VAISHALI............World's First Republic

An effort has been made in this work to deal with the political process that was at work in Vaishali, where democracy had been practised since time immemorial. It had not been possible there if there had not been balance of power between all the branches of government that had always functioned on the 'checks and balances' which kept the Lichchavi constitution going on. The work enumerates too the factors that helped all the three branches of government function in concord, even while giving over-all details of their distinct roles, including that of the bureaucracy which was responsible for the whole gamut of public administration. The work also specifically deals with the question as to how the republic of Vaishali was structured and run, especially as the 'Samgha' of eight states. The republic was not at all structured of eight clans, but it was rather an 'organic whole' in which all of them had willingly merged their identities. As the 'Samgha' was working well, all of them wanted to remain its members. The work concisely depicts the political scenario as obtaining in the rural as well as urban areas of the republic. It is worth noting here that Vaishali was known for its successful grassroots democracy that helped it reach the zenith of its greatness. The Panchayats perforce, kept on doing a lot for the welfare and development of the villages and regions. The work also delineates as to how the Government at Vaishali functioned and what its exact nature and form were. The 'Executive council' apparently was the working government of the polity. But the fact remains that whatever it did, it did in accordance with the wishes of the 'gana' (assembly) that had always been responsible for rendering justice to all the people, regardless of their religion, race, caste, sex or place of birth. The government was fully authorized by the constitution to act freely and independently, provided it remained accountable to the assembly, the repository of sovereign power.  Etymology: Vaishali  was the capital city of the Licchavi, one of world's first democratic republics, in the Vajjian Confederacy (Vrijji) mahajanapada, around the 6th century BC. It was here in 599 BCE the 24th Jain Tirthankara, Bhagwan Mahavira was born and brought up in Kundalagrama in Vaishali republic, which make pious & auspicious pilgrimage to Jainist. AlsoGautama Buddha preached his last sermon before his death in ca 483 BCE, then in 383 BCE the Second Buddhist council was convened here by King Kalasoka, making it an important place in both Jain & Buddhist religions. At the time of the Buddha, Vaishali, which he visited on many occasions, was a very large city, rich and prosperous, crowded with people and with abundant food. There were 7,707 pleasure grounds and an equal number of lotus ponds. Its courtesan, Amrapali, was famous for her beauty, and helped in large measure in making the city prosperous[4]. The city had three walls, each one gávuta away from the other, and at three places in the walls were gates with watch towers. Outside the town, leading uninterruptedly up to the Himalaya, was the Mahavana, a large, natural forest. Nearby were other forests, such as Gosingalasála. The city finds mention in the travel accounts of Chinese explorers, Fa Hian (4th century CE) and Xuanzang (Hiuen Tsang) (7th century CE), which were later used in 1861 by British archaeologist Alexander Cunningham to first identify Vaishali with the present village of Basrah in Vaishali District, Bihar. Vaishali derives its name from King Vishal of the Mahabharata age. The city was also called Visálá Buddhaghosa, the a 5th-century Indian Theravadin Buddhist commentator and scholar says, that Vesali was so called because it was extensive or Vishal.