Vajji

Also called: Vrijji, Vajji confederacy, Vrijji sangha · Topic: Janapadas, Mahajanapadas and the Second Urbanisation · NCERT: Class 7, Ch 4 "New Beginnings: Cities and States"; Class 12, Ch 2 "Kings, Farmers and Towns"

Meaning

Vajji (Vrijji) was one of the 16 mahajanapadas (big territorial states) of north Bihar. It was a gana-sangha (a state ruled by a group, not by one king): a confederacy (union of several peoples) of the Licchavis and neighbouring clans, with its capital at Vaishali. Many men, all called rājas, shared power and probably held land together. Vajji matters because it is the clearest example of India's "early republics". It also shows that early Indian states were not all monarchies, and it is the political world that both Mahāvīra and the Buddha came from.

Explanation

Background: two kinds of state in the Ganga plains

• By c. 600 BCE the Ganga plains held 16 mahajanapadas. Buddhist texts name them, and the list includes Vrijji, Malla, Magadha, Anga, Avanti, Vatsa, Shurasena, Cedi and Ashvaka [2].
• These states did not all have the same kind of government:
• Monarchies: one hereditary rājā (king), for example Magadha, Kosala and Avanti.

• Gana-sanghas: power shared by a group of men, all called rājas. NCERT names Vajji and Malla as gana-sanghas.

• Scholars describe the second type as republican or oligarchic (oligarchic means rule by a small group) [2].

Main features: how the Vajji sangha worked

• Many rājas, not one king. Power was shared by a number of men who were collectively called rājas. Class 12, Ch 2 "Kings, Farmers and Towns" calls such ganas oligarchies.
• Assemblies held real power. The sabhā and samiti (assemblies) had more power than any single person.
• How decisions were made:
• Matters were first settled by discussion in the assembly.
• If discussion did not settle a matter, the assembly took a vote.

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

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

• A confederacy. Vajji was a union of the Licchavis and neighbouring groups in Bihar [6]. The Licchavis had a general assembly of the heads of the leading Kshatriya families [7].

Who was left out

• Seats in the assembly went only to members of the ruling clan [2].
• Women, labourers, dasas (slaves) and kammakaras (hired workers) had no place in the assembly.
• So it was rule by many, not rule by all. The word "republic" fits how decisions were made, but not who was allowed to take part.

Change over time and results

• Rivalry with Magadha. The Licchavis were a rival to the rising power of Magadha. They formed the Vrijjian (Vaijjian) confederacy with other tribal groups to resist it [7].
• Why the monarchy won:
• Magadha had fixed taxes, a paid standing army and strong stone walls.
• A confederacy that had to debate before it acted could not gather resources as quickly.

• In the end, Magadha absorbed its rivals, including the Vajji confederacy.

• Long life all the same. By one account the Vrijji confederacy lasted from the 6th century BCE to the 4th century CE as an aristocratic republic (rule by leading families) [6]. NCERT also notes that some gana-sanghas lasted for nearly a thousand years.

• The idea outlived the state. Discussion, voting and shared property were carried into the Buddhist sangha (the order of monks), which ran its affairs in the same way.

Time, place and evidence

• Period: c. 6th century BCE onwards, in the age of the mahajanapadas and the Second Urbanisation (the rise of new cities in the Ganga plains). One account dates the confederacy from the 6th century BCE to the 4th century CE [6].
• Region: north Bihar, north of the Ganga. Its capital was Vaishali. Its neighbour was the gana-sangha of Malla, and its main rival was the monarchy of Magadha to the south.
• Key peoples and people:
• The Licchavis, the leading clan of the confederacy [7].
• Mahāvīra, who was a Kshatriya prince of the Licchavis, a group that was part of the Vajji sangha.

• The Buddha, who also came from a gana (the Shakyas).

• How we know:

• Buddhist texts, which list the 16 mahajanapadas, including Vrijji [2].
• Jaina texts, through the life of Mahāvīra.
• Limits of the evidence: NCERT warns that gana histories are hard to reconstruct. Kings' courts kept records, but assemblies mostly did not. Much of what we know comes from religious texts, not from the sanghas' own records.

Don't confuse with

• Licchavi – the Licchavis were the leading clan inside Vajji. Vajji is the name of the whole confederacy (the Licchavis plus neighbouring groups) [6][7].
• Malla – the other gana-sangha that NCERT names, and Vajji's neighbour. It was a separate mahajanapada, not part of the Vajji confederacy.
• Magadha – a monarchy with a hereditary king (Bimbisara, then Ajātashatru) and its capital at Rājagriha, later Pāṭaliputra [3][4]. Vajji had many rājas and its capital at Vaishali. Magadha was Vajji's rival and in the end absorbed it.
• Buddhist sangha – the order of monks, a religious body. The Vajji sangha was a political state. The monastic sangha copied its method of discussion and voting.

Prelims Hooks

• Vajji (Vrijji) and Malla are the two mahajanapadas that NCERT names as gana-sanghas. Magadha, Kosala and Avanti were monarchies.
• Vajji was a confederacy of the Licchavis and neighbouring clans, with its capital at Vaishali [6].
• In the Vajji sangha, the rajas probably controlled land collectively. Class 12, Ch 2 calls such ganas oligarchies.
• In a gana-sangha, even the rājā was chosen by discussion and vote, not by birth.
• Mahāvīra was a Licchavi prince of the Vajji sangha. Both Mahāvīra and the Buddha belonged to ganas.
• Trap: "Every member of society sat in the gana assembly" is wrong. Seats were limited to the ruling clan [2].

Mains Points

• "Republic" needs a qualifier.
• The label fits how Vajji made decisions: debate, voting and a chosen rājā.
• It does not fit who took part: only Kshatriya clan heads sat in the assembly, while women, dasas and kammakaras were left out [2][7].

• A strong answer accepts both halves. This also shows that early Indian statecraft was plural, not uniform.

• Why the confederacy lost to Magadha.

• Magadha's king had fixed revenue, a standing army and huge fortifications, such as Rājagriha's 40 km wall [5].
• Vajji relied on a debating assembly of many rājas, which could not gather resources as fast.

• This explains the rise of Magadha and, later, the Mauryas.

• Polity shaped religion. Mahāvīra and the Buddha both grew up in gana society. The Buddhist sangha kept the gana method of assembly, discussion and voting alive long after the political units ended. This is useful in GS-I questions on the social roots of the heterodox sects (Buddhism and Jainism).

Related concepts

• Monarchy in the mahajanapadas
• Gana-sangha
• Licchavis
• Malla

Read more

• Monarchies and gana-sanghas: two systems of governance