Lord Mahavira

Author(s): Bool Chand
Publisher: Jain Cultural Research Society

Page 95

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Licchavis and other Republican clans
were
From this brief account of the several ruling houses of Eastern India, it will be clear that Mahavira obtained good support everywhere. His personal connections with the various rulers reached through his mother Trisala, the Licchavi Princess, and his maternal uncle Cetaka, the king of Vaisali. The Licchavis recognised all round as high born Kshattriyas, with whom the highest born princes of Eastern India, and not only Eastern India but also as far west as SindhuSauvira, considered it an honour to enter into matrimonial alliance. We have already seen that out of the seven daughters of Cetaka, Padmavati, Mrgavati, Siva and Cellana were respectively married to the lords of Anga, Vatsa, Avanti and Magadha. The eldest Prabhavati was married to King Udayana of Vitabhaya, which has been identified at various places in the Jain literature with a town of Sindhu-Sauvira desa. As to what part of the country is Sindhu-Sauvira-desa, whether it is "the province of Badari or Eder, at the head of the Gulf of Cambay" (Cunningham), or "to the north of Kathiawar and along the Gulf of Cutch" (Rhys Davids) or "the province of Multan and Jahravar" (Alberuni), or "in Sindhu or Sindh" (Satrunjaya-Mahatmya), historians are not quite in agreement about; but according to Jain sources Udayana was the overlord of three hundred and sixty three other towns. Through his relationship with the Licchavis, Mahavira's rcligion was greatly helped in the course of its spread over Sauvira, Anga, Vatsa, Avanti, Videha and Magadha, all of which were the most powerful kingdoms of the time. It is significant that Buddhist books do not mention Cetaka at all, though they tell us about the constitutional government of Vaisali. "Buddhists tookno notice of him, as his infleunce was used in the interest of their rivals. But the Jainas naturally cherished the memory of the maternal uncle and patron of their prophet, to whose influence we must attribute the fact that Vaisali used to be a stronghold of Jainism,