The rare instance of a State without a King meant that the state was a republic - where the population was both ruler and ruled. The Aitreya Brahmana refers to vi-rat (Kingless States) across the Himalayas, and there are also references to the republican States of Uttarakurus and Uttaramadras.

Oligarchies were more common - other rulers selecting the King (as in vispatis and kulapatis electing the janapati) or other Kings selecting the one to be King. One Vedic passage is adamant in its espousal of this last. The repeated selection of individuals from a specific family, continuing through generations, heralded hereditary kingship.
The Vedic age can be assessed through the limited material available. One fact clearly emerges from the remnants of history - political sophistication meant, too, the advance of social and artistic factors.

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