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548
A CRITICAL STUDY OF PAUMACARIYA峁�
completely Jainised or the Jaina tradition has assimilated them and has
depicted them as a cultured people. In the following lines an attempt
is made to assess the probability of their historical existence.
They had their
R膩m膩ya峁嘺虏, the
those references
Vidyadharas -According to the Paumacariyam鲁 Nami and Vinami
established the Vidyadhara dynasty. It was R峁�abha, the first Tirthan-
kara who installed them as the first kings of the Vijay膩rdha mountain.
They were called Vidyadhara because they were gifted with superna-
tural powers (Vidyas). It is quite apparent from the study of the
PCV that the Vidyadharas were not imaginary people.
own territories and kingdoms. In the V膩lm墨ki
Vidyadharas are mentioned but sporadically and
do not give any solid information about their settlements and
territories. The Jaina tradition always mentions the Vijay膩rdha
or the Vait膩岣峢ya (Vindhya) mountains as the place of their settlements.
An ancient inscription refers to the Vidyadharas and on that
basis the Vidhyadharas have been identified with the aboriginal tribes.
of the Vindhyas by Dr. B.C. law. It will be worthwhile to quote
him who records, "In the H膩thigumpha inscription of Kh膩ravela
the Rathikas and Bhojakas are introduced in such a manner as to have
no room for doubt that they were ruling chiefs of the Vidyadhara
settlements (Vij膩dhar膩dhiv膩艣a). The Jambudivapa峁囜箛atti connects the
Vidyadharas with the Vait膩岣峢ya or Vindhya range and speaks of their
eighteen settlements. When the J膩takas speak of sixteen Bhojaputtas,
one may understand that they were the ruling chiefs of sixteen
Vidyadhara tracts along the Vindhyas. From these references it may
be inferred that the Vidyadharas were not mythical beings but some
aboriginal tribes that settled along the Vindhyas". Even in the seventh
cent. A. D. the princes of the S墨l膩h膩ra dynasty are found to be tracing
their origin to the Vidyadharas and the Navasahasa峁卥acarita vouchsafes
to the existence of a Vidyadhara dynasty ruling to the south of the
Narmad膩鈥攊. e. the region of the Vindhyas or Veya岣峝ha陋.
Raksasas: The PCV states that Vidyadhara Meghav膩hana was
made the first ruler of the R膩k峁�asadv墨pa. He left his Vidyadhara
brethren behind in the Vindhyas and carved out a separate territory
in the south. The PCV further mentions twice that the R膩k峁�asas were
1. See Supra. 鈥極rigin of various Vamsas'.
2. Ibid.
3. IDET BJ, pp. 106-106.
4. See Karakan岣峚cariu, Int. pp. 41,46,48 (ED. H. L.
..
Jain).
5. See Origin of Vidyadhara Dynasty Supra.