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The Indian Analyst
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South Indian Inscriptions |
SOCIETY Buddhist monasteries and about 10000 Brethren, all Mahāyānists, in Dakshina Kōsala.1 The reigning king Mahāśivagupta-Bālārjuna made grants to Buddhist vihāras, though he him-self was a fervent devotee of Śiva. But in later times Buddhism declined here as in other parts of the country. There is not a single reference to any Buddhist vihara or Bhikshu in the Kalachuri inscriptions of Dakshina Kōsala. The Buddhist canonical and philoso-phical works were, however, studied by some people. Rudrasiva, the spiritual teacher of Jajalladeva I, is described as conversant with the works of Dinnāga and others.2 Kāśala, who composed the Koni stone inscription, tells us that he had knowledge of three ratnas (i.e., probably Buddha, Dharma and Sangha) and that he had mastered the āgamas of the Buddha and others.3 Some learned Brahmanas also, who were required to take part in philosophical debates, must have been well acquainted with the Buddhist systems There are also no references to the Jainas in the Kalachuri inscriptions of Dakshina Kōsala, but there is no doubt that Jainism had some followers there. Images of the Jaina Tirthankaras have been discovered at Ārang, Sirpur, Mallār, Dhanpur, Ratanpur and Padampur, these at Mallar being colossal.4
It is noteworthy that many of the grants made to Brāhmanas by the Kalachuris of Dakshina Kōsala were on the occasion of a solar or a lunar eclipse. Of the sixteen grants included here, as many as nine were made at the time of eclipses, five being lunar and four solar.5 Three grants were made on a sankrānti,6 one on the akshaya tritīyā7 which is regarded as a very holy day, and one on the sraddha-tithi of the donorâs father8. In the case of the remaining two, no auspicious occasion has been mentioned.9 SOCIETY Like religion, the social life also changed considerably in course of time. In the earlier period people had a broader outlook on social matters. The caste system had not become quite rigid. Foreign tribes like the Sakas were welcomed to the Hindu fold and were assigned their rightful place in the social structure. Hence they did not try to conceal their racial origin, but proudly stated it in their records. The Śaka king Srīdharavarman, for instance, makes a specific mention of his race in both the records of his reign.10 The Gurjaras also make no attempt in their earlier grants to trace their pedigree from a mythological or legendary hero, but take pride in stating that they were born in the Gurjara-vamśa.11 The Śakas, the Gurjaras and the Hunas became completely absorbed in the Hindu society in course of time and had matrimonial relations with the most notable Kshatriya families. The Hunas came to be reckoned among the thirty-six Kshatriya families of the best blood, their foreign origin having been completely forgotten. 12 We find that the Kalachuri Emperor Karna, who claimed to belong to the lunar race, had _________________________ 1 O. Y. C., Vol. II, p. 200.
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