His Kula

1. Going back to the sixth century B.C., Northern India did not form a single Sovereign State.
2. The country was divided into many States, some large, some small. Of these, some were monarchical and some non-monarchical.
3. The monarchical States were altogether sixteen in number. They were known by the name[s] of Anga, Magadha, Kasi, Kosala, Vriji, Malla, Chedi, Vatsa, Kuru, Panchala, Matsya, Saursena, Asmaka, Avanti, Gandhara, and Kambhoja.
4. The non-monarchical States were those of the Sakyas of Kapilvastu, the Mallas of Pava and Kushinara, the Lichhavis of Vaisali, the Videhas of Mithila, the Koliyas of Ramagam, the Bulis of Allakapa, the Kalingas of Resaputta, the Mauriyas of Pipphalvana, and the Bhaggas with their capital on Sumsumara Hill.
5. The monarchical States were known as Janapada, and the non-monarchical as Sangh or Gana.
6. Not much is known about the nature of the polity of the Sakyas of Kapilvatsu, whether it was republican or oligarchic.
7. This much, however, is definitely known, that there were many ruling families in the Republic of the Sakyas, and that they ruled in turns.
8. The head of the ruling family was known as Raja.
9. At the time of the birth of Siddharth Gautama, it was the turn of Suddhodana to be the Raja.
10. The Sakya State was situated in the northeast corner of India. It was an independent State. But at a later stage the King of Kosala had succeeded in establishing his paramountcy over it.
11. The result of this paramountcy was that the Sakya State could not exercise certain sovereign powers without the sanction of the King of Kosala.
12. Of the kingdoms then in existence, Kosala was a powerful kingdom. So was the kingdom of Magadha. Pasanedi, King of Kosala, and Bimbisara, King of Magadha, were the contemporaries of Siddharth Gautama.