Jaiswal points out the term "Brahman" rarely occurs in the Rig-veda with the exception of the "Purusha Sukta" and may not have been used for the priestly class. Based on the authority of Panini, Patanjali, Katyayana and the "Mahabharata", Jayaswal believes that Rajanya was the name of political people and that the Rajanyas were, therefore, a democracy (with an elected ruler). Some examples were the Andhaka and Vrsni Rajanyas who followed the system of elected rulers. Ram Sharan Sharma details how the central chief was elected by various clan chiefs or lineage chiefs with increasing polarisation between the "rajanya" (aristocracy helping the ruler) and the "vis" (peasants) leading to a distinction between the chiefs as a separate class ("raja, rajanya, kshatra, kshatriya") on one hand and "vis" (clan peasantry) on the other hand.