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AN EARLY HISTORY OF ORISSA
probably repaired some sacred building called the abode of Vidyādhara. Later on however, he changed his views and translated the passage thus—"Similarly, in the fourth year, the abode of Vidyadharas built by the former Kalingan kings, which had not been damaged before... with their coronets rendered meaningless”. In the Jaina literature, the Vidyādharas are known as a tribal people residing in the Vindhya mountains. Dr. B.M. Barua, on the other hand, opines that the Vidyādharas were an aboriginal people noted for their magical skill and lived in Arkatpur (modern Arkad or Arcot in Madras Pradesh).
In the same year, “With their umbrellas and vases cast away, deprived of their jewels, all the Rāshtrikas and the Bhoja kas, he (Khāravela) causes to bow down at his feet", 4 Dr. D. C. Sircar opines that both the Rāshțrikas and the Bhojakas belonged to the Berar region. Prof. E. J. Rapson, on the other hand, held that the Rāshtrikas belonged to the Maratha country and the Bhojakas to the Berar region, but both were feudatories of the Andhra kings of Pratishthāna. K. P. Jayaswal? also states that these people are known to have lived in the Marhatta country and Berar. They are mentioned in the Inscriptions of Asoka also.8 The
1. EI, Vol. XX, Art. 7, pp. 71f.
2. Jinasenācharya's Mahāpurāns, Chapter on Bharata.chakravarti. It mentions Vijayārdha, viz., Vindhyācbala, where lived the Vidyadharas. See also Jambūdivapaņņati. Qtd. B. C. Law, India As Described in the Early Texts of Buddhism and Jainism, p. 44.
3. OBI, pp. 176, 205-6 and 210.
4. Original ;-"...cha nikhita-chhata bhingare hita-ratana sapateye sava rathika-bhojake pāde vanda payati." (Lines 5 & 6)
5. AIU, 1951, p. 213. 6. CHI, Vol. I, p. 535. 7. JBORS, Vol. III, p. 443 ; Hindu Polity, I, p. 95. 8. Rock Edicts V and XIII.
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