________________
Arya. The same tendency is visible amongst the Aryan Brahmans in the Dravidian South who call themselves Aryan (aiyar, plural of aiya)'.
The title mahāmeghavāhaṇa can, as pointed out by Mr. Jayaswal, be explained as a synonym of mahendra. It is, however, probable that the designation has something to do with Megha, the name of an ancient dynasty in Kosala.29
The reading Ceti is, I think, absolutely certain, and both Mr. Jayaswal and Dr. Thomas, who have examined the inscription in situ, have informed me that they accept it. The Ceta-dynasty, which has been inferred from the old reading Ceta-accordingly disappears, and it is unnecessary to discuss the various explanations given of the word. Ceti, on the other hand, is the well-known Pali form of the usual name Cedi.
The Cedis were reckoned as Haihayas, and Haihayas and Kalingas are also collocated in the Puranic lists of ancient dynasties. The stronghold of the Cedis in historical times, however, was in the so-called Central Provinces. In later days the Cedi empire was divided into two countries, Western Cedi with its capital at Tripura near Jabalpur, and Eastern Cedi or Mahakosala, with its capital at Ratanpur.30 It is a priori likely that the Kalinga line had come from Eastern Cedi, and it is in the connexion worth while recalling the fact that also the designation Mahāmeghavahana perhaps points towards Kośala, i.e. Mahākośala.
In what follows after Cetirājavasavadhanena my predecessors have failed to notice the a-matra after the final n-in-lakhanena and the a after I in luthuna, for which Mr. Jayaswal kindly informs me that we ought to read lumthuna. The sense remains the same, the king's virtues are said to wallow, to extend, to the four quarters. Instead of opahitena Mr. Jayaswal now reads- opapitena. I think, however, that what he reads as pi is in reality a misshaped hi.
In sirikaḍara the i has hitherto been read as i, but I think that the short vertical to the left belongs to the vowel-sign, in which case we must read siri. Instead of - kaḍāra-Bhagwanlal read kumāra, which is, however, inadmissible. Mr. Jayaswal in his first note read - kāḍāra, and such is the reading according to his plate. His correction into kaḍāra- in his second paper is, however, based on a careful examination of the original, and I
तुलसी प्रज्ञा अप्रेल - जून, 2006 |
Jain Education International
For Private & Personal Use Only
111
www.jainelibrary.org
