LICCHAVI ERA

The Licchavis were the most famous clan amongst the ruling confederate clans of the Vajji mahajanapada of ancient India. Vaishali, the capital of the Licchavis was the capital of the Vajji mahajanapada also. It was later occupied by Ajatashatru, who annexed the Vajji territory into his kingdom.
Kautilya in his Arthaśāstra (ch. XI), describes the Licchavis as a tribal confederation (gaṇa sangha), whose leader uses the title of rājā (rājaśabdopajīvinah). A Buddhist text, the Mahāparinibbāna Suttanta refers them as Kshatriyas and one of the claimants of the relics of Buddha. According to the Dīgha Nikāya, the Licchavis were of the Vasiṣṭha gotra.
Buddhaghośa in his Paramatthajotikā, 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 Vaiśālī. Buddhist tradition has preserved the names of a number of eminent Licchavis, which include prince Abhyaya, Oṭṭhaddha (Mahāli), generals, Sīha and Ajita, Dummukha and Sunakkhata. The Kalpasūtra of Bhadravāhu refers to the nine Licchavi gaṇarājas (chieftains) who along with the nine Malla gaṇarājas and the eighteen Kāśī-Kośala gaṇarājas formed a league against Magadha. The leader of this alliance was Cheṭaka, whose sister Triśalā was the mother of Mahavira.

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 Cullakalinga Jātaka and the Ekapaṇṇa Jātaka mention the Licchavi as having 7,707 Rājās. 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 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 Vaiśālī, the capital of the Vajjiian confederacy. The Rājā was the highest executive and judicial authority. The introductory portion of the Bhaddasāla Jātaka mentions about a tank, the water of which was used for the Abhiṣeka (the coronation) of the Gaṇarājas of Vaiśālī. The assembly hall where these Gaṇarājas met for discussion was known as the Santhāgāra.