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AN EARLY HISTORY OF ORISSA
he says, that the remoter provinces were not placed under the Viceroys from the beginning, and continues further, that the Pali Chronicles definitely state that Asoka was appointed Viceroy of Avanti some eleven years before the death of Bindusāra, while the Divyāvadāna legends affirm that a Prince was deputed to the Province of Uttarāpatba (with headquartars at Takshasilā) only when an alarming report was received about the possibility of a 'popular revolt against the Government. The appointment of Viceroys, in the opinion of Dr. Barua, from among the sons and other princes of the blood, must be assigned to the later part of Asoka's reign.
In this way, we find that there have cropped up two diverse opinions regarding the assignment of Kalinga to a Kumāra-Viceroy. Bhandarkar and Mookerji in favour of appointing a Viceroy immediately after its conquest Dr. Barua favouring a late appointment. Now, in order to decide the issue, we must determine the date of the Special Kalinga Edicts.
Date of the Special Kalinga Edicts
According to Rock Edict III, both the Rajjukas and the Pradeśikas were required to go forth on official tours of inspection every five years. This general rule appears to have undergone a modification in SKE I to the extent that the five-year rule applied to the Rajavachanika-Mahāmātras under the King, but it was reduced to three years (i. e. tours of inspection were made more frequent) in the case of Mahāmātras of similar rank under the Kumāra-Viceroy. Here the question, naturally, arises which of the two modifications was later—the rule promulgated in RE III or that in SKE I ? Barua? states
1. AHI, Vol. I, p. 189; Also, Mookerji, Asoka, p. 123, fn. 8. 2. AHI, Vol. II, p. 244.
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