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MARRIAGE OF KHĀRAVELA
315
As regards the lineage or the family to which the Chief Queen of Khāravelu belonged, it may, naturally, be expected that she was a princess of a distinguished royal family. There are found two very clear statements in Inscriptions to that effect. Firstly, from the seventh year's record in the Hāthigumphā inscription, it is learnt that the Queen was a princess of the Vajiraghara. Secondly, the inscription of the Chief Queen herself in the Mañchapuri Cave reads : "...rājino lalakasa hathisihasu pa potasa dhutunāyā (?) kalingachakavatino siri Khāravelasa agamahisi...''1
As regards the first point, viz., her being a princess of the Vajiraghara, Dr. H. C. Seth, identifying Khāravela with Gardabhila of Ujjayini, says that according to the Kāla kāchārya legend, Garda bhila abducted and brought into his harem Kālaka's sister. Kālaka, according to the tradition preserved in various versions of the Kālkāchārya Kathā, was the son of Vajrasimha' (Pkt : Vairisiṁha) king of Dhar in Malwa. In one of the versions, however, this Vajrasimha is mentioned as hailing from Magadha. This may indicate that Vajrasimha, perhaps, belonged to one of the branches of the Sunga dynasty of Magadha. It may be surmised that Vajrasimha may be Vajramitra, mentioned in the Puräņas as the eighth king of the Śunga dynasty.
1. SI, Vol. I, No. 92, pp. 213-14 ; Luder's List No. 1346. The Sanskrit rendering as according to Sircar : “Rijñaḥ làlārkasya (lâlirkaputrasya ?) Hastisimhasya prapautrasya duhitra Kalinga.chakravartinah Sri Khäravelasya agramahishya...” Dr. Barua (OBI, pp. 55.58) reads : "Rajino lilākasa hathisihi sain pa-nūtasa dhutuni"-- i. e. the daughter of the high-souled king Lālārka Hastisimba.
2. Nagpur University Journal. VIII ; Vikrama Volume, pp. 539.45 3. Brown-The Story of Kālaka, pp. 52, fu. 2, and 98. 4. Ibid, pp. 71 & 78.
5. Dynastic List in the CHI, Vol. 1, p. 518 ; Pargiter, DKA, pp. 30-33 & 70.
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