1922.] Mahabharata and the Besnagar Inscription. 271 
profuse presents. Thus adored by the king, they returned to 
their renee abodes 
ing dismissed those learned Brahmanas, King Janame- 
jaya uaa from Takshaésila to Hastinapura 
(M. N. Dutt Saatri’s translation.) 
The last statement shows that the king was at Takshasila 
when Vaisampayana was reciting the story of the Kurus and. 
the Pandus. It is thus apparent ee abeen evidence that 
Takshagila had something to do with the diffusion of the 
knowledge of Vaigampayana’ s version of the Great Epic. It 
is significant that one of the earliest references to the Maha- 
bharata is found in the Ashtadhyayt of Panini, a native of 
Salatura which lay not far from Takshasila and formed part of 
the kingdom of Gandhara. 
The testimony of Panini shows that the Mahabharata was 
well known to the people of Gandhara from a aig, long 
anterior to the time of Heliodoros (second century B.C.), 
while the evidence of the Svargarohanaparva eee that it 
used to be recited by Vachakas or Pathakas in the presence of 
the great men of Taxila. In view of this fact, and of the re- 
markable coincidence between the verses of the Striparva of 
Evidently the Mahabharata played an important part in the 
Hinduisation of the foreign settlers of the Indian border-land. 
Sse ol, gga aang a ee a 
