Indian Antiquary Vol 52

Author(s): Richard Carnac Temple, Stephen Meredyth Edwardes, Krishnaswami Aiyangar
Publisher: Swati Publications

Page 99

SAMAPA: OK TAE ASOKAN KALINGA
87
SAMAPA: OR THE ASOKAN KALINGA.
BY G. RAMDAS, B.A.
(Continued from p. 70.) When Asoka ascended the throne of Magadha he found that Kalinga abutted on his Kingdom on the south. It was a powerful civilised neighbour of the Great Mauryan Ruier. "In such a country dwell Brahmans and ascetics, men of different sects and house-holders, who all practise obedience to elders, obedience to father and mother, proper treatment of friends, acquaintances, comrades, relatives, slaves, and servants with fidelity of devotion."
Difference in religion may have been the cause of the war that Asoka waged against Kalinga. From the records of Khåravêla we learn that Jainism, which was contemporaneous with Buddhism, was followed in Kalinga, while Brahmanism was the state religion in Magadha. Asoka himself admits hat he acquired the Law of Piety" on seeing the atrocities committed when Kalinga was subdued by the force of arms."26" Asoka was, by the preachings of a young ascetic, "constrained to abandon the Brahmanical faith of his father and to accept as a lay disciple the sacred law of Buddha. The Afokdvaddna says that on seeing the miracle shown by a holy ascetic named Balapandita, Asoka embraced the true religion and forsook the paths of wickedness. The conversion of Asoka seems to have happened after Kalinga had been conquered. It must have been the Brabmans, always opposed to Buddhism and Jainism, who advised Aboka to subdue Kalinga and destroy the Anti-Brahman religion prevalent there. This fact is corroborated by the Dalada vaméa :" When the remains of Buddha were distributed amongst his disciples, the left canine tooth of the lower jaw fell to the lot of one of them. He brought it to Kalinga and built a small stúpa over it. Seeing the miracles worked by it, many people gathered round it and a big city named Dantapura rose round it. The Brahmans, envying the popularity of Buddhism, advised Guha. Siva, the King of Kalinga, to destroy the stepa and the city of Dantapura. But by the iniracles shown by the tooth, Guha-Siva embraced Buddhism. Then Aboka, the overlord. was induced to punish Guba-Siva and destroy Dantapura. But the tooth appeared to Asoka in a dream and by means of its miracles converted him to Buddhism."
Kalinga was a powerful kingdom and an adverse religion was followed there. It became therefore necessary to subdue it, but when attempts to conquer it were made it showed. bold front. A great and bloody war ensued. “One hundred and fifty thousand persons were thence carried away captive; one hundred thousand were slain and many times that number perished." Having thus conquered it, Asoka found it necessary to establish two sets of governing bodies, one to carry on the provincial administration and the other to control the border tribes. The former was plaved at Tosali and the latter at Samaps. The administrative genius exhibited here by the Mauryan Emperor is akin to that of the British administration of the North-Western Frontier Territory.
The need of a frontier administration proves the existenoe of uncivilised and troublesome forest tribes on the borders of Kalinga. Which border was it ! On the west there are the Eastern Ghats, beyond which in aftertimes rose up the kingdom of South Kosala. These Ghats, being difficult to cross, formod & safe proteoticn on the west. On the south no such proteotion existed and the forest tribes also were very troublesome. Khåravela speaks of having planted a pillar of victory in Chataka (Chikati) which is even now inhabited by Savaras and other forest tribes. "The Kingdom of Mah&kantars" is mentioned by Samudragupta. The name itself tells us that it was great forest. The Konyodha apoken of by Hiuen-Tsiang suggests that it was . kingdom of Kondhs, of the olage of " forest 16 Ediot xiii.
11 The Caylonowe lugrad : Afoka by V. A. Smith.