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Lord Mahavira
western Orissa) of the Somavamsi, Bhanja and Chola records14 of the mediaeval period, and Malaya may be identified with Malayagiri or Malyagiri near Pallahara in the Dhenkanal district. 15 Some Jaina antiquities are also found at these places.
The Avashyaka Sutra records the tradition regarding Mahâvîra's visit to Toshali (modern Dhauli near Bhubaneswar), the capital of Kalinga—“Tatto Bhagabam Toshalim Gao..... Tattha Sumagaho Namo Rathio Piyamit to Bhagabao So Maae. Tato Sami Moshalim Gao”. 16 At Toshali he was suspected to be a robber and was about to be hanged. But he was rescued through the timely intervention of the Toshali Kshatriyas."? From Toshali he went to Moshali where also he was caught under suspicion of being a dacoit, but was soon released when his identity was revealed. Moshali is no other than Ptolemy's Maisoloi or Maisolato which probably extended from the agencies of the Ganjam district upto the Godavari delta. Mahâvîra's visit to Maisoloi (Mashali) is also corroborated by the Jaina Uttaradhyayana Sutral' which states that Pihunda, a port of Kalinga, had been an important seat of Jainism since the days of Mahâvîra Sylvain Levi20 has identified Pihunda with Pithunda of the Hathigumpha inscription, and it is located by Ptolemy in the country of Maisoloi (Moshali) near Srikakulam and Kalingapatnam.
The Jaina Bhagawati Sutra states that during his early wanderings Mahâvîra visited places like Kumagrama and Siddhartha Grama in the company of Gosala, the Ajivika teacher. At Kumagrama he saw an ascetic called Vesayana, who was then practising Yoga by looking at the hot rays of the sun and raising both arms upward, while his body was swarming with lice. 21 In this connection the present writer is inclined to cite the Banapur22 and the Parikud 3 copper plates of Madhyamaraja (c 662-690 A.D.) of the Sailoddhava dynasty of Kangoda which state that in order to attain supreme heavenly peace the sages of Kangoda were performing meditation by looking attentively at the thousand hot rays of the burning sun which caused often mutilation on their faces. Thus the type of severe ascetic discipline are Yoga practised by Vesayana as state above was also popular in Kangoda which extended from the river Mahanadi to the Mahendra region of the Ganjam and the Srikakulam districts of
