Book Title: Indian Antiquary Vol 48
Author(s): Richard Carnac Temple, Devadatta Ramkrishna Bhandarkar
Publisher: Swati Publications
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JOLY, 1919)
18 KALKIRAJA AN HISTORICAL PERSONAGE :
127
chandra, a disciple of Ambadeva. The date of Kalkiraja is given in the following lines :
छहिं वासाण सएहि पञ्चहिं वासहि पञ्चमासहि। A FUTTITUUT J ET au war || 2169 || तेरसवाससहिएहि नवुत्तहिं सगाऊ कुसुमपुरे । steft *** * (v. I.
3 ** 599 || 2170 11 * There will arise the Saka king 605 years and 5 months after my Nirvana. After the expiry of 1309 years of the Saka era there will arise at Kusumapura the wicked-souled Kalki in the Prant-race (?)'. This means that the date of Kalkirája is. 1915 years after the Nirvana of Mahâvira. Thus there is a difference of more than 900 years between the dates given by the Digambara and Svetambara traditions. Nemichandra further says that Kalki will be king at the age of 18 and will reign for 68 years. Thus his death will occur in 2000 of the Vira era- a difference of exactly 1000 years from the date given by Jinasena! Again according to Gunabhadra, Kalki was reigning at Indrapura while according to Nerrichandra his capital is Kusumapura. According to the Digambara tradition, Kalki died at the age of 70; according to the Svetâmbara tradition, at the age of 86. According to the former the name of Kalki's son and successor is Ajitanjaya, while according to the latter it is Datta.5 These differences in details should make us cautious in accepting the truth of the traditions. Homachandra's Mahaviracharita gives us an exactly similar account. The whole of this account is given further on in Appendix.
Another Svetâmbara writer called Jinaprabha Säri has written a work entitled Vividha-Tirthakalpa (about A.D. 1444). His account of Kalkiraja runs on similar lines. He gives the additional information that the year of Kalkiraja's birth would be 1442 Vikrama era. (We may note that the corresponding year of the Nirvana era is 1912 and not 1914.) The names of Kalkiraja's parents are given as Jasadevi (Yabodevi) and Magahasena (Magadhasena). Jinaprabha montions three successors of Kalkiraja-his son Datta who would role for 72 years; Datta's son Jitasatru and the latter's son Moghaghosha.
We thus observe a great divergence between the Digambara and the Svetâm bara traditions, about Kalkiraja. The latter put him down 1000 years later than the former. What is this discrepancy due to ? There is one obvious explanation. It appears that the Digambara tradition is older ; but when the Svetâmbara writers saw that there was no such king 38 Kalkirâja at the period given by the Digambara tradition they, reluctant to discard the tradition altogether, brought down the date by a thousand years, the reign of Kalkiraja was made to end in 2000 of the Nirvana era instead of in 1000 as the older tradition recorded. That this is the most probable explanation is capable of some proof. When even the Svetambara tradition did not come true, another attempt was made to bring still lower the date of Kalkiråja. Muni Jinavijayaji states that he has seen a work in which the date of Kalkiraja's birth is brought down so low as 1914 of the Vikrama era instead of 1914 of the Nirvdya era ! This gives us A.D. 18571 A future historian may find in still another work the date given as 2914 of the Vikrama era.
भद्वारस य कुमारो वासा तत्तियं च सामरिभो।' we go oraret 77940i || 2173 11 काही छारुरुड. छासीवासाणि भाउयं भोलु। TRY TTTSTERT Tay Tamill 2207 || तस्सय दत्तं पुतं इस संगाविप विषधम्मे ।
try s Taf Ti 11 22081'
