Licchavi (tribe)

Licchavi (Māgadhī Prakrit: 𑀮𑀺𑀘𑁆𑀙𑀯𑀺 ; Pāli: ; Sanskrit: ) was an ancient Indo-Aryan tribe of north-eastern Indian subcontinent whose existence is attested from the Iron Age to the Classical Age. The population of Licchavi, the Licchavikas, were organised into a (an aristocratic oligarchic republic), presently referred to as the Licchavi Republic, which was the leading state of the larger Vajjika League. The Licchavikas lived in the southwest part of the Vajjika League, which was itself bounded to the north, east, south, and west, respectively, by the Himālaya mountains, and the Mahānadī, Gaṅgā, and Sadānirā rivers. The Sadānirā river was the Licchavikas' western border, and the Gaṅgā river as their border with the kingdom of Magadha in the south. The capital of the Licchavikas was located at Vesālī (Vaishali), which also acted as the headquarters of the Vajjika League led by Licchavi. The tribal name (𑀮𑀺𑀘𑁆𑀙𑀯𑀺) is a Māgadhī Prākrit derivation of the word , meaning "bear". Attested variations of the name include , , and . The Sanskrit form of the name would have been (ऋक्षवी), from the Sanskrit word for bear, (ऋक्ष). This Sanskrit form of the name was however not commonly used, and both Sanskrit and Pāli instead borrowed and used the Māgadhī Prakrit form . This use of a tribal name derived from the name of the bear might have had a totemic significance. The Licchavikas were an Indo-Aryan tribe in the eastern Gangetic plain in the Greater Magadha cultural region. They conquered the territory of the Mahā-Videha kingdom, and temporarily occupied the Vaideha capital of Mithilā, from where they could best administer the territory of Mahā-Videha. The consequence of the occupation of Mahā-Videha by the republican Licchavikas was that the latter relatively peacefully overthrew the already weakened Vaideha monarchical system and replaced it by a republican system.

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