Historical Geography of Ancient India c7.73

c7.73

*Bhojakaṭa* and *Bhojakaṭapura* (Skt.: Bhojakaṭa or Bhojya; Bhojya; Barua and Sinha, *Barhut Inscriptions*, p. 7).—The Arulala-Perumal Inscription and the Raṅganātha Inscription of Ravivarman refer to a Bhoja king belonging to the Yadu family of the Kerala country in South India (*E.I.*, Vol. IV, Pt. III, 146). The Khalimpur grant of Dharmapāladeva of Gauḍa (c. 800 A.D.) speaks of the king of Bhoja along with the kings of Matsya, Kuru, Yadu and Yavana as having uttered benedictions at the coronation ceremony of the king of Kānyakubja. The next important mention of the Bhojas is made in the Hāthigumphā Inscription of the Ceṭa King Khāravela (1st century B.C.), which informs us that Khāravela, the Mahārājā of Kaliṅga, defeated the Rāṭhikas and Bhojakas and compelled them to do homage to him. The Rāṭhikas and Bhojakas are evidently the Rāṣṭrikas and Bhojas of Aśoka’s Rock Edicts V and XIII (vide B. C. Law, *Tribes in Ancient India*, p. 372). The R.E. XIII refers to the Bhojas and Pitinikas who held the present Thāṇā and Kolābā districts of the Bombay Presidency. The *Sabhāparva* of the *Mahābhārata* (Ch. 30) mentions Bhojakaṭa and Bhojakaṭapura as two places in the south conquered by Sahadeva. If Bhojakaṭa be the same as Bhoja and Bhojya of the Purāṇas, then it must be a country of the Vindhya region. The expression Daṇḍakyabhoja in the *Brāhmaṇas* may indicate that this Bhojakaṭa was either included in or within the reach of Daṇḍaka. It is clear from the *Mahābhārata* list that Bhojakaṭa (= Elichpur) was distinct from Bhojakaṭapura or Bhojapura, the second capital of Vidarbha (modern Berar). Bhoja coincides with Berar or ancient Vidarbha and Chammaka, four miles south-east of Elichpur in the Amaraoti district. In the *Khila-Harivaṃśa*, Bhojakaṭa is expressly identified with Vidarbha (cf. *Viṣṇupurāṇa*, LX, 32). In the Barhut Votive label No. 45 occurs Bhojakaṭa (Barua and Sinha, *Barhut Inscriptions*, p. 131). Aśoka’s R.E. XIII refers to the Bhojas, Pārimdas or Pāladas. Bhoja is mentioned in the *Ṛgveda* (II, 53, 7) as well as in the *Aitareya Brāhmaṇa* (VIII, 14). The *Śatapatha Brāhmaṇa* (XIII, 5, 4, 11) seems to imply that the Sātvatas were located near the Gaṅgā and the Yamunā, which locality was the realm of the Bharatas. The Bhojas spread over central and southern India in very early times. According to the *Purāṇas* the Bhojas and the Sātvatas were allied tribes both belonging to the Yadu family (*Matsya Purāṇa*, Ch. 43, p. 48; Ch. 44, pp. 46-8, *Vāyu Purāṇa*, Ch. 94, p. 52; Ch. 95, p. 18; Ch. 96 pp. 1-2; *Viṣṇu Purāṇa*, IV, 13, 1-6). The descendants of Sātvata, son of Mābhabhoja, were known as Bhojas (*Bhāgavata Purāṇa*, Ch. IX, p. 24; *Kūrma Purāṇa*, Ch. 24, śl. 40; *Harivaṃśa*, Ch. 37). The Bhojas were related to the Haihayas who were a branch of the Yādavas (*Agni Purāṇa*, Ch. 275, śl. 10; *Vāyu Purāṇa*, Ch. 94, pp. 3-54; *Matsya Purāṇa* Ch. 43, pp. 7-49). The Jain sacred books refer to the Bhojas as Kṣatriyas (*Jaina Sūtras*, S.B.E., II, p. 71, f.n. 2). The Bhojas along with the Andhakas and Kukuras helped the Kurus in the Kurukṣetra war (*Mahābhārata*, Udyogaparva, Ch. 19). They were associated with the Śriñjayas and the Cedis (*Mahābhārata*, V. 28). The Jaina *Uttarādhyayana-Cūrṇi* (2, p. 53) mentions that a ruler of Ujjenī came to Bhogakaḍa after becoming an ascetic. For further details, vide B. C. Law, *Indological Studies*, Pt. I, pp. 43ff.; Law, *Tribes in Ancient India*, pp. 366ff.