Chronology of Gujarat

Author(s): M R Majumdar
Publisher: Maharaja Sayajirao University of Baroda

Page 71

PRE-MAURYAN PERIOD
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son of Pāņdu visited the land, he found Aparānta, the sea-board to the north of Bombay, studded with Aryan colonies. Mārkandeya had an aśrama or hermitage on the Payoșni, identified with the river Tāpi by some and with the river Pārņā by others. The Bhrgus had āśramas on the Narmada.
VII From tradition preserved in the Mahāvamsa and the Dipavamsa it appears that Ceylon owes its name 'Simhaladvipa', its language Simhalese and its Aryanisation to a prince Vijaya of Lāļa'or Lāța '-a name by which Gujarat was often referred to in early times. Prince Vijaya the son of Simhabăhu who ruled at Simhapura (modern 'Sihor' near Bhavnagar not far from the sea ), having been banished for his lawlessness, departed from Siṁhapura, with a band of adventurers and sailed southwards. After stopping at *Sūrpāraka' (modern Sopara in Thana Dist., Bombay State) he continued his voyage to Ceylon, where he arrived very shortly before the death of Gautama Buddha in 483 B.C. On that basis the event is tentatively dated circa 443 B.C. (Cambridge History of India, Vol. I, pp. 605-607; History of Bengali Language (1924) pp. 72. 73, fn.: Suniti Kumar Chatterjee). Since then, Ceylon had a close maritime intercourse with Bharukaccha and Śūrpāraka. According to Vividhatirthakalpa, a princess from Ceylon built a Jaina temple known as Sakunikā vihāra at Broach.
VIII Pāṇini in his Astādhyāyi mentions Kaccha (Cf. Kacchādibhyaśca-IV. 2. 133). "Kaccha represented the water-logged portions in the south as against the dry desert area in the north. Kaccha was historically connected with Sindh forming its province in the seventh century when Yuan Chwang visited the country. Cunningham says that Kaccha and Parkar have always been linked together (Ancient Geography, p. 347 )”.-(V. S. Agrawala, India as known to Pāņini, pp. 51-52).
Pāṇini also refers to the names of towns ending in Kaccha. (Cf. Kacchāgnivaktragartottarapadāt-IV. 2. 126). These were "mostly situated along the coast from BhrguKaccha to the province of Kaccha" (Ibid., p. 52).
Pāṇini also instances places which have lent their names to persons as the places of their own residence, or of their ancestors (IV, 3. 90). Besides persons, commodities and animals were also called sometimes after the places of their origin. Thus the word Kaccha denoted a bull of Kaccha country (IV, 2. 134). The reference shows thae the bull of Kaccha was famous for its strength and vitality and must be in wider use for many purposes.
There may also be other associations of names with places. "An assemblage of meanings can be seen in the word Kacchaka which used to denote (a) an inhabitant of Kaccha, (b) the turban (Cūdā) peculiar to its people, (c) their mannerisms in speech (Jalpita), and (d) laughing (Hasita )-(Ibid. p. 52)”. Thus the word Kacchaka shows that people of Kaccha were putting on a peculiar type of turban and that their way of speaking and laughing were equally peculiar to them.
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