Indian Antiquary Vol 60

Author(s): Richard Carnac Temple, Charles E A W Oldham, S Krishnaswami Aiyangar, Devadatta Ramkrishna Bhandarka
Publisher: Swati Publications

Page 29

JANUARY, 1931 ]
WHERE WAS TARKKARI :
seen before that there were two Śråvastis, one in Gauda and the other in Kosala. According to Vardhamihira, neither Gauda nor Kosala were in Madhyadesa. They were both outside and to the east of it. So Śråvasti-Takkärikê could not be in Madhyadesa of the United Provinces.
Let us see what other country was called Madhyadesa. In the Porumamilla tank inscription, we find that king Harihara of Vijayanagara is described as the supreme lord of the Madhyadesa extending from the eastern to the western ocean. The editor of the inscription, Dr. V. S. Sukthankar, in a footnote remarks "As early Vijayanagara kings had no claim to sovereignty in any part north of the Vindhya, Madhyadesa cannot have its usual significance, but must refer to the country lying between the eastern and the western ocean, namely the Deccan plateau." (E.I., vol. XIV, p. 107.) So we see that the Deccan plateau was also sometimes called Madhyadeśa. It is interesting to note that a village named Takkalika is mentioned in a copperplate grant of king Muñja found in Tidgundi, about twelve miles to the north of Bijapur in the district of Kalådgi. (Ind. Ant., vol. I, p. 82.) The editor, Shankar Pandurang Pandit, M.A., remarks :-"It is interesting to note that there is still a village called Takalki in the Bägevdi taluka of the Kaládgi, not far from the place where the copperplate was found." (Ibid., p. 83.) This Takkalika, no doubt, is another form of Takkârika.
If Sråvasti-Takkâri was not in Madhyadeśa, then where was it? Srâvasti must either have been in Gauda or in Kosala (modern Oudh). But where was Gauda ? Was it the district of Gonda, as was held by Cunningham, or northern Bengal? We have already seen that both were outside Madhyadesa, and to the east of it, in the time of Varahamihira, i.e., in the sixth century A.D. This does not, however, indicate the exact position of Gauda. In the Hasaha inscription of the Maukhari king isanavarman of 611 v.s. (554 A.D.) we find that Isânavarman caused the Gaudas living on the seashore to remain within their realm. (E.I., vol. XIV, p. 117.) This clearly indicates that Gauda in the middle of the sixth century extended to the seashore. Neither Kosala nor Gonda stretched as far as the sea at any time. So this Gauda must be the Gauda in Bengal. It is very interesting to find that this inscription was found in the Bara Banki district, the very heart of Oudh. It appears from this that Gauda was independent at this time and may have come into conflict with Isanavarman in Magadha, which lay between the two contending powers. From the fifth plate of the Damodarapur copperplate grant we learn that Gauda or Pundravardhana was under the Guptas till 214 6.8. (533 A.D.) (E.I., vol. XV, pp. 123-24.) Gauda must have, therefore, asserted her independence sometime between 534 and 554 A.D. Maharajadhirajas Dharmaditya, Gopachandra and Samâcâradeva, whose copperplate grants have been discovered at Ghughrâhâţi in the Faridpur district, may have been of this time. (JASB., 1911.) The words bára kamandala (circle or district of embankments), navyárakásika (new intervening space between the sea and the mainland, i.e., char lands), narátâ kşeni (shipyard), and naudandaka (harbour or port), found in these plates go to show that the country was on the seashore at the time.6
We shall now try to see if there is any truth in the traditions of the Gauda Brâhmaņas and the Gauda Kayasthas that they migrated to other provinces from Gauda in Bengal. The Chandella king Yasovarman conquered Gauda (E.I., vol. I, p. 126) and the earliest mention of a Gauda-Karanika or Kavastha is found in his prasasti (eulogy) dated 1011 v.s. (954 A.D.). The culogy was written by Gauda-karanika Jadda, the son of Jayaguna, who was well-versed in the Sanskrit language (ibid., p. 129). The surname Guna is only to be met with among the Bengali Kayasthas. Mention of families of poets from Gauda and Tarkka. rika is found in the inscriptions of this Chandella dynasty of KAlañnra (ibid., pp. 146 and 211). A Vastavya-Kayastha family from Takkârikå held high posts, such as chief minister, chamberlain, governor of a fort, general superintendent (sarvadhikari), etc. The founder of this family was one J&juka by name. He earned a village named Dugauda ('second
• That Gauda was a separate country from Kosala is evident from Panini (1-1-171 and 6-2-100). In the Kama Sutra of Vatsyåvyana (6-5-33) Gauda and Vaoga have been mentioned together, having the same practice. From this we shall not be wrong to infer that this Gauda was contiguous to Vanga.