Indian Epigraphy c16.s2.134

c16.s2.134

In the inscriptions of Aśoka, the king's son seems to be called *Āryaputra* while princes of the royal blood were probably called *Kumāra*.³ The expression *Āryaputra* in this sense does not appear in later records, although *Kumāra* and its regional variants occur in numerous epigraphs. Some of the medieval Paramāra rulers called themselves *Mahākumāra*.⁴ The epithet *Prāpta-pañca-mahāśabda* and the suffix *bhaṭṭāraka* were sometimes added to the names of the *Yuvarāja* or crown-prince.⁵ The word *bhaṭṭāraka* was also suffixed to the name of a king's son who may not have been the crown-prince.⁶ In South India, the *Yuvarāja* was sometimes called *Yuva-mahārāja*.⁷