confederacy of the Licchavis and neighbouring peoples in Bihār, India, that existed from the 6th century BC to the 4th century AD. Its capital was at Vaiśālī (in modern Besarh). It was governed as an aristocratic republic. Gautama Buddha is said to have modeled the organizational structure of the Buddhist monastic order, sangha, on the government of the Vṛjji. In the 4th century BC the marriage of Candragupta to a Licchavi princess helped establish the Mauryan dynasty.