Karakandu was a powerful Jain
emperor of ancient Kalinga of 8th Century B.C. He was an influential
ruler of Kalinga and Anga kingdoms together. Jain tirthankars described him as “Bull
among Kings” and it was during his rule that the 23rd Jain
tirthankar Parsvnath visited Kalinga. The limited statements found in the Jain
and Buddhist documents give idea about the great power he possessed and the
vast lands he ruled.
Mythical Folklore about His Birth
Karakandu was the son of the king
Dadhibamana and queen Padmavati of the Anga kingdom (Eastern Bihar including parts
of W. Bengal and Jharkhand). According
to a folklore from Jain texts, queen Padmavati chose to ride on an elephant
along with her husband while being pregnant with Karakandu. There was a sudden
rain in the middle of the summer season on that day and the elephant went out
of control and ran into the deep forest. The king jumped safely from its back
but the queen eventually found herself giving birth to Karakandu amidst a
cremation ground surrounded by burning funeral pyres. An untouchable attendant
who was earlier cursed by an intellectual of the Vidhyadhar caste adopted the
new born who had a scab on his hand and the queen left to become a Jain monk. A
child born with scab on his hands is believed to grow up as a conqueror and an able
ruler.
Karakandu Inherited an Empire and became a Chakravarti
After the ill fated and cursed king
of Kalinga Nalikera, the kingdom’s environment had plunged into a disorganized society. As Karakandu was born and brought up in Kalinga and had the royal lineage of the ruling family of Anga, with the efforts of bureaucrats and ministers he was crowned as
the ruler of Kalinga kingdom. He later inherited from his father or occupied the
Anga kingdom with its capital as Champa. Technically, he was the lord of a vast
landscape stretching from modern day Odisha, parts of W. Bengal, Eastern Bihar
and Jharkhand. He had defeated the southern Indian dynasties of Chola, Andhra,
Chera and Pandyas but later treated them with affection when he learned that
the respective rulers of these lands wore the image of Jain Tirthankar Jitendranath
in their crowns. This probably was due the result of his later devotion towards
Jainism under the influence of Tirthankar Parsvnath.
It is also said that a Kalingan
king had forcibly married the princess of Kosala (north India) who was supposed
to get married to Parsvnath himself after which the tirthankar himself arrived in
Kalinga to preach Jainism. This king could be no other than Karakandu as he is
was the only ruler of Kalinga during the lifetime of Parsvnath. He being referred
to as a “Bull among kings” and also being mentioned along with three other
powerful and legendary kings of the time in India that are Nemi
of Videha, Dummukha (Dvimukha) king of Panchala and Nagnajit (Naggati) of
Gandhara [Kumbhakara Jataka and the Uttaradhyayana Sutra (S. B. E., XLV. 87)].
Karakandu had also dedicated shrines to the Jinas at Terapura in modern
Maharashtra region. This gives a brief glimpse into the extent of
his empire across the south east corridor, eastern part of North and Deccan
parts of India during the time.
Karakandu
Embraced Jainism
The jain text “Uttaradhyayana
Sutra” mentions Parsvnath (8th century) and Mahavira (4th
Century) visited Kalinga in their respective times and referred the king as the
“Bull among Kings”. According to Jainkhetra Samasa, Prasvanth came to Kopatak
which is now Kupari of Baleswar district and was the guest of a person called
Dhanya. The Kshetra Samasa, says that Parsvnath preached at Tamralipti (now Tamluk
in Bengal). The national religion of Kalinga became Jainism from the times of
Karakandu in the 8th Century B.C. The Kalinga Jina asana was
established and the idol of Tirthankara Rishabhanatha otherwise known as the “Kalinga
Jina“was the national symbol of the kingdom. This Kalinga Jina was carried away
by the invading Nanda emperor Mahapadma Nanda to Magadha in 4th
Century B.C.E and later restored back in Kalinga through military campaigns of
another later Jain Emperor Kharavela.
Karakandu built the Karakandu
Vihar or Monastry for Jain monks for the preaching of Jain religion in his land
and dedicated shrines to the Jinas at Terapura in modern Maharashtra region.
Karakandu placed his son on the throne exerted himself as Sramana
(monk). The name of the Jain scripture called “Karakandu Charita” is solely
derived from his name. His greatness and holiness was adorned by the later Buddhists
who also designated him with the title "Pratyakha Buddha".
Conclusion
Karakandu was a mighty ruler of
Kalinga. Nearly three millennium ago he lived a political life of successful achievements
over his southern rivals and later was influenced by the Jain tirthankar
Parsvnath to embrace Jainism. He was instrumental in making Jainism a national
religion which was followed by majority sections of the Kalinga kingdom. He is
one of the oldest known kings of Kalinga who lived at least seven to eight
centuries before Kharavela as found from historical records and ancient Jain religious
scriptures. Before Karakandu, Odra Bibhasa was the language commonly used in Kalinga (Odisha) and with his ascent to power, the influence of Jain scriptures written in Ardha Magadhi and Prakrit languages, the chronological progress of the Odia language gained new socio-political dimensions in the ancient times.
Research Document Submitted by Manjit Keshari Nayak
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