The Ancient Geography of India. I. The Buddhist Period, including the Campaigns of Alexander, and the Travels of Hwen-Thsang c8.s1.10

c8.s1.10

The name of Tri-Kalinga is probably old, as Pliny mentions the *Macco-Calingæ* and the *Gangarides-Calingæ* as separate peoples from the *Calingæ*, while the *Mahâbhârata* names the Kalingas three separate times, and each time in conjunction with different peoples.* As Tri-Kalinga thus corresponds with the great province of *Telingána*, it seems probable that the name of *Telingána* may be only a slightly contracted form of *Tri-Kalingána*, or the “Three Kalingas.” I am aware that the name is usually derived from *Tri-Lingga*, or the “Three Phalli” of Mahadeva. But the mention of *Macco-Calingæ* and *Gangarides-Calingæ* by Pliny, would seem to show that the “Three Kalingas” were known as early as the time of Megasthenes, from whom Pliny has chiefly copied his Indian Geography. The name must therefore be older than the Phallic worship of Mahadeva in southern India. Kalinga is three times mentioned in the Khandagiri inscription of Aira Raja,† which cannot be later than the second century B.C., and at a still earlier date, during the lifetime of Sâkya-Muni, it was noted for its manufacture of fine muslins, and at his death, the king of Kalinga is said to have obtained one of the teeth of Buddha, over which he built a magnificent stupa.‡