Gaṇasaṅgha

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Gana-Sangha

ancient India.[3]

Etymology

Ancient India
. Among the Mahajanapadas and other smaller states around them, some of the states followed a republican form of government

The word gaṇa (

bhikkhunis
(nuns).

The phrase gana sangha can be translated as (rule by) tribal assembly. In ancient

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 oligarchical rule, contrast to monarchy (साम्राज्य saamarajya in Sanskrit).

Among the

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.

Institution

According to the Buddhist sources, key characteristics of the gana sangha seem to include a king (raja), and a deliberative assembly (sangha). Elected by the gana sangha, the monarch apparently always belonged to a family of the noble class of Kshatriya Varna. The monarch coordinated his activities with the assembly; in some states, he did so with a council of other nobles.[7] 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.

Gautama Buddha, had the assembly open to all men, rich and poor.[8][9]

Historical records

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

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.[10] 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 local chiefs called Gramakas.

The

aristocratic or oligarchical body, rather than democracy in a modern or even Athenian sense.[11]

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.[12]

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.[13][14]

The rulers always belonged to warrior class. This is mentioned in Hindu, Buddhist, Jain texts.[13] The oligarchs are always from warrior class. This leads many scholars to claim that the true nature of gana sanghas is not comparable to truly democratic institutions.[14][15]

See also

References

  1. ^
    ISBN 9780520242258
    . Retrieved 28 October 2013.
  2. ^ Majumdar, Asoke Kumar (1977), Concise History of Ancient India: Political theory, administration and economic life, Munshiram Manoharlal Publishers, p. 140
  3. ^ Witzel, Michael (1997): 'The Development of the Vedic Canon and its Schools: The Social and Political Milieu (Materials on Vedic Śåkhås, 8)' in Witzel, Michael (ed.) Inside the texts, Beyond the Texts, Harvard University Department of Sanskrit and Indian Studies, p. 313
  4. ^ "sangha". Lexico UK English Dictionary. Oxford University Press. Archived from the original on July 5, 2020.
  5. ^ Anguttara Nikaya I. p. 213; IV. pp. 252, 256, 261
  6. ISBN 978-1615301225
  7. ^ Robinson, 1997, p. 22
  8. ^ Robinson, 1997, p. 23
  9. ^ Sharma (1968). Republics in ancient India. Brill Archive. pp. 93–. GGKEY:HYY6LT5CFT0.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
  10. ^ Raychaudhuri Hemchandra (1972), Political History of Ancient India, Calcutta: University of Calcutta, p. 107
  11. ^ Trautmann T. R., Kautilya and the Arthashastra, Leiden 1971
  12. ^ Diodorus 2.39
  13. ^ a b Bongard-Levin, 1996, pp. 61–106
  14. ^ a b Sharma 1968, pp. 109–22
  15. ISBN 0-520-24225-4
    .

Further reading
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