Licchavi (clan)

For the branch of the Licchavis that conquered Nepal in the 4th century CE, see Licchavi (kingdom).

Buddha's ashes Stupa built by the Licchavis, Vaishali.

The Licchavis were a clan amongst the Vajji Mahajanapada of ancient India. Vaishali, the capital and homeland of the Licchavis, was also the capital of the Vajji mahajanapada. It was later occupied by Ajatashatru, who annexed the Vajji territory into his kingdom during the Magadha-Vajji war.

Kautilya in his (ch. XI), describes the Licchavis as a republic (), whose leader uses the title of (). A Buddhist text, the refers them as Kshatriyas and one of the claimants of the relics of Shakyamuni Buddha. They have claimed Kshatriya status themselves. According to the , the Licchavis were of the gotra. Buhler assumes that, in the Manusmriti (X.22), the Licchavis are placed in the category of the Vratya Kshatriyas.

in his , traced the origin of the Licchavis to Benaras. The date of the establishment of the Licchavi domination over the area consisting of present-day north Bihar and Terai region of Nepal is not known. By the time of Mahavira and Gautama Buddha this clan was already well settled in the area around their capital . Buddhist tradition has preserved the names of a number of eminent Licchavis, which include prince Abhyaya, (), generals, and Ajita, Dummukha and Sunakkhata. The of refers to the nine Licchavi s (chieftains) who along with the nine Malla s and the eighteen - s formed a league against Magadha. The leader of this alliance was Chetaka, whose sister Trishala was the mother of Mahavira.

Licchavi administration

Ananda Stupa, with an Asokan pillar, at Vaishali, the capital city.

Only scattered reports of the Licchavi government system survive. The introductory portions of the and the mention the Licchavi as having 7,707 s. The number is one of convention, and unlikely to have been exact. It does demonstrate that Licchavi, unlike most of its neighbours, was not an absolute monarchy. Ultimate authority rested with the 7,707 raja who met each year to elect one of their member as ruler and a council of nine to assist him. It was far from a modern democracy, as only a small portion of the Licchavi population qualified to vote. Those with raja status were only the male heads of households who belonged to the kshatriya varna.

The seat of the Licchavi administration was in , the capital of the Vajjiian confederacy. The was the highest executive and judicial authority. The introductory portion of the mentions a tank, the water of which was used for the (the coronation) of the s of . The assembly hall where these s met for discussion was known as the .

The executive

The mentions three chief functionaries of the Licchavi administration, the (the ruling chief), the (the deputy chief) and the (the chief of the army). The introductory portion of the adds one more with it, the (the chancellor of exchequer).

The judiciary

The Vajji or Vrijji Mahajanapada in 500 BCE.

According to the , an accused criminal had to pass through seven layers of judges, each of whom investigated and interrogated the accused.

These judges were the (the inquiring magistrate), the (the jurist-judge), the (the master of the sacred code), (literally, the eight clans, probably a federal court). Then the and the . The final judge was the , who could find him guilty, whereupon the convict received the punishment prescribed in the (the book of precedence) for the offence committed by him.

Decline

See also: Magadha-Vajji war

The Licchavi feud with Ajatashatru from 484 BCE to 468 BCE ended with the victory of the latter.

Licchavis and the Imperial Guptas

Licchavi Queen Kumaradevi and King Chandragupta I, depicted on a coin of their son Samudragupta, 350-380 CE.

The Licchavis continued to live in the region of Vaishali during the Gupta period and formed an integral part of the Gupta Empire. The Gupta emperor Chandragupta I married a Licchavi princess Kumaradevi and the legend Licchavayah is found along with a figure of goddess Lakshmi on the reverse of the Chandragupta I-Kumaradevi type gold coins of Samudragupta. In the Allahabad Pillar inscription of Samudragupta, he is described as the Licchavidauhitra (the grandson of the Licchavis from his mother's side). These probably suggest Licchavi occupation of Magadha immediately before the rise of the imperial Guptas, although there is no direct evidence to prove it.

See also

• The Licchavi kingdom of Nepal

References

Sources

• Singh, Upinder (2016), A History of Ancient and Early Medieval India: From the Stone Age to the 12th Century, Pearson, ISBN 978-81-317-1677-9