The Antiquities of Orissa v2.c16.117.1

v2.c16.117.1

The second sentence opens with a series of seven words in the instrumental case, or nominative in the causal form. The first of these *airena* is probably a proper name, Aira, derived from *ira* or *irā*. He was 'a great king', *mahārāja*; who has 'a noble elephant', *mahāmegha*, or 'a great cloud', for his 'carries', *vāhana*; who had 'lavished his wealth in erecting *chaityas*'; the epithet being a compound of *cheta* for *chaitya*, *kāja* 'work', *tatchha*, for Sanskrit *tatstha*, 'devoted to', thence 'exhausted', 'weakened', 'spent', and *dhana* 'wealth'; who 'is distinguished', *pasatha*, Sanskrit *praśasta*, by the 'attributes', *lakṣaṇa* 'of *saka*', or Śākya; who was 'renowned', *khatena*, from the Sanskrit *khyāta* for 'despoiling', *luṭhana* 'to commit loot', all over the earth 'to its extreme four abutments', *chaturānta*;¹⁹ and who 'was the sovereign', *adhipati*, 'of Kaliṅga'. As to who Aira was, I shall notice further on. The second epithet calls for no remark. The third, if taken in the sense of a cloud, would apply to Indra but seeing that the personage named was a sovereign of Kaliṅga, and the kings of Kaliṅga and Orissa have always borne the title of *gajapati*, or 'lord of elephants', I prefer to take it in that sense. It may be the proper personal name, with *aira* for the race name, but I can say nothing in support of this idea.