| Great Kings & Queens |
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| Biographies of Great Indians & Hindus |
KHARVELA |
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AgainWith the death of Ashoka, total disorder
set in his kingdom. His sons and grand sons began to quarrel among themselves. Gradually,
the power and influence of Magadha grew less. Ashoka hadappointed Sardars to be in charge
of different parts of the empire. They took advantage of the weakness of the ruler and
declared themselves independent.They established petty states of their own.
After the conquest of Kalinga, Ashoka had appointed a Sardar of Chedi as its administrator. This Sardar declared 'himself independent; so the rule of the Chedi Dynasty started in Kalinga. This ruler's son was Mahameghavahana. After his death, Mahameghavahana came to the throne. It was during his time that the people of Kalinga suffered very badly. This was not because of the King's misrule, but because of Nature's fury. A severe storm raged for long bringing about death and destruction. Houses were razed to the ground. The formidable walls of the royal fort were destroyed. Its main gate crumbled. Water flowed into the city from tanks and lakes. Huge cracks appeared at several places in the canal which supplied water to the capital. People grew panicky. How to get over this misery was the one question that worried the mind of one and all.
The Dravidian Kings of the South had joined hands to defend themselves from Magadha when
that state was powerful. Now they started troubling the Kalingas. So the people of Kalinga
were miserable. Their cup of misery was full. It was not surprising if they had preferred
death to this misery and dishonor. |
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