Vaishali

A republican city of ancient Bihar, governed by an assembly rather than a king, and the traditional birthplace of Mahavira.

Vaishali was one of the confederated republics of the Ganges plain, run by a council of clan heads at a time when most of the region was consolidating under kings. Mahavira was born into that ruling class and gave it up. The Buddha also taught here repeatedly and is said to have announced his coming death nearby. That two of the great renouncing traditions both trace themselves to this small assembly-governed city is a coincidence worth noticing.