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________________ 214 Homage to Vaisali he used for his own purposes now,- until it was restored to "Vaisravana' that is to Vaisravana's dynastry in Vaisali, by Rama-Dasarathi who conquered 'Ravana.' (Pramati of Vaisali, whom Rama met in early youth, must have lived long enough to rejoice at this restoration of the lost fleet. After Pramati, Vaigali seems to have merged into the Kosalan or Videhan kingdom). As is well-known, 'Ravana' is not a name but a title, and other South Indian or Raksasa princes bore this title.-which is the Tamil Ireivan or Iraivan=god, lord, sovereign. So also the names Dasagriva, Surpanakha, and Kumbhakarna are queer Sanskritizations of original Dravidian names and appellations. This has led to mixing up of the historical details about several distinct South Indian 'raksasa' chieftains in the hands of North Indian chroniclers. Thus amongst the pre-Paulastya, that is pre-Vaisalian Raksasas, some other Isaivans are to be credited with the following exploits : (1) One such Iraivan fought the great Iksvaku emperor, Mandbats, of the Narmada region (Daksina-Kosala), but was badly defeated. (2) One of his successors, however, another Iraiva, avenged it by defeating Adaranya (literally, 'non-fighting', peaceful-probably a title, not a name), the third king after Mandhats in the same Narmada region, and destroying his kingdom. (3) Another such Iraivan, of the Japa-sthana-West Deccan-region, about a century later, attacked Arjuna-Kartavirya, the Haihaya-Yadava emperor, also in the same Narmada valley, but Arjuna defeated him, imprisoned him at his capital Mahismati, but released him on the intercession of the Paulastya brahmanas, who were cognate to the Raksasas. (4) Yet another Isaivaa sought to interrupt Marutta's 'Aindra-Mahabhiseka' coronation sacrifice in Vaisalt (apparently in vain). This same Iraivan may have subdued the Naga capital or Bhogavati, for the Nagas of Middle and Lower Gangetic regions were under the protection of Marutta,as narrated before. (5) The fifth Iraivan appears to be the 'Ravana' of 'Vaisravana'-Kuvera's time--a Paulastya'-Raksasa prince of Vaisalian origin--who recovered the lost LankaJand appropriated the maritime fleet of Vaisali. It is just possible that the fifth acd the fourth Isaivans are one and the same. (6) The sixth Iraivan was the "Ravana' of Rama's times, also a contemporary of the last "Vaissravana' or 'Kauveraka', namely Pramati of Vaisali, and of Siradhvaja of Mitbila's brother, Kusad hvaja, (later of Samkasya). This Isaivan married Mandodari, daughter of 'Asura-Maya', (probably a princess of 'Asur', the kingdom adjacent to the land of 'Sumer'), and their son was Megbanada-Indrajit. In Mithila in the lower Himalayan
| SR No. | 012088 |
| Book Title | Vaishali Abhinandan Granth |
| Original Sutra Author | N/A |
| Author | Yogendra Mishra |
| Publisher | Research Institute of Prakrit Jainology and Ahimsa |
| Publication Year | 1985 |
| Total Pages | 592 |
| Language | Hindi, English |
| Classification | Smruti_Granth |
| File Size | 17 MB |