________________
Shri Mahavir Jain Aradhana Kendra
www.kobatirth.org
(1) gopura
(2) taḍāga
(3) uyāna
(4) vithi-catara
(5) nivesana-sihara
288
OLD BRAHMI INSCRIPTIONS
But as
pākāra, many a nivesana, many a tadaga, and many a uyāna. regards Mahavijaya-pasada and panadi, the implied sense is singular.
The general features implied by these terms go to show that the city of Kalinga was built, even before the reign of Kharavela, on the same plan, more or less, as other Indian cities, e.g., the city of Sagala of which we have a vivid description in the Milinda-Pañha (Trenckner's edition, pp. 1-2). It may be inferred from the hints given in Kharavela's inscription that the palace used as the royal residence was the main centre of interest in the city of Kalinga, precisely as in other cities; that the residential buildings were all inside a city-wall provided with gateways and gate-bars, and themselves were provided with enclosures and gate-houses; that the various gardens, parks and groves added to picturesqueness of the city; that the roads, squares, court-yards and canals facilitated easy communication and intercourse; that the deep and cool tanks (gabhira-sitala-tadaga) served as reservoirs of water for drinking, bathing and washing purposes, while the spire-temples towering above the house-tops stood out as various centres of religious worship.
Comparing the plural expressions in Kharavela's inscription with those in the Milinda description of the city of Sagala, we cannot fail to notice that each of them falls short of the expected expression by one or two words, as the following table will indicate :
K. I.
Acharya Shri Kailassagarsuri Gyanmandir
M.
gopura-torana talaka-pokkharani
ārāma-uyyāna-upavana
vithi-caccara-catukka-singhataka
antarápāņa-vividha-dānaggasataHimagiri-sikhara-saṁkāsa-vara
For Private And Personal Use Only
bhavana
Reading between the lines, it is easy to understand that the purpose of Kharavela's inscription was far from giving a connected description of the city of Kalinga, and that the features implied by the additional words in the Milinda description were meant to be covered by the plural sense of the words in the former. We say that where gopura in the sense of gate-house or gate-tower is employed, torana in the sense of gate or gateway is implied there. Similarly where tadaga in the general sense of tank is
