Jinamanjari 1995 09 No 12

Author(s): Jinamanjari
Publisher: Canada Bramhi Jain Society Publication

Page 60

Bhattiprolu was Pratipalapura, it could be a later adaptation at the time when Nayasena had written Dharmamrta.
other hand, Bhattiprolu may be an accepted name as it has phonetic similarity with its Pali name Bhaddiya. The name popularly occurs in Buddhists texts and a place visited by Mahavira. Hence Bhattiprolu could have been directly adapted from Bhaddiya. This brings in line with Vijayawada (Vanijjawada), Vuyyuru (Vayyagama), Choragudi (Choreya Sannivesa) places associated with the visits of Mahavira.
Pedana
This is a place located outside the municipal limits of Masulipatnam, the capital of Krishna district. It is also nearer to Majeru, the ancient Mhajerika mentioned in Puranas and Buddhist texts. It forms the interior land tip of known estuary through which the entire maritime trade was routed to far east and Mediteranean countries on the west. Of late, it lies well in the interior, about 10 km away from sea shoreline, and receeded far away leaving Majerika much interior as seen today. It comes well within the Avanigadda, which means that portion of the earth left by the sea.
Pedana-Patamajeru complex is full of ancient remains that show a range between 2nd centuary B.C. to 3rd centuary A.D. Since it appears to have been uninhabitated for a long time, it is difficult to trace any of the chronological set up. However, it can be easily ascertained that the archaeological evidences indicate its origins from the Mauryan period onwards till a few centuries after Christ.
In Jain literature we come across a prominent place by name Pihunda or Pithudapura. Kharavela stormed the Kingdom of Mosali and earsed Pithudapura structures to the ground.49 Since it is contiguous with the above places having similar archaeological evidence, it may be pointed out that Pedana could be the ancient Pihunda, in the region of Mosali. Possibly it was habitated for a long time after the destruction of Pihunda by Kharavela.
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