapphina was his monastic name. He became disciple of the Buddha and is one of the five hundred Arhats who will be reborn and attain Buddhahood, according to Mahāyāna tradition. References to Kapphina can be found in the Jātakas, Buddhaghoṣa's Manorathapūranī, the Dhammapada Aṭṭhakathā, the Visuddhimagga, the Sāratthappakāsinī, the Saṃyutta Nikāya, the Aṅguttara Nikāya, the Vinaya Piṭaka, the Theragāthā, etc.; as well as in the Sanskrit Avadānaśatika.
Santhagara is a Pali word derived from combination of Santha or Sanstha in Sanskrit (group) and Agara and was used for the general assembly hall of a particular Gaṇasaṅgha kshatriya clan of ancient northern India where the old and younger of the same clan meets to decide on the general and state affairs. Santhagara was associated with republican states and its history traces back to 600 B.C. The republican states were known as gaṇa or saṅgha. Buddhist literatures show that Santhagara of republic states used to control foreign affairs, entertaining foreign Ambassadors and princes, and deciding on peace and war proposals. The history of democracy in India is believed to be starting from Santhagara and India derives its official name Bhārat Gaṇarājya, the Republic of India, from the Gaṇa. Other evidences of this period identifies saṅghas or gaṇas as not completely democracies but sort of corporations and also not as republics but oligarchies, where power was exercised by groups of people.
The Pāli Canon is the standard collection of scriptures in the Theravada Buddhist tradition, as preserved in the Pāli language. It is the most complete extant early Buddhist canon. It derives mainly from the Tamrashatiya school.
The Janapadas were the realms, republics (ganapada) and kingdoms (sāmarājya) of the Vedic period in the Indian subcontinent. The Vedic period reaches from the late Bronze Age into the Iron Age: from about 1500 BCE to the 6th century BCE. With the rise of sixteen Mahajanapadas, most of the states were annexed by more powerful neighbours, although some remained independent.
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