Kālāma (

Pāli Pali () is a Middle Indo-Aryan liturgical language native to the Indian subcontinent. It is widely studied because it is the language of the Buddhist ''Pāli Canon'' or ''Tipiṭaka'' as well as the sacred language of ''Theravāda'' Buddhism ...

: ) was an ancient Indo-Aryan

tribe The term tribe is used in many different contexts to refer to a category of human social group. The predominant worldwide usage of the term in English language, English is in the discipline of anthropology. This definition is contested, in p ...

of north-eastern

South Asia South Asia is the southern subregion of Asia, which is defined in both geographical and ethno-cultural terms. The region consists of the countries of Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Maldives, Nepal, Pakistan, and Sri Lanka.;;;;;;;; ...

whose existence is attested during the

Iron Age The Iron Age is the final epoch of the three-age division of the prehistory and protohistory of humanity. It was preceded by the Stone Age (Paleolithic, Mesolithic, Neolithic) and the Bronze Age (Chalcolithic). The concept has been mostly appl ...

. The Kālāmas were organised into a (an

aristocratic Aristocracy (, ) is a form of government that places strength in the hands of a small, privileged ruling class, the aristocrats. The term derives from the el, αριστοκρατία (), meaning 'rule of the best'. At the time of the word's ...

oligarchic Oligarchy (; ) is a conceptual form of power structure in which power rests with a small number of people. These people may or may not be distinguished by one or several characteristics, such as nobility, fame, wealth, education, or corporate, r ...

republic A republic () is a "state in which power rests with the people or their representatives; specifically a state without a monarchy" and also a "government, or system of government, of such a state." Previously, especially in the 17th and 18th c ...

), presently referred to as the Kālāma Republic.

Location

The Kālāmas and their capital of

Kesaputta Kesariya or Kesaria is a town in the district of East Champaran district, East Champaran, in the Indian state of Bihar. It is the site of a stupa built by the Mauryan Emperor, Mauryan king Ashoka. Geography It is near Rampur Khajuria. The n ...

were located on the

Indo-Gangetic Plain The Indo-Gangetic Plain, also known as the North Indian River Plain, is a fertile plain encompassing northern regions of the Indian subcontinent, including most of northern and eastern India, around half of Pakistan, virtually all of Bangla ...

between the river Sarayū and the Mallakas to the north, the Gaṅgā to the south, Vārāṇasī to the southwest, and the kingdom of

Kosala The Kingdom of Kosala (Sanskrit: ) was an ancient Indian kingdom with a rich culture, corresponding to the area within the region of Awadh in present-day Uttar Pradesh to Western Odisha. It emerged as a janapada, small state during the late Ve ...

to the west. The territory of the Kālāmas covered only the countryside around their town.

Name

The origin of the name of the Kālāmas has not yet been determined. The name of the Kālāma capital,

originated from the Sanskrit word , meaning "hair" or "mane." The name of Kesapputta was related to the name of the

Keśin The Keśin were ascetic wanderers with mystical powers described in the Keśin Hymn (RV 10, 136) of the ''Rigveda'' (an ancient Indian sacred collection of Vedic Sanskrit hymns). Werner 1995, p. 34. The Keśin are described as homeless, traveling ...

, who were a sub-tribe of the Pāñcāla tribe mentioned in the .

History

The Kālāmas originated as a branch of the

s, who early during the Indo-Aryan migrations moved from the

Indus River The Indus ( ) is a transboundary river of Asia and a trans-Himalayan river of South and Central Asia. The river rises in mountain springs northeast of Mount Kailash in Western Tibet, flows northwest through the disputed region of Kashmir, ...

area to the region of Pāñcāla, where they formed one of the three branches of the Pāñcāla tribe. From the Pāñcāla area, a branch of the Keśins continued migrating to the east and founded Kesaputta, where they settled and became known as the Kālāmas. By the time of the

Buddha Siddhartha Gautama, most commonly referred to as the Buddha, was a śramaṇa, wandering ascetic and religious teacher who lived in South Asia during the 6th or 5th century BCE and founded Buddhism. According to Buddhist tradition, he was ...

, the Kālāmas were a dependency of Kosala and its king

Pasenadi Pasenadi ( pi, पसेनदि ; sa, प्रसेनजित् ; c. 6th century BCE) was an ruler of Kosala. Sāvatthī was his capital. He succeeded after . He was a prominent (lay follower) of Gautama Buddha, and built many Buddh ...

, and the Buddha visited the Kālāmas at one point during his preaching. One of the Buddha's teachers,

Āḷāra Kālāma Alara Kalama ( Pāḷi & Sanskrit ', was a hermit and a teacher of ancient meditation. He was a teacher of Śramaṇa thought and, according to the Pāli Canon scriptures, the first teacher of Gautama Buddha. History After Siddhartha Gautama ...

, belonged to the Kālāma tribe, as did the Buddha's disciple Bharaṇḍu. Pasenadi's son and successor

Viḍūḍabha Viḍūḍabha ( pi, विडूडभ ; sa, विरूढक ) was a king of Kosala during the lifetime of the Buddha. Life Early life He was the son of Prasenajit and , the daughter of a Shakyan chief named by a slave girl .K ...

later annexed Kālāma into the Kosala kingdom. The Kālāmas did not request a share of the Buddha's relics after his death, possibly because they had lost their independence by then. Similarly, the Vaidehas and the Nāyikas did not appear among the list of states claiming a share because they were dependencies of the Licchavikas without their own sovereignty, and the

Bhagga Bhagga (Pāli: ; Sanskrit ) was an ancient Indo-Aryan tribe of north-eastern South Asia whose existence is attested during the Iron Age. The Bhaggas were organised into a (an aristocratic oligarchic republic), presently referred to as the Bh ...

s who were a dependency of

Vatsa Vatsa or Vamsa (Pali and Ardhamagadhi: , literally "calf") was one of the sixteen Mahajanapadas (great kingdoms) of Uttarapatha of ancient India mentioned in the Aṅguttara Nikāya. Location The territory of Vatsa was located to the south o ...

also could not put forth their own claim, while the Licchavikas, the Mallakas, and the

Sakya The ''Sakya'' (, 'pale earth') school is one of four major schools of Tibetan Buddhism, the others being the Nyingma, Kagyu, and Gelug. It is one of the Red Hat Orders along with the Nyingma and Kagyu. Origins Virūpa, 16th century. It depic ...

s could claim shares of the relics.

Political and social organisation

Republican institutions

The Kālāma were a tribe organised into a (an

Assembly

Like the other , the ruling body of the Kālāma republic was an Assembly of the elders who held the title of s (meaning "chiefs"). Like with other , the Assembly of the Kālāmas met in a santhāgāra located in their capital.

The Council

The Assembly met rarely, and the administration of the republic was instead in the hands of the Council, which was a smaller body of the Assembly composed of councillors selected from the membership of the Assembly. The Council met more often than the Assembly.

The Consul

The Kālāma Assembly elected for life a consul who held the title of ("chief of Alakappa"). The consul administered the republic with the assistance of the Assembly and Council.

Religion

Unlike the other , the Kālāmas appear to have been disinterested in traditions such as

Buddhism Buddhism ( , ), also known as Buddha Dharma and Dharmavinaya (), is an Indian religion or philosophical tradition based on teachings attributed to the Buddha. It originated in northern India as a -movement in the 5th century BCE, and gra ...

, which might have been an alternative reason why they did not demand a share of the relics of the Buddha. Since the Kālāmas were related to the Keśins, they might instead have been more inclined towards

Brahmanism The historical Vedic religion (also known as Vedicism, Vedism or ancient Hinduism and subsequently Brahmanism (also spelled as Brahminism)), constituted the religious ideas and practices among some Indo-Aryan peoples of northwest Indian Subco ...

References

Sources

* {{refend Ancient peoples of India Ancient peoples of Nepal Gaṇa saṅghas