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________________ CHAPTER IY Jainism in Kalinga-desa THE expression "Jainism in Kalinga-desa," in the main, em braces the history of the religion during the times of Kharavela. This does not mean that Jainism in Kalinga cannot be traced farther than Kharavela On the other hand that would be denying what can be clearly deduced from such historical data as the Hathigumpha inscription, the architectural and sculptural similarity of the monuments standing there to those of the fourth and fifth century B.C., and the most sacred of the Jaina canonical works. With all this it must be admitted that but for the inscription of Kharavela in the Hathigumph, and of his wife in the Swargapuri cave there is no other decisive ground on which we can base our inferences 1 As already seen, after Mahavira we have kings of the Saisunaga, Nanda, Maurya and other dynasties, most of whom were, according to Jaina traditions and history, the followers or supporters of Jaina religion during their regime. No doubt these traditions and history are confirmed by many Jaina and non-Jaina writers, but from the standpoint of a purely historical proof none of these, excepting perhaps Candragupta, can be compared with that great Cedi king, Kharavela, who was, as stated in one of his own inscriptions, a Jarna. The chief historical proof as to when and how far and how long the Emperor Kharavela ruled, and as to whether he was a Jaina or not, lies in the Hathigumpha inscription of his time. That he was a great Kalinga king is a fact which cannot be denied, but it is not possible to fix accurately the limits of Kalinga country, Let it be clear from the very beginning that at 13 really not desirable and practically impossible to trace out chronologically the progress of Jainism in Kalinga All that is required is to lay our hands on whatever historical monuments, small or great, ancient or modern, that are available at present, and draw our mferences from them, keeping in view as far as possible the conteraporary historical atmosphere of the time. We know the Cedrs as the well-known Vedic and classical ruling family which seems to have migrated into Orissa from Mahakosala, where they are also found in later history, "It is certain that one of the seats of the Cedis was near about Orissa in very ancient times"-BORS, I, 223 147
| SR No. | 011067 |
| Book Title | Jainism in North India |
| Original Sutra Author | N/A |
| Author | Chimanlal J Shah |
| Publisher | Longmans Green and Compny London |
| Publication Year | 1932 |
| Total Pages | 66 |
| Language | English |
| Classification | Book_English |
| File Size | 3 MB |