History of Kanauj to the Moslem Conquest c9.s1.t3.6

c9.s1.t3.6

Fleet further pointed out the antiquity of the Maukharis by the Pāli legend “*Mokhalīnam*,” written in Mauryan Brāhmī characters on a clay-seal, which was secured by Cunningham at Gaya.³ This is evidently an equivalent of the Sanskrit word “*Maukharīṇām*,” which is a derivative of Mukhara and signifies “of the Maukharis.” The use of the Mauryan characters unmistakably shows that they were well-known in the 3rd and 4th centuries B. C., and Sir Alexander Cunningham even tried to prove some connection between the Maukharis and the Mauryas.⁴ In his opinion the term Maukhari is only a variant form of Maurya, and that “in fact Maurīya would be a legitimate contraction of Maukhariya.” But there does not seem to be any substantial ground for this view except the mere similarity in sound.