Bearing of the numismatics on the history of the tribal republics in ancient India

Summary

In this study the author uses numismatic evidence to reconstruct the history of ancient tribal republics in India, particularly those of northwestern India. While grammarians such as Pāṇini, Buddhist texts, Kautilya’s Arthaśāstra and Greek historians mention many republican tribes in pre‑Mauryan and Mauryan times, archaeology yields few details. Coins provide the most direct evidence because by the late third century B.C. inscriptions began to appear on Indian coins. The paper notes that early punch‑marked coins with symbols cannot yet be attributed, but later tribal republics issued inscribed coins that reveal their names, polity and chronology. Based on paleography of legends, the author classifies the republics chronologically: tribes like Agreyas, Mālavas, Rājanyas, Śibis, Trigartas and Yaudheyas belong to the 2nd century B.C.; Audumbaras, Kunindas, Vṛṣṇi‑Rājanyas and Vemakas to the 1st century B.C.; Kulūṭas to around A.D. 100; and Arjunāyanas, Mālavas and Yaudheyas to the 2nd–4th centuries A.D. The coins’ legends also indicate geographical distribution: Agreyas and Mālavas occupied areas from the Punjab to Rajasthan; Kunindas and Audumbaras inhabited the Himalayan foothills; Yaudheyas issued prolific coinages and emerged as a powerful federation. Numismatic evidence shows that many tribes known from literature persisted for centuries and sometimes re‑emerged after imperial interludes. After the fall of the Mauryas, these republics regained autonomy, forming two clusters—one in south‑east Punjab and Rajasthan and another in the Kangra valley. In the Kangra region, tribal identities changed with new tribes appearing and older ones merging or forming federations; political leadership shifted from collective assemblies to chiefs styled rājās or mahārājas. Some experimented with theocratic representative rule but soon returned to the gaṇa system of government. The republics of south‑east Punjab suffered disruptions from Indo‑Bactrian invasions and migrated southwards; by the second century only the Mālavas and Yaudheyas survived in the region. Even these succumbed after the rise of the Gupta empire, marking the end of republican governance in ancient India. By analysing coins, the author demonstrates how numismatics can illuminate the chronology, political organisation, economic strength and decline of India’s tribal republics.