Gaṇasaṅgha

Among the mahajanapadas, the sixteen great states in ancient India, two followed the gana sangha rule: Vajji and Mallakas.

[6] The gana sanghas were generally located in the periphery of the major ancient Indian states, both geographically and culturally, and tend to occupy the higher ground near the Himalayas.

[1] The gana sanghas of Vajji, Malla, Koliya, and Shakya mentioned above all situated at the foothills of Himalayas, near eastern Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Terai region of Nepal.

Most of the gana sanghas are aristocratic in nature: For instance, the Licchavis, the ruling clan of Vajji, had a primary governing body of 7,077 rajas, the heads of the most important families.

On the other hand, the smaller state of Shakyas and Koliyas, during the period around Gautama Buddha, had the assembly open to all men, rich and poor.

Yet the chapter does not mention how to influence the mass of the citizens, indicating that the gana sangha is more of an aristocratic or oligarchical body, rather than democracy in a modern or even Athenian sense.

[13] Scholars differ over how best to describe the gana sangha governments, and the vague, sporadic quality of the evidence allows for wide disagreements.