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भ० महावीर-स्मृति-ग्रंथ।
time the Karnatakas (the Karna-Natakas ) and the Pallavas (The Parne-Natas) lived in accord as the north and south of a single land and as the offshoots of a single tribe. Pänini includes the Karnatakas and 'Pārnātakas under the 'Gotra-nama category of the "Yaksas." It would seem both these were mixed Kshatriya tribes of the- Nātas,
The Nātha tribe was one of the five Kshatriya tribes of note during the time of Bharata Chakravarthi. Mahavira, the last of the Tirthankars was born in this tribe. The Sanskrit and Prākrit texts variously refer to this tribal Dame as Jāatri, Nath and Näta. The different houses of the Natas, were located in the South. Kamätaks of Kunthala, Parnātas of Dräyıda, the Mahānatas of Vidbarbha, the Punnātas of Mabishmandala, the Bekinātas of Andhra, the Va-naras of Kishkanda, the Unnātas of Uttara-Košala yere among the tribal variations of Nātas The Bekinātas are, mentioned in the Vaidika Sukti The 'Mabābbārata ' mentions the Unnātas. Pampa in his
Adipurāna' specifics the Mahānātas. The Vānaras of Rāmāyana are well known. The Ggngas and the Puonātas of ancient Mahisha-Mandala are known to be kin. Inscriptions from rocks too bear evidence to this.
It emerges that ancient Jain history bad contact with the farger portion of Kamātak as Kunthala and Kunkana, are identified as the home of the Kulas, and as Vāpara, Punnāta, and Karnātaka are found to be the sources of the various sub-divisions or offshoots of Nātas. If this were not so, Maurya Chandra-Gupta with Bhadrababu Acharya would not have come staraight by the northern route, traversed the countries in the middle and settled down in Shravan-Belagola as if by express invitation I have briefly set forth this view for further scrutiny by scholars I have a desire to acquaint myself, with the position of those who hold a contrary view or who have arrived at the same conclusion on lines of their own. I shall feel compenBated for the present if the attention of those engaged in historical and geographical research prior to the date of Bharata, is drawn this way,
