Indian Antiquary Vol 40

Author(s): Richard Carnac Temple, Devadatta Ramkrishna Bhandarkar
Publisher: Swati Publications

Page 19

13
JANUARY, 1911.) FOREIGN ELEMENTS IN THE HINDU POPULATION. -
What are the facts then? The West Indian cave inscriptions give us names of certain private Yavana or Greek individuals, who made gifts to the Buddhist chaityas and monasteries and consequently were unquestionably Buddhists. And not only did they embrace Buddhism, but all except one borrowed Hindu names also; in short, if the word Yavana had not been men. tioned in these inscriptions, their foreign extraction would bave remained undetected.
For a long while the antiquarians were under the impression that the Greeks had become Buddhists only and that none of them had embraced Hinduism. But this impression is now proved erroneous by the discovery of a pillar inscription of about the second century B.C. and found at Begnagar in the Gwalior territory in Malwa". It records the erection of a garuda-dhvaja in honour of Vasudeva, god of gods, by feliodora, son of Diya, come from the king Antalikita (Antialkidas) to the court of the king Bhagabhadra. Heliodora is called a Yavana-data, i.e., a Greek ambassador, and his and his father's name, viz., Heliodora and Diya, undoubtedly correspond to the Greek Heliodoros and Dion. The very fact that he erected a garuda column shows that, though & Greek, he had become a Hindu and & Vaishnava; and if any doubt is still entertained, it is completely Bet at rest by the fact that he is actually styled Bhagavata in the inscription.
So far with regard to the Yavana or Greek princes and private individuals. The Yavanas were succeeded by the saka kings, who also were foreigners, The Imperial dynasty was reigning in the Panjab and eastern parts of Afghanistan, but their might had overshadowed the northern, central and western parts of India also.16 The remoter provinces of the kingdom were governed by its viceroys called Kshatrapas, i.e., Satraps, who, however, before long, succeeded in setting aside the suzerain power and declaring their independence. One such Kshatrapa family was settled round about Taksbasilê, the Greek Tazila, which was identified by Cunningham with Shahdheri in the Panjab, and another at Mathura. A third held away over Kathiâwâd and Malwâ, and a fourth over the Dekkan. Now, it is all but certain that most of the members of the imperial Saka dynasty were Buddhists. Thus Spalirises, Azas, and Moas, the second, third, and sixth princes of this dynasty, and Spalahores and Spalgadames style themselves on their coins dhramika, i.e., dhar. mika, an expression, which, as said above, is peculiarly Buddhistic.16 Their coins also bear the symbol of a wheel, wbich reminds us of the Buddhist dharma-chakra. Of the Kshatrapa families, two were converts to Buddhism. The well-known Mathura Lion-capital insoription" records the erection of a stúpa over & relic of Buddha by Nadasi-kasa, wife of the Mahakshatrapa Rajala, and the various benefactions connected therewith by the other members of his family such as Abůhola, Hayuara, Hana and so forth. The Mahakshatrapa Rajúls here referred to ruled over eastern Panjib, north-east Rajputâna and the province round about Mathura. There was another Kshatrapa
14 Jour. R. As. Soc. for 1909, p. 1089; Jour, Bomb. As. Soc., Vol. XXIII., p. 104.
16 Mr. Smith speaks of this family of kings as an Indo-Parthian dynasty, probably because some of them bear Iranio names. But if many foreign kings, as we know, adopted Hindu names, there is no wonder that some of those Sake kings assumed Iranio names. The very fact that they have snoh names a Mons and Axas amongst them, which are believed to be Soythian, shows that they are Indo-Seythian, and not Indo-Parthian. Their Saka extraction is indioated, I think, by the mention of Saksatana in the Mathura Lion-ospital made with patriotio feelings. In spite of what some scholars bave said to the contrary, I maintain with Mr. F. W. Thomas (Ep. Ind. Vol. IX.. p. 189) that it refers to the country of Batae," whioh perhaps in those days did not merely designato the modern Sistan, but inoluded the Indo-Skythis referred to by the author of the Periplus and Ptolemy, Gondophares' dynasty, however, wma, in all likelihood, Indo-Parthian, as there is not a single Soythian name therein. I still stiok to my old view regarding the order of succession of this Baka dynasty founded by Vonones, I also stick to my view that the Mathurd dato 79 of Sodas, the Taxila date 78 of Patika, the Takht-l-Babi dato 103 of Gondopharos, and the Panjtar dato 128 of a Gushana prince, whose name is lost, are yours of one and the same era. But I am now inolined to refer them all to the Vikrama era. The dates of Kanishka and his sacensors I would now refer to the Baka era. This is not the place to discuss this subjeot but I shall noise an early opportunity of advandng arguments in support of these views 18 Ants, Vol. XXXII. P. 429.
11 Ep. Ind., Vol. IX., p. 141 1.