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Emperor Khāravela and the Jaina Tradition in Orissa
Dr. Krishna Chandra Acharya
After the invasion of Kalinga by the great emperor Asoka the history of Kalinga is somewhat obscure. But in about 1st century B. C.
rged the great Kalinga empire having Khāravela as its great sovereign ruler. The inscription in the Hāthīgumphā cave in the Udaygiri hill near Bhubaneswar details the manifold achievements of Khāravela. The damaged condition of the rock leaves many more events of Khāravela's reign unknown, yet whatever remains is enough to give clear evidence of the glorious rule of Khāravela, whose eventful career is a landmark in the history of Kalinga, nay in the history of ancient India.
Khāravela belonged to third generation of the royal Chedi dynasty of Kalinga. From his title, Mahārāja and Mahāmeghavāhana it appears that he was a very powerful king during his time. He was endowed with all auspicious signs of a ruler and was well-versed in the art of writing, accountancy, law and administration. At the age of sixteen he was installed as Yuvarāja and took the responsibility of administration. Eight years later he was crowned king,
Khāravela was not merely a great conquerer. He was a good administrator as well and ruled his kingdom with perfect peace. For public welfare he spent large sums on irrigation, gardening and house building. His own palace, Mahāvijayaprāsāda was also magnificently built. He repaired and enlarged a canal which was originally excavated by a Nanda king three centuries ago. This Nanda king was probably Mabāpadmananda. Another curious incident was that the great image of Jina Rşabhadeva which was carried away by this Nanda king to Magadha from Kalinga at the time of his invasion, was again brought back to Kalinga by Khāravela.' Thus he avenged the wrong done to Orissa and its people through centuries by Magadha emperors. Khāravela being a devout Jaina patronised Jainism. He excavated a number of caves in the Kumārī Parvata (Khandagiri hill) and also a monastery in
1. See K. P. Jayaswal, JBORS Vol. III Dec. 1917 pp. 425-85.
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जैनविद्या एवं प्राकृत : अन्तरशास्त्रीय अध्ययन
the neighbourhood for the Jaina monks. Since a considerable portion of the inscription referring to the above is damaged, nothing can be guessed as to what happened during the latter part of the reign of Khāravela. From the Udayagiri caves, it appears that the king himself, in company of his queen, led the life of a śramaņa during his old age. We know nothing about his descendants and the fate of his conquests after his death.
Another great name in the ancient history of Kalinga is king Brahmadatta. He is believed to have embraced Jainism. There are many place names in Oriss a which were meant mainly to conmemorate some of the Jaina legends as narrated in the Jaina scriptures.
A mountain range called Baula is situated in a village namely Podāsingi in the Keonjhar district. A side of this region is marked by the ruins of a wall. The images of a number of Tirtharkaras, Yaksas and Yaksinis are scattered over here. In the table-land above here one also finds a large status of Malāvīra. This region was previously under Toșāli. The name Baula appears to be a corrupt form of Vipula (of Rājagiri) on which Mahāvīra first preached his doctrines. It is interesting to note that the circular size of the above mountain range bears similarity with that of Rajagiri hills.
Apart from the above historical evidences, there are also literary and religious evidences to show the impact of Jainism on the Orissan culture. The influence of Jaina literature is clearly noticed in the poems of ancient Oriya poets. The story of giving one hundred loads of lotus flowers by Krishna to Kamsa and the term Rādhācakra used in connection with the revolving wheel that was pierced through by Arjuna in Draupadi Svayambara all find mention in the ancient Oriya literature. The famous Oriyā Bhāgavata written By Jagannātha Das in the sixteenth century contains a chapter in its fifth sarga to preach Jaina doctrine by way of the instructions imparted by Rşabhadeva to
is one hundred sons. Here it is said that total emancipation lies in renunciation of binding forces such as desire and hatred.
In mid-nineteenth century Orissa saw a great religious movement in the form of what is known as Alekha dharma. The sole preacher of this religion is known to be Mahimā Svāmi. This sect does not believe in idol-worship, does not approve of caste system, preaches picy and
2.
See Sāralā Mahābhārata and Rasakallola of Dinakrsna.
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Khāravela and the Jaina Tradition non-violence. Alekha bhajana or Śūnya Upāsanā or meditation on the void or non-entity is core of this religion. The saints of this faith wear a bark garment known as Kumbhipața after the name of the tree called Kumbhi. The monks usually lead the life of Parivrājaka and wherver they go they do not remain there for more than a night. The avadhūtas, as they are called, live a rigorous way of life without inflicting pain on others. The shrine of this religious sect is at Joranda in the Dhenkanal district. The Visnugarbhapurāņa of Caitanya Das and Stuti Cintāmaņi of Bhima bhoi are the two immortal poems which preach this religion. The teachings of Rsabhadeva find mention in the Vişnugarbhapurāņa.
The doctrine of non-violence and doing good to others even at the risk of one's own self which are the very essence of Jainism, are nicely portrayed in popular folk literature of Orissa. The ideal of Jaina asceticisin find its echo in popular poern like Țikā Govindacandra etc.
The sacred memory of Pārsvanātha is alive among the people of Orissa and the caves of Khaņdagiri stand witness to his religious preaching. Jainism which was at the apex of glory in Orissa during the reign of Khāra vela remained as such till the fifth century A. D. when the tantricism in Jainism rose its head to compete with that of the Buddhists. This trend remained until the rise of Vaisnavism in the tenth century A. D.
Last but not the least, Lord Jagannātha of Purs and the Jagannātha cult which have been dominating the entire culture and literature of Orissa through centuries are said to be originated from Jainism. Lord Jagannātha is regarded as Rşabhadeva and the word nātha associated with His name has a close likeness with the names of the Jidas suffixed by nātha or deva. The Jagannātha cult in Orissa is believed to have its origin from early Vedic period, thus finding a coincidence with the origin of Jainism about the same period. The famous car festival of Lord Jagannātha is a reminiscence of the Caitya Yatrā of Jainas. The Kalpa Vața (fig tree believed to be wish-fulfilling), Cakra kşetra, the twentyfour steps to the Puri temple symbolising the twentyfour Jaina Tirthankaras are all associated with Jainism. Indrabhūti in his Jñānasiddhi' offers his salutation to Lord Jagannātha by calling Him both Jina and Buddha and resembling the sky (Sūnya).
pranipatya Jagannāthem sarvajinavarárcitam/ sarvabuddhamayam siddhivyāpinam gaganopamain/
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6.
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________________ 82 जैनविद्या एवं प्राकृत : अन्तरशास्त्रीय अध्ययन Pandit Nilakantha Das, a noted literateur and writer of Orissa opines that the Jagannatha cult started purely from Jainism and in course of time it has combined in it several religious doctrines. In fact now we see that Lord Jagannatha who is popularly invoked as Patita pivana (purifier of the fallen) is a harmonious blending of all religious faiths sarva-d harma-samanvaya). Lastly it has to be admitted that the cultural, religious and the literary tradition which prevails in Orissa through the ages right from the times of emperor Kharavela and still earlier are the result of the impact of Jainism. Department of Sanskrit, Utkal University, Vani Vihar, Bhuvaneswar, Orissa. Comments As regards the Jina images carried oway by Nandaraja the author identified the Nanda ruler as Mahapadmananda with certainty which must not be taken for granted in the persent state of our knowledge. The author has suggested such identity of place-names (Baula-Rajagiri) and physical features which appear to be imaginary and more over has nothing to do with the Jaina tradition in Orissa. . The auther is also tempted to make wild guessings, one of which pertains to Jagannatha cult. The concluding paragraph is however ambiguous and demands and explanatory note. - Maiuti Nandan Prasad Tirvari. 3. See Odia Sahityara Krama Parinama. Also see Odisare Jaina dharma by Dr. Laxminarayana Sahu. Also see my article Influence of Jainism on Orissan Culture, परिसंवाद-४