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174 POLITICAL HISTORY OF ANCIENT INDIA thousand councillors of a king headed by his general, (Senāpati pamukhāni asiti amachcha sahassāni). The power of councillors (amātyas) to depose a prince and elect a king is recognised in the Pādañjali, Samvara, and Sonaka Jātakas respectively. There is evidence regarding special gemots of village headmen. We are told that “when Seņiya Bimbisāra, the king of Magadha, was holding an assembly of the eighty thousand Grāmikas (village headmen) he sent message to śoṇa Kolivisa."
Another check was supplied by the general body of the people (Jana,Mahājana) who were distinct from the ministers and Grāmanīs, or Grāmikas, and who used to meet in an assembly styled Samiti or Parishad in the Upanishads.3 In the Utkrośana passage of the Aitareya Brāhmaṇa* the people (Janāh) are clearly distinguished from the Rājakartārah among whom, according to the Katapatha Brāhmana5 were included the Sata and the Grāmanī. That the Samiti or Parishad was an assembly of the whole people, is apparent from such expressions as “bhūyishthāh Kuru-Pañchālāssāgatā bhavitūralı...”,7 “Paschūlānāṁ Samitim eyāya”, “Pañchālānāṁ Parishadam ājagāma," "samaggā Śivayo hutvā”. The Chhāndogya Upanishads mentions the Samiti of the Pañchāla people presided over by king Pravāhaņa Jaivali, svetaketurk
1 Cowell's Jataka, v, p. 97. (No, 525) ; 'eighty thousand' is a stock number and should not be taken too literally.
2 Mahāvagga, S.B.E. XVII, p. 1.
3 In the Jaim. Up. Br. II. 11. 4. we find a reference to the Parishad, the Sabha and the Samsad. It is not clear, if these are distinct institutions. The sabhā and the samiti are, however, distinguished in the Atharva-Veda.
4 VIII, 17; cf. Sat. Br. V. 33. 12. 5 III, 4.1.7; XIII. 2. 2. 18.
6 For Mahājana, see Jatāka (525) Vol. V. p. 187 : Jatakas (542, 547), Vol. VI. p. 156, 489 etc.; cf. Sat. Br. V. 3. 3. 12.
7' "Most of the Kuru-Pañchalas shall be assembled together," Jaim. up. Br. III. 7.6.
8 V. 3. 1.
