Santhagara
Encyclopedia
Santhagara is a pali
word derived from combination of Santha or Sanstha in Sanskrit
(group) and Agara (house or assembly point) and was used for the general assembly hall of a particular Ga%E1%B9%87a sangha kshatriya clan of ancient northern India
where the old and younger of the same clan meets to decide on the general and state affairs. Santhagara was associated with republic
an states and its history traces back to 600 B.C. The republican states were known as Gana
or Sangha
. Buddhist literatures show that Santhagara of republic states used to control foreign affairs, entertaining foreign Ambassador
s and princes, and deciding on peace and war proposals. The history of democracy in India is believed to be starting from Santhagara and India derives its official name Bharat Ganarajya, the Republic of India, from the Gana.
s of Kapilvastu, the Mall
a of Pava
and Kusinara, the Licchavi (clan)
s or Licchavi (kingdom) of Vaisali, the Videhas of Mithila
, the Koliyas of Ramagram (Gorakhpur
), the Bulis of Allakapa, the Kalingas of Resaputta, the Mauryas of Pipphalvana, and the Bhaggas with their capital on Sumsumara Hill. Maha-Govinda Suttanta http://ccbs.ntu.edu.tw/FULLTEXT/JR-ENG/gic.htm gives references about Sakya’s heaven which was modeled on Santhagara of Sakya. The Lichchhavi santhagara is mentioned in detail in The Ekpanna Jataka, Chullakalinga Jataka (Jataka tales)and Mahāvastu
.
Santhagara was twenty years. The assembly had strong sentiments against hereditary privileges and supported the principle of free election by the Gana to all-important posts, including that of Commander-in-chief known as Ganapati, Ganajyestha, Ganaraja, or Sanghamukhya which was the highest authority in state.
In the assembly, there were different posts known as Vargya, Grihya and Pakshya who clashed from time to time for power. The term Dvandva
was used to denote the rival parties and the term Vyutkramana to their rivalry. Transaction of the Assembly business strictly required a Quorum
without which it was considered invalid. Panini refers to gana-titha as the person whose attendance completed the quorum in a Gana and to Sangha-titha as one who completed the quorum of the Sangha. The person who acted as a “whip” Whip (politics)
to secure the “quorum” was known as “Ganapuraka”. The seat regulator whose main job was to allot the seats to persons on dais
, front seats and other places depending on their position was known as “Asanapannapaka”. Voting was done with pieces of wood known as Salakas. The collector of votes was the Salaka-Grahapaka, chosen for this job on account of his reputation of his honesty and impartiality. The word used for votes was “Chhanda” which meant free choice. The president of the state who was known as “Samghyamukhya” was responsible for presiding the assembly and regulating the debates. He was expected to observe strict impartiality and if he failed, he was furiously criticized. The voting methodology was of three types – by Guthaka (secret method), by Sakarnajapakam (whispering method) and by Vivatakam (Open method). Generally the assembly contains four to twenty executive members. The Raja
(King), Upa-Raja (Sub-ordinate king), Senapati
(military commanders) and Bhandagarika (treasurers) seem to be the designation of four executive members.
The Mall
a state, which was small, had an executive of four members only in their Santhagara, all of them have taken a prominent part in the funeral of Buddha. On the other hand Lichchhavis had nine Executive officers (kings) in their assembly. The confederations of Lichchhavis and Videhas had Executive of Eighteen members. According to Buddhist literatures, the Lichchhavis formed a league with Videha and together they were called as “Vajjis”http://www.jainworld.com/jainbooks/arhat/ajatvajjis.htm. Lichchhavis had once formed a federation with their neighbor, The Malla. The federal council was composed of eighteen members, nine Lichchhavis and nine Malla. The president of federation was known as Gana-raja. In a federation, both parties were having equal rights even though Malla were not a great power as Lichchhavis.
Empire soon after Buddha’s death. Magadha King Ajatshatru conquered Lichchhavis after a prolonged battle which continued for 16 years. Later on Samudragupta
s military campaign finished the Lichchhavis states.
of republic states was Buddhism
and in case of few, it was Jainism
. With rise of monarch and Vedic Brahmanism, major fraction of republic kshatriyas like Malla, Lichchhavis migrated towards South India and Nepal
respectively. On the other side, Mauryas were defamed as Shudra by Brahmin Sunga dynasty. The remaining republic Buddhist kshatriyas of this region who were moderate towards Brahmanism accepted Hinduism back. Faxian
describes about nagvanshi kshatriya
s of Ramgram, koliya clan http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O108-Koliya.html, joining Santhavara Sangha of kshatriyas after fall of Buddhism due to their social and political orientation. Mahapandit Rahul Sankrityayan
, Dr. Rajbali Pandey, Tripatkacharya Mahopadhyay Bkishu Buddhamitra, Kumar Suresh Singh, Dr. Raghunath Chand Kaushik who did extensive research on Buddhist places and society are of view that Sainthwar kshatriya carries the Buddhist legacy of Santhagara. Today's Sainthwar community consists of ancient Malla, Koliya, Shakya and Lichchhavis kshatriya along with rajputs of Mahabat Khan
's 1626 rebellion against Jahangir
.
Páli
- External links :* *...
word derived from combination of Santha or Sanstha in Sanskrit
Sanskrit
Sanskrit , is a historical Indo-Aryan language and the primary liturgical language of Hinduism, Jainism and Buddhism.Buddhism: besides Pali, see Buddhist Hybrid Sanskrit Today, it is listed as one of the 22 scheduled languages of India and is an official language of the state of Uttarakhand...
(group) and Agara (house or assembly point) and was used for the general assembly hall of a particular Ga%E1%B9%87a sangha kshatriya clan of ancient northern India
India
India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...
where the old and younger of the same clan meets to decide on the general and state affairs. Santhagara was associated with republic
Republic
A republic is a form of government in which the people, or some significant portion of them, have supreme control over the government and where offices of state are elected or chosen by elected people. In modern times, a common simplified definition of a republic is a government where the head of...
an states and its history traces back to 600 B.C. The republican states were known as Gana
Gana
The word ' , in Sanskrit, means "flock, troop, multitude, number, tribe, series, class" . It can also be used to refer to a "body of attendants" and can refer to "a company, any assemblage or association of men formed for the attainment of the same aims".In Hinduism, the s are attendants of Shiva...
or Sangha
Sangha
Sangha is a word in Pali or Sanskrit that can be translated roughly as "association" or "assembly," "company" or "community" with common goal, vision or purpose...
. Buddhist literatures show that Santhagara of republic states used to control foreign affairs, entertaining foreign Ambassador
Ambassador
An ambassador is the highest ranking diplomat who represents a nation and is usually accredited to a foreign sovereign or government, or to an international organization....
s and princes, and deciding on peace and war proposals. The history of democracy in India is believed to be starting from Santhagara and India derives its official name Bharat Ganarajya, the Republic of India, from the Gana.
Origin of Santhagara
Buddhist and Jain literatures gives references about Santhagara with non-monarchial states like ShakyaShakya
Shakya was an ancient janapada of India in the 1st millennium BCE. In Buddhist texts the Shakyas, the inhabitants of Shakya janapada, are mentioned as a clan of Gotama gotra....
s of Kapilvastu, the Mall
Malla (India)
Malla was one of the solasa mahajanapadas of ancient India mentioned in the Anguttara Nikaya. It was named after the ruling clan of the same name. The Mahabharata mentions the territory as the Mallarashtra . The Malla mahajanapada was situated north of Magadha. It was a small mahajanapada...
a of Pava
Pava
thumb|right|325px|A stupa built at the place where Cunda's house used to be, at the site of ancient Pava.Pava was a city in ancient India, at the time of Gautama Buddha. It was a city of the Mallas which the Buddha visited during his last journey, going there from Bhogagama and staying at Cunda's...
and Kusinara, the Licchavi (clan)
Licchavi (clan)
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...
s or Licchavi (kingdom) of Vaisali, the Videhas of Mithila
Mithila
Mithila was a city in Ancient India, the capital of the Videha Kingdom. The name Mithila is also commonly used to refer to the Videha Kingdom itself, as well as to the modern-day territories that fall within the ancient boundaries of Videha...
, the Koliyas of Ramagram (Gorakhpur
Gorakhpur
Gorakhpur is a city in the eastern part of the state of Uttar Pradesh in India, near the border with Nepal. It is the administrative headquarters of Gorakhpur District and Gorakhpur Division. Gorakhpur is one of the proposed capitals of the Purvanchal state which is yet to be formed...
), the Bulis of Allakapa, the Kalingas of Resaputta, the Mauryas of Pipphalvana, and the Bhaggas with their capital on Sumsumara Hill. Maha-Govinda Suttanta http://ccbs.ntu.edu.tw/FULLTEXT/JR-ENG/gic.htm gives references about Sakya’s heaven which was modeled on Santhagara of Sakya. The Lichchhavi santhagara is mentioned in detail in The Ekpanna Jataka, Chullakalinga Jataka (Jataka tales)and Mahāvastu
Mahavastu
The Mahāvastu is a text of the Lokottaravāda school of Early Buddhism. It describes itself as being a historical preface to the Buddhist monastic codes...
.
Functioning of Santhagara
The minimum age to become member of ShakyaShakya
Shakya was an ancient janapada of India in the 1st millennium BCE. In Buddhist texts the Shakyas, the inhabitants of Shakya janapada, are mentioned as a clan of Gotama gotra....
Santhagara was twenty years. The assembly had strong sentiments against hereditary privileges and supported the principle of free election by the Gana to all-important posts, including that of Commander-in-chief known as Ganapati, Ganajyestha, Ganaraja, or Sanghamukhya which was the highest authority in state.
In the assembly, there were different posts known as Vargya, Grihya and Pakshya who clashed from time to time for power. The term Dvandva
Dvandva
A dvandva or twin or Siamese compound refers to one or more objects that could be connected in sense by the conjunction 'and', where the objects refer to the parts of an agglomeration described by the compound...
was used to denote the rival parties and the term Vyutkramana to their rivalry. Transaction of the Assembly business strictly required a Quorum
Quorum
A quorum is the minimum number of members of a deliberative assembly necessary to conduct the business of that group...
without which it was considered invalid. Panini refers to gana-titha as the person whose attendance completed the quorum in a Gana and to Sangha-titha as one who completed the quorum of the Sangha. The person who acted as a “whip” Whip (politics)
Whip (politics)
A whip is an official in a political party whose primary purpose is to ensure party discipline in a legislature. Whips are a party's "enforcers", who typically offer inducements and threaten punishments for party members to ensure that they vote according to the official party policy...
to secure the “quorum” was known as “Ganapuraka”. The seat regulator whose main job was to allot the seats to persons on dais
Dais
Dais is any raised platform located either in or outside of a room or enclosure, often for dignified occupancy, as at the front of a lecture hall or sanctuary....
, front seats and other places depending on their position was known as “Asanapannapaka”. Voting was done with pieces of wood known as Salakas. The collector of votes was the Salaka-Grahapaka, chosen for this job on account of his reputation of his honesty and impartiality. The word used for votes was “Chhanda” which meant free choice. The president of the state who was known as “Samghyamukhya” was responsible for presiding the assembly and regulating the debates. He was expected to observe strict impartiality and if he failed, he was furiously criticized. The voting methodology was of three types – by Guthaka (secret method), by Sakarnajapakam (whispering method) and by Vivatakam (Open method). Generally the assembly contains four to twenty executive members. The Raja
Raja
Raja is an Indian term for a monarch, or princely ruler of the Kshatriya varna...
(King), Upa-Raja (Sub-ordinate king), Senapati
Senapati
Senapati is the Hindi word for general and Mahasenapati means great general. It is cognate with duke or Herzog and like this word means army leader .-List of few Maratha "Senapati" or "Commander-in-Chief":...
(military commanders) and Bhandagarika (treasurers) seem to be the designation of four executive members.
The Mall
Malla (India)
Malla was one of the solasa mahajanapadas of ancient India mentioned in the Anguttara Nikaya. It was named after the ruling clan of the same name. The Mahabharata mentions the territory as the Mallarashtra . The Malla mahajanapada was situated north of Magadha. It was a small mahajanapada...
a state, which was small, had an executive of four members only in their Santhagara, all of them have taken a prominent part in the funeral of Buddha. On the other hand Lichchhavis had nine Executive officers (kings) in their assembly. The confederations of Lichchhavis and Videhas had Executive of Eighteen members. According to Buddhist literatures, the Lichchhavis formed a league with Videha and together they were called as “Vajjis”http://www.jainworld.com/jainbooks/arhat/ajatvajjis.htm. Lichchhavis had once formed a federation with their neighbor, The Malla. The federal council was composed of eighteen members, nine Lichchhavis and nine Malla. The president of federation was known as Gana-raja. In a federation, both parties were having equal rights even though Malla were not a great power as Lichchhavis.
Events associated with Santhagara
- Siddhārtha Gautama, Gautama BuddhaGautama BuddhaSiddhārtha Gautama was a spiritual teacher from the Indian subcontinent, on whose teachings Buddhism was founded. In most Buddhist traditions, he is regarded as the Supreme Buddha Siddhārtha Gautama (Sanskrit: सिद्धार्थ गौतम; Pali: Siddhattha Gotama) was a spiritual teacher from the Indian...
was initiated as member of Shakya Santhagara when he turned twenty. When he was twenty eight years old, a major clash took place between Koliya and Sakya over water of Rohini River. Shakya military commander decided to start a war on Koliya and Siddhartha opposed it. Siddhartha brought peace proposal in front of Santhagara which failed miserably during voting. As a consequence Siddhartha has to go in exile, PabbajjaPabbajjaPabbajja literally means "to go forth" and refers to when a layperson leaves home to live the life of a Buddhist renunciate among a community of monks . This generally involves preliminary ordination as a novice... - According to Ambattha sutta http://www.sacred-texts.com/bud/dob/dob-03tx.htm, of the Digha NikayaDigha NikayaThe Digha Nikaya is a Buddhist scripture, the first of the five nikayas, or collections, in the Sutta Pitaka, which is one of the "three baskets" that compose the Pali Tipitaka of Theravada Buddhism...
, when the Brahmana Ambattha visited Kapilvastu, members of the Shakya assembly are said to have laughed at him, treating him with scant respect. - Shakyans who were proud of superiority of their blood, decided not give a Shakyan girl to PasenadiPasenadiPasenadi was a dynasty ruler of Kosala. He succeeded his father . He was a prominent of Gautama Buddha, who built many Buddhist monasteries.-Life:...
, King of KosalaKosalaKosala was an ancient Indian region, corresponding roughly in area with the region of Awadh in present day Uttar Pradesh. According to the Buddhist text Anguttara Nikaya and the Jaina text, the Bhagavati Sutra, Kosala was one of the Solasa Mahajanapadas in 6th century BCE and its cultural and...
in their Santhagara and instead gave slave girl as Shakyan girl. This resulted in mass scale massacre of Shakyas and demolition of santhagara by VirudhakaVirudhakaVirudhaka was son of Raja Prasenjit and king of Kashi Kosala.Soon after usurping the prosperous kingdom built up by his father Bimbisara, the parricide Ajatashatru went to war with his aged uncle Prasenjit, and gained complete control of Kashi...
, son of Prasenjit after knowing the truth. - Lichchhavis honored the beautiful courtesan AmbapaliAmbapaliAmrapāli, also known as "Ambapālika" or "Ambapali", was a nagarvadhu of the republic of Vaishali in ancient India around 500 BC.. Following the Buddha's teachings she became an arahant...
as NagarvadhuNagarvadhuNagarvadhu or Nagar Vadhu was a tradition followed in some parts of ancient India.Women competed to win the title of a Nagarvadhu, and it was not considered a taboo. The most beautiful woman was chosen as the Nagarvadhu....
in one of their annual meetings. - Malla and Lichchhavis as per Buddhist literatures, requested lord Gautama BuddhaGautama BuddhaSiddhārtha Gautama was a spiritual teacher from the Indian subcontinent, on whose teachings Buddhism was founded. In most Buddhist traditions, he is regarded as the Supreme Buddha Siddhārtha Gautama (Sanskrit: सिद्धार्थ गौतम; Pali: Siddhattha Gotama) was a spiritual teacher from the Indian...
to perform the opening ceremonies of their Santhagar by first using them for delivering a sermon to a congregation assembled therein. - Gautama BuddhaGautama BuddhaSiddhārtha Gautama was a spiritual teacher from the Indian subcontinent, on whose teachings Buddhism was founded. In most Buddhist traditions, he is regarded as the Supreme Buddha Siddhārtha Gautama (Sanskrit: सिद्धार्थ गौतम; Pali: Siddhattha Gotama) was a spiritual teacher from the Indian...
was very pleased to see the functioning of Lichchhavi Santhagara and he directed his pupils to pattern the Buddhist monastic order (Buddhist sanghaSanghaSangha is a word in Pali or Sanskrit that can be translated roughly as "association" or "assembly," "company" or "community" with common goal, vision or purpose...
) on the Lichchhavis sangha polities. - The Malla of Kusinara, KushinagarKushinagarKushinagar , Kusinagar or Kusinara is a town and a nagar panchayat in Kushinagar district in the Indian state of Uttar Pradesh. It is an important Buddhist pilgrimage site, where Gautama Buddha is believed to have attained Parinirvana after his death.-Demographics: India census, Kushinagar had a...
discussed the problems related to funeral of Buddha and disposal of his ashes in their Santhagara.
Fall of Santhagara
Santhagara started to disappear with the fall of republican states like Malla, Shakya, and Lichchhavis. Malla lost their independence to MagadhaMagadha
Magadha formed one of the sixteen Mahājanapadas or kingdoms in ancient India. The core of the kingdom was the area of Bihar south of the Ganga; its first capital was Rajagriha then Pataliputra...
Empire soon after Buddha’s death. Magadha King Ajatshatru conquered Lichchhavis after a prolonged battle which continued for 16 years. Later on Samudragupta
Samudragupta
Samudragupta , ruler of the Gupta Empire , and successor to Chandragupta I, is considered to be one of the greatest military geniuses in Indian history according to Historian V. A. Smith. His name is taken to be a title acquired by his conquests...
s military campaign finished the Lichchhavis states.
Legacy of Santhagara at present
The main religionReligion
Religion is a collection of cultural systems, belief systems, and worldviews that establishes symbols that relate humanity to spirituality and, sometimes, to moral values. Many religions have narratives, symbols, traditions and sacred histories that are intended to give meaning to life or to...
of republic states was Buddhism
Buddhism
Buddhism is a religion and philosophy encompassing a variety of traditions, beliefs and practices, largely based on teachings attributed to Siddhartha Gautama, commonly known as the Buddha . The Buddha lived and taught in the northeastern Indian subcontinent some time between the 6th and 4th...
and in case of few, it was Jainism
Jainism
Jainism is an Indian religion that prescribes a path of non-violence towards all living beings. Its philosophy and practice emphasize the necessity of self-effort to move the soul towards divine consciousness and liberation. Any soul that has conquered its own inner enemies and achieved the state...
. With rise of monarch and Vedic Brahmanism, major fraction of republic kshatriyas like Malla, Lichchhavis migrated towards South India and Nepal
Nepal
Nepal , officially the Federal Democratic Republic of Nepal, is a landlocked sovereign state located in South Asia. It is located in the Himalayas and bordered to the north by the People's Republic of China, and to the south, east, and west by the Republic of India...
respectively. On the other side, Mauryas were defamed as Shudra by Brahmin Sunga dynasty. The remaining republic Buddhist kshatriyas of this region who were moderate towards Brahmanism accepted Hinduism back. Faxian
Faxian
Faxian was a Chinese Buddhist monk who traveled to India, Sri Lanka and Kapilavastu in today's Nepal between 399 and 412 to acquire Buddhist scriptures...
describes about nagvanshi kshatriya
Kshatriya
*For the Bollywood film of the same name see Kshatriya Kshatriya or Kashtriya, meaning warrior, is one of the four varnas in Hinduism...
s of Ramgram, koliya clan http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O108-Koliya.html, joining Santhavara Sangha of kshatriyas after fall of Buddhism due to their social and political orientation. Mahapandit Rahul Sankrityayan
Rahul Sankrityayan
Mahapandit Rahul Sankrityayan , who is called the Father of Hindi Travel literature, was one of the most widely-traveled scholars of India, spending forty-five years of his life on travels away from his home. He became a buddhist monk and eventually took up Marxist Socialism...
, Dr. Rajbali Pandey, Tripatkacharya Mahopadhyay Bkishu Buddhamitra, Kumar Suresh Singh, Dr. Raghunath Chand Kaushik who did extensive research on Buddhist places and society are of view that Sainthwar kshatriya carries the Buddhist legacy of Santhagara. Today's Sainthwar community consists of ancient Malla, Koliya, Shakya and Lichchhavis kshatriya along with rajputs of Mahabat Khan
Mahabat Khan
Mahabat Khan , was a prominent Mughal general and statesman, perhaps best known for his coup against the Mughal Emperor Jahangir in 1626....
's 1626 rebellion against Jahangir
Jahangir
Jahangir was the ruler of the Mughal Empire from 1605 until his death. The name Jahangir is from Persian جهانگیر,meaning "Conqueror of the World"...
.
Further reading
- Faces of the feminine in ancient, medieval, and modern India – By Mandakranta Bose (Page 80-81)
- Lord Mahavira and His times – By Kailash Chand Jain (page 233-249)http://books.google.co.in/books?id=8-TxcO9dfrcC&pg=PA231&dq=santhagara&hl=en&ei=RMoVTfOOLIHPrQftxuTlCw&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=8&ved=0CEgQ6AEwBw#v=onepage&q=santhagara&f=false
- A History of Ancient and Early Medieval India: From the Stone age to 12th Century – By Upinder Singh (Pages 267-269)http://books.google.co.in/books?id=GW5Gx0HSXKUC&pg=PA267&dq=the+ancient+indian+ganas+were+not,+however,+democracies&hl=en&ei=9MoVTemwAsTHrQfSrd39Cw&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=1&ved=0CCYQ6AEwAA#v=onepage&q=the%20ancient%20indian%20ganas%20were%20not%2C%20however%2C%20democracies&f=false
- Dialogues of the Buddha, volume 2- By Thomas William Rhys Davids (page 113)http://books.google.co.in/books?id=p2MzyLggg9wC&pg=PA101&dq=thus+did+the+young+brahman+ambattha+for+the+third&hl=en&ei=2csVTZC6DoXprAf72MmIDA&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=1&ved=0CCYQ6AEwAA#v=onepage&q=thus%20did%20the%20young%20brahman%20ambattha%20for%20the%20third&f=false
- Ancient India – By R.C Majumdar (pages 157-158)http://books.google.co.in/books?id=XNxiN5tzKOgC&pg=PA157&dq=unfortunately,+very+few+details+with+regard+to+the+constitution&hl=en&ei=78wVTfbiIMSqrAeW__3lCw&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=1&ved=0CCYQ6AEwAA#v=onepage&q=unfortunately%2C%20very%20few%20details%20with%20regard%20to%20the%20constitution&f=false