Indian Antiquary Vol 48

Author(s): Richard Carnac Temple, Devadatta Ramkrishna Bhandarkar
Publisher: Swati Publications

Page 84

80
THE INDIAN ANTIQUARY
[JUXE, 1919
(Maharashtrikas), Mahâbhojas and Mahasen & patis. They scem to have occupied the posi. tion of the feudatory chieftains. The Mahâbhojas seem to have held the present Thânâ and Kolâbâ districts of the Bombay Presidency as is clearly seen from the Kudâ and Kapheri cave inscriptions, and the Ma hârathis the Poona and neighbouring districts as is attested by the Bhâjâ, Berlsa, and Kârle epigraphs. One dynastic name from among the Mahâbhojas was Mamdava. Of the Maharathis two families are known-one called Okhalakiya and the other Augiya. Next in rank come the officers such as Amatya or Rajâmâtya, Mahâm átras, Bhåndagârikas. The former two correspond to the modern Subahs or district collectors and the third to the treasurer. Of the same social status are Naigama, Sârthaváha and Sresh thin. Naigama apparently is an ordinary merchant, and Sarthavaha the leader of a caravan of traders. Sresh thin, of course, denotes the head of a guild or of the Board of trade. The latter two, again, correspond to the aldermen, and took an important part in the administration of the town corporate. Descending lower in the sooial scale we have Lekhaka (scribe), Vaidya (physician), Hâlakiya (cultivator), Suvarnakâra or Hairanyika (goldsmith), and Gandhika (druggist). To the lowest class have to be assigned Vardhaki (carpenter), Målâkara (gardener), Lohavåņija (blacksmith) and Dåsaka (fisherman). One curious social feature of this period is represented by the terms Grihapati or Kutumbin which as a rule are found applied to the mercantile and cultivating classes. Sometimes they are used alone and without the specification of any caste name. It seems that the middle class, which consisted chiefly of cultivators and mercantile people, was split up into a number of grihas, i.e. homesteads, or kutumbas or kulas, i.e. families, the head of each one of which was considered to be so important a personage as to require to be designated Grihapati or Kutumbin. In later times, however, the first term was entirely forgotten, and the second was employed exclusively to denote the cultivators, 8 and is no doubt traceable in the Marathi word kulmbi and the Gujarati kanbt. One
1 If we separate the honorific suffix maha, Rathi and Bhojs can easily be recognised to be the same as Rietika and Bhoja of the Aboka Rock Edicts V and XIII respectively. But what is the meaning of the term pelenika which is associated with them both in the Asoka inscriptions ? I should like in this connection to draw the attention of the scholars to passage from the AngutaraNikaya (III, 76 & 300 ), which runs as follows : Yassa kasvachi Mahina ma kulaputtassa paficha dhamma saihvijjanti, ....yadi od rathikassa petanikassa yadi rå sendya sendpatikassa, etc., etc. We have berg a list of rulers from the king downwards. The ruler of the second rank is peltanika Ratthika. What is worthy of noto is that Rat thilas is here called pellanika, and it seems that even in Aloka's Rock Edict V, Rastikas are meant to be styled pelenikas and that the two terms in that Ediet ought not to be separated as has been done by scholars. Now, petlanika of the AngutaraNikaya passage has been explained by the commentator once as pilard caltam ad paleyash bhuijati
(=one who enjoys property given by father) and in another place as bhumanubhullath bhull jati. It appears that these Ratthikas (=Rashtrikas) were originally governors of Rashtras or provinces who afterwards made themselves more or less independent and became their hereditary rulers. Similar Wae the case with Bhojas, who too are called pilimikas in Rock Ediet XIII. A Nasik cave inscription (EI., VIII, 94) speaks of a Mahdson&pati and his wife Mabisenapatins exactly as other cave inscriptions speak of Maharathi and Maharabini or Mahâboja and Mahabhojt. As senapati is mentioned as a class of rulers in the passage of the Angultara-Nikaya quoted above, the MahigenApati of the Nasik inscription also must be taken to donote & ruler like MahArathi or Mahabhoja. Son&patis were originally generals who afterwards made themselves independent or semi-independent rulers.
5 Lüders' List, Nos. 1037, 1045, 1049, 1052, 1068 and 1111.
Tbid, Nos. 1100 and 1112.
7 Thus in one inscriptions Halakiya or cultivator is spoken of as Kuçubiks (Kutunbika ) and his son Gahapati (Gribapati) (Lüders' List, No. 1121). We also hear of Gahapati Negama (ibid, Nos. 1001, 1127, and 1153), Gahapati-Sethi ( ibid, Nos. 1056, 1073, 1075) or Gahapati-Sathavaba (ibid, No. 1062).
• EI, v, 120, 18/19; VI, 342, 83, and 365, 62; above, XX, 416, 17.