Tribes in Ancient India c10.50

c10.50

It is stated in the *Vessantara Jātaka* that Cetaraṭṭha (i.e. Cedi-rāṣṭra, kingdom of the Cedis) was 30 yojanas distant from Jetuttara-nagara, the birthplace of King Vessantara. It was inhabited by 60,000 Khattiyas (Kṣatriyas) who are also described as Cetiya-rājās. Vessantara with his wife and children started from Jetuttara at breakfast-time and reached the capital of Cetaraṭṭha in the evening. The Cedis’ hospitality to strangers is illustrated by this story; for we read that the Cedis offered food and hospitality to Vessantara who had been banished from the kingdom of his father Śivi; and when the prince proceeded to Vaṅkapabbata, the ‘60,000 Khattiyas’ followed him to a certain distance as a kind of bodyguard.²