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Nivāsakaraņārthāya daivavāņī tu prāptavān./ asmin nivasata rājan yāvat tişthati medini/ tāvatkālasuparyyantaḥ(-tā) tava kirtti(r) virājate.//5 Daivavāmśrute Aīraḥ(-ro) harşanirbharamānasaḥ/ Kosalānagaram tyaktvā Khandaśailasamīpatul-gaḥi)//6 The text is rather corrupt, and I shall not make any attempt at correcting it throughout. Mr. Jayaswal thinks that, the substance of the verses....can be gathered as follows:(a) That Kalinga had been conquered by the kings of Magadha, and
that it was liberated by one aira (king) who defeated a Nanda
king of Magadha. (b) That the Nandas were Vedic, orthodix Hindus; and the Aira was
heterodox (Jain or Buddhist). (c) That the Aira was a great enemy of Aśoka. (d) That the former capital of the Aira was Kośalā (South Kośala)
and that the Aira removed his capital to the Khandagiri at 'Eka
Prastara' spot. He further remarks that the Airas must have founded their capital in the Khandagiri before the conquest by Aśoka, because ‘it is to be noticed that the capital of Kalinga before Aśoka and after the Nandas is called Parthali (by Megasthenes) which corresponds with the Prastara of our MS. By its location in the Khaņdagiri, it seems to have been identical with Dhauli (Toshali)'. I cannot subscribe to all these statements. The first stanza only informs us of the existence of a rāja called Ahira, i.e. Aira, in Utkala, i.e. Kalinga, who was a Jaina. That he belonged to that religion and was not a Buddhist is, I think, evident from the stress laid on ahimsā. It is not stated that he was king of Kalinga, he can just as well have been a petty chieftain. We are further told that he was a contemporary of the Magadha king Nanda, whom he fought and defeated, whereafter he acquired fame within his religion in Utkala. The tradition embodied in these verses is in agreement with that we can infer from the Hāthīgumphā inscription, where there is more than one reference to an expedition undertaken by king Nanda against Kalinga.
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