republic · South Asia

Malla republic

700 BCE – 400 BCE (approx.) · capital Kushinagar

A clan republic of the Ganges plain in whose town of Kushinagar the Buddha died.

Origins

The Mallas were a warrior clan whose land lay east of Kosala, in modern eastern Uttar Pradesh. By the 6th century BCE they formed a gana-sangha, a republic of leading families, and were counted among the sixteen mahajanapadas. They were divided into two branches, centred on Kushinagar and Pava.

Rule and society

Affairs were decided by assemblies of clan heads meeting in a hall called the santhagara. Buddhist texts describe how the Mallas of Kushinagar received the dying Buddha, cremated him and shared his relics, while Jain tradition places Mahavira's death at Pava. Mallas were famed as wrestlers and soldiers, and Bandhula, a Malla, served as general to Prasenajit of the Kingdom of Kosala.

Decline and legacy

Weakened by internal division and pressed by stronger neighbours, the Mallas were absorbed by the Kingdom of Magadha in the 5th or 4th century BCE. Kushinagar became one of the four main places of Buddhist pilgrimage.

Connections (1)

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Cite this page
APA
The Epoch Institute. (2026). Malla republic. In The Epoch Institute States Register. https://the-epoch-institute.org/state/malla-republic
MLA
“Malla republic.” The Epoch Institute States Register, The Epoch Institute, 2026, https://the-epoch-institute.org/state/malla-republic. Accessed .
Chicago
The Epoch Institute. “Malla republic.” The Epoch Institute States Register. 2026. https://the-epoch-institute.org/state/malla-republic.
Harvard
The Epoch Institute (2026) ‘Malla republic’, The Epoch Institute States Register. Available at: https://the-epoch-institute.org/state/malla-republic (Accessed: ).

Last reviewed October 2026Random state ↻