Gana-sangha

Also called: Gana, Early republic, Ganasangha · Topic: Janapadas, Mahajanapadas and the Second Urbanisation · NCERT: Class 7, Ch 4 "New Beginnings: Cities and States"; Class 9, Ch 5 "State and Society up to 1000 CE"; Class 12, Ch 2 "Kings, Farmers and Towns"; Class 12, Ch 4 "Thinkers, Beliefs and Buildings"

Meaning

A gana-sangha was a state in early India (c. 6th century BCE onwards) that was ruled not by one king but by a group of men, all called rājas, who took decisions together in an assembly by discussion and, if needed, by vote. Vajji and Malla are the two gana-sanghas named by NCERT. They show that early Indian rule came in more than one form. They also shaped how Mahāvīra, the Buddha and the Buddhist sangha (order of monks) thought about debate and group decisions.

Explanation

Background: two kinds of states side by side

• By c. 600 BCE the Ganga plains had 16 mahajanapadas ("great janapadas", meaning large territorial states).
• Buddhist texts list them. Among them were Avanti, Ashvaka, Shurasena, Vatsa, Cedi, Malla, Vrijji, Magadha and Anga [2].
• These states were not all governed in the same way. Scholars describe two types [2]:
• Monarchies. One hereditary rājā (king) held power. Magadha, Kosala and Avanti were the strongest.

• Gana-sanghas. Representative rule, called republican or oligarchic (rule by a small group). Only members of the ruling clan had seats in the assembly [2].

• The words themselves help:

• gana means a group or a number of people.
• sangha means an assembly or an association.

Main features: how a gana-sangha worked

• Many rājas, not one. Power was shared by a number of men who were collectively called rājas. Class 12 NCERT ("Kings, Farmers and Towns") calls these states oligarchies.
• The assembly was the centre. The sabhā and samiti (assemblies) had more real power than any single person.
• How decisions were made:
• First, the matter was discussed in the assembly.
• If discussion did not settle it, they took a vote.

• Even the chief rājā was chosen this way, not by birth.

• Shared resources. In the Vajji sangha the rajas probably controlled land collectively. They owned it together as a group, not as separate private estates.

• Who was left out:
• Assembly seats went only to men of the ruling Kshatriya clan [2][7].
• Women, dasas and kammakaras (slaves and hired labourers) had no place in it.
• So it was rule by many, not rule by all.

The leading example: Vajji (Vrijji)

• Vrijji was a confederacy, meaning several peoples joined in one union. It was made up of the Licchavis and neighbouring groups in Bihar [6].
• It was governed as an aristocratic republic (rule by the leading noble families) and lasted, according to [6], from the 6th century BCE to the 4th century CE [6].
• The Licchavis had a general assembly of the heads of the leading Kshatriya families [7].
• The Licchavis were rivals of the rising power of Magadha. They joined other tribal groups in the Vrijjian (Vaijjian) confederacy to stand up to it [7].
• Malla, Vajji's neighbour, was the other gana-sangha that NCERT names.

Results: why monarchy won, and what survived

• Monarchy won in the short run.
• A king collected fixed taxes, kept a paid standing army and built stone walls.
• Rājagriha's outer wall runs for more than 40 km and is about 5 m thick [5].

• A group that had to debate before it acted could not gather resources this fast. Magadha took over its rivals, including the Vajji confederacy.

• The gana method outlived the gana states.

• Some gana-sanghas still lasted nearly a thousand years, so they were not weak experiments.
• Mahāvīra and the Buddha both came from ganas.
• The Buddhist sangha ran its own affairs the same way: discussion first, and a vote if discussion failed.

Time, place and evidence

• Period: the age of the mahajanapadas and the Second Urbanisation (the second rise of cities in India, after the Harappan cities), c. 6th century BCE onwards. Vajji lasted, according to [6], until the 4th century CE [6].
• Region: the middle Ganga plains, north of the Ganga in present-day Bihar [6].
• Key groups: the Licchavis and their partners in the Vajji/Vrijji confederacy, and the Mallas.
• Key people:
• Mahāvīra and the Buddha, who were both born into gana society.

• On the monarchy side, Bimbisāra (c. 543–491 BCE), who built Rājagriha and annexed Anga [3], and Ajātashatru, who built the fort at Pāṭaligrāma that later became Pāṭaliputra [4].

• How we know:

• Buddhist texts list the 16 mahajanapadas and describe the ganas [2].
• NCERT warns that gana histories are hard to rebuild because sources are few. Kings' courts kept records, but assemblies mostly did not.
• Most of what we know comes from Buddhist and Jaina texts written from the point of view of the new religions.

Don't confuse with

• Monarchy (e.g. Magadha, Kosala, Avanti): one hereditary rājā had the final word, helped by ministers and elders. In a gana-sangha many rājas shared power and chose their leader by discussion and vote.
• Buddhist sangha: the order of monks and nuns set up by the Buddha. It is a religious body, not a state. It borrowed the gana method of discussion and voting.
• Licchavi vs Vajji: the Licchavis were one clan. Vajji/Vrijji was the confederacy that the Licchavis formed with neighbouring groups [6][7].
• Modern republic: in a modern republic every adult citizen has a voice. In a gana-sangha only men of the ruling Kshatriya clan sat in the assembly [2]. "Early republic" is a label that needs this limit.

Prelims Hooks

• NCERT names Vajji (Vrijji) and Malla as the gana-sanghas among the 16 mahajanapadas. Magadha, Kosala and Avanti were monarchies, which is a common "which of the following" trap.
• In a gana-sangha power was shared by many men collectively called rājas. Class 12 NCERT calls this an oligarchy.
• In the Vajji sangha the rajas probably controlled land collectively.
• Both Mahāvīra and the Buddha belonged to ganas.
• The Vrijji confederacy of the Licchavis in Bihar lasted from the 6th century BCE to the 4th century CE and was governed as an aristocratic republic [6].
• In a gana-sangha, assembly seats were limited to the ruling clan [2]. The Licchavi assembly was made of the heads of the leading Kshatriya families [7].

Mains Points

• Early Indian rule took many forms, not one.
• Monarchies and gana-sanghas were both trying to control land, people and surplus in the iron-using Ganga plains.
• Monarchies put power in the hands of one hereditary king, backed by taxes, an army and walls.
• Gana-sanghas spread power across a clan assembly that decided by discussion and vote.

• Use this to show that early Indian statecraft was plural.

• The "early republic" label holds only in part.

• It is fair on method: debate, voting and a chosen rājā.
• It does not hold on who took part: only Kshatriya clan heads sat in the assembly [2][7], and women, dasas and kammakaras were left out.
• Some ganas lasted nearly a thousand years, yet their histories are hard to rebuild because they left few records.

• A balanced answer keeps both sides.

• Politics and religion were linked.

• Mahāvīra and the Buddha grew up in gana society.
• The Buddhist sangha used the same method of discussion first and voting if needed.
• Magadha's monarchy won the political contest, but the gana way of deciding together lived on in religious life. This is useful for GS-I questions on the social roots of Buddhism and Jainism.

Related concepts

• Monarchy in the mahajanapadas
• Vajji
• Licchavis
• Malla

Read more

• Monarchies and gana-sanghas: two systems of governance