Shakya

Shakya Republic
c. 7th century BCE–c. 5th century BCE
Shakya among the Gaṇasaṅghas
Shakya among the Gaṇasaṅghas
Shakya to the north of the Mahajanapadas in the post-Vedic period
Shakya to the north of the Mahajanapadas in the post-Vedic period
StatusVassal state of Kosala
CapitalKapilavastu
Common languagesPrakrits
Munda languages[1]
Religion
Sramana religions, Sun worship, tree worship, serpent worship
GovernmentAristocratic Republic
LegislatureSabhā
Historical eraIron Age
• Established
c. 7th century BCE
• Conquered by Viḍūḍabha of Kosala
c. 5th century BCE
Preceded by
Succeeded by
Kosala
Kosala
Today part ofIndia
Nepal
Siddhartha Gautama, called Shakyamuni "Sage of the Shakyas," the most famous Shakya. Seated bronze from Tibet, 11th century.

Shakya (Pāḷi: Sakya; Sanskrit: शाक्य, romanizedŚākya) was an ancient clan of the northeastern region of South Asia, whose existence is attested during the Iron Age. The Shakyas were organised into a gaṇasaṅgha (an aristocratic oligarchic republic), also known as the Shakya Republic.[2] The Shakyas were on the periphery, both geographically and culturally, of the eastern Indo-Gangetic Plain in the Greater Magadha cultural region.[1][3]

  1. ^ a b Levman 2014.
  2. ^ Sharma 1968, p. 182-206.
  3. ^ Bronkhorst 2007, p. 6.