Kālāma (

Pāli Pāli (, IAST: pāl̤i) is a classical Middle Indo-Aryan language of 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 '' Therav� ...

: ) 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 use of the term in English is in the discipline of anthropology. The definition is contested, in part due to conflict ...

of north-eastern

South Asia South Asia is the southern Subregion#Asia, subregion of Asia that is defined in both geographical and Ethnicity, ethnic-Culture, cultural terms. South Asia, with a population of 2.04 billion, contains a quarter (25%) of the world's populatio ...

whose existence is attested during the

Iron Age The Iron Age () is the final epoch of the three historical Metal Ages, after the Chalcolithic and Bronze Age. It has also been considered as the final age of the three-age division starting with prehistory (before recorded history) and progre ...

. The Kālāmas were organised into a (an

aristocratic Aristocracy (; ) is a form of government that places power in the hands of a small, privileged ruling class, the aristocrats. Across Europe, the aristocracy exercised immense economic, political, and social influence. In Western Christian co ...

oligarchic Oligarchy (; ) is a form of government in which power rests with a small number of people. Members of this group, called oligarchs, generally hold usually hard, but sometimes soft power through nobility, fame, wealth, or education; or throug ...

republic A republic, based on the Latin phrase ''res publica'' ('public affair' or 'people's affair'), is a State (polity), state in which Power (social and political), political power rests with the public (people), typically through their Representat ...

), presently referred to as the Kālāma Republic.

Location

The Kālāmas and their capital of Kesaputta were located on the

Indo-Gangetic Plain The Indo-Gangetic Plain, also known as the Northern Plain or North Indian River Plain, is a fertile plain spanning across the northern and north-eastern part of the Indian subcontinent. It encompasses North India, northern and East India, easte ...

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

Kosala Kosala, sometimes referred to as Uttara Kosala () was one of the Mahajanapadas of ancient India. It emerged as a small state during the Late Vedic period and became (along with Magadha) one of the earliest states to transition from a lineage ...

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, Kesaputta 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 Panchala () was an ancient Realm, kingdom of northern India, located in the Ganges-Yamuna Doab of the Gangetic plain, Upper Gangetic plain which is identified as Kannauj, Kanyakubja or region around Kannauj. During Late Vedic period, Vedic time ...

tribe mentioned in the .

History

The Kālāmas were an Indo-Aryan tribe in the eastern Gangetic plain in the

Greater Magadha Greater Magadha is a theory in the studies of the ancient history of India, introduced by Johannes Bronkhorst. It refers to the non-Vedic political and cultural sphere that developed in the lower Gangetic plains (modern day Bihar, Eastern ...

cultural region. The Kālāmas originated as a branch of the

s, who were from the

, where they formed one of the three branches of the

tribe. From the Pāñcāla area, a branch of the Keśins founded Kesaputta, where they came to be known as the Kālāmas. Similarly to the other populations of the Greater Magadha cultural area, Kalams were initially not fully Brahmanised despite being an Indo-Aryan people, they later became Brahmanised when

was Brahmanised. By the time of the

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

, the Kālāmas were a dependency of Kosala and its king Pasenadi, 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 meditation. He was a śramaṇa and, according to Buddhist scriptures, the first teacher of Gautama Buddha. History Various recessions of the Mahāparinirvāṇa Sūtra and ot ...

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

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 . 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 Buddhadharma and Dharmavinaya, is an Indian religion and List of philosophies, philosophical tradition based on Pre-sectarian Buddhism, teachings attributed to the Buddha, a wandering teacher who lived in the 6th or ...

, 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 called Vedism or Brahmanism, and sometimes ancient Hinduism or Vedic Hinduism, constituted the religious ideas and practices prevalent amongst some of the Indo-Aryan peoples of the northwest Indian subcontin ...

References

Sources

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