The Mathura lion capital is an

Indo-Scythian Indo-Scythians (also called Indo-Sakas) were a group of nomadic Iranian peoples of Scythian origin who migrated from Central Asia southward into modern day Pakistan and Northwestern India from the middle of the 2nd century BCE to the 4th centur ...

sandstone capital (a part of a pillar) from

Mathura Mathura () is a city and the administrative headquarters of Mathura district in the Indian state of Uttar Pradesh. It is located approximately north of Agra, and south-east of Delhi; about from the town of Vrindavan, and from Govardhan. ...

in Northern India, dated to the first decade of the 1st century CE (1–10 CE). It was consecrated under the rule of

Rajuvula Rajuvula (Greek ; Brahmi: , ; Kharosthi: , ; , ; , ) was an Indo-Scythian Great Satrap (''Mahākṣatrapa''), one of the "Northern Satraps" who ruled in the area of Mathura in the northern Indian Subcontinent in the years around 10 CE. The M ...

, one of the

Northern Satraps The Northern Satraps (Brahmi: , ''Kṣatrapa'', "Satraps" or , ''Mahakṣatrapa'', "Great Satraps"), or sometimes Satraps of Mathura, or Northern Sakas, are a dynasty of Indo-Scythian rulers who held sway over the area of Eastern Punjab and Math ...

of the region of

. The capital was unearthed at the Saptarishi mound of Mathura by Bhagwan Lal Indraji in 1869. It is covered with

Prakrit The Prakrits (; sa, prākṛta; psu, 𑀧𑀸𑀉𑀤, ; pka, ) are a group of vernacular Middle Indo-Aryan languages that were used in the Indian subcontinent from around the 3rd century BCE to the 8th century CE. The term Prakrit is usu ...

inscriptions in the

kharoshthi The Kharoṣṭhī script, also spelled Kharoshthi (Kharosthi: ), was an ancient Indo-Iranian script used by various Aryan peoples in north-western regions of the Indian subcontinent, more precisely around present-day northern Pakistan and e ...

script of northwestern

India India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the so ...

. The capital was made on the occasion of the funeral of "the illustrious king Muki and his horse" (Muki has been conjectured to be

Maues Maues (Greek: ; (epigraphic); Kharosthi: , , called , on the Taxila copper plate; also called , in the Mathura lion capital inscription,) was the first Indo-Scythian king, ruling from 98/85 to 60/57 BCE. He invaded India and establi ...

). The capital describes, among other donations, the gift of a stupa with a relic of the

Buddha Siddhartha Gautama, most commonly referred to as the Buddha, was a wandering ascetic and religious teacher who lived in South Asia during the 6th or 5th century BCE and founded Buddhism. According to Buddhist tradition, he was born in L ...

, by Queen

Ayasia The Mathura lion capital is an Indo-Scythian sandstone capital (a part of a pillar) from Mathura in Northern India, dated to the first decade of the 1st century CE (1–10 CE). It was consecrated under the rule of Rajuvula, one of the Northern Sa ...

, the "chief queen of the

ruler of

, satrap

". The Mathura lion capital, an Indo-Scythian sandstone capital from Mathura in Central India, and dated to the 1st century CE, describes in kharoshthi the gift of a stupa with a relic of the Buddha, by queen Nadasi Kasa, "the wife of Rajuvula" and "daughter of ", who is mentioned as the "daughter of

Kharahostes Kharahostes or Kharaosta (Greek: , (epigraphic); Kharosthi: , , , ;) was an Indo-Scythian ruler (probably a satrap) in the northern Indian subcontinent around 10 BCE – 10 CE. He is known from his coins, often in the name of Azes II, a ...

". The lion capital also mentions the genealogy of several Indo-Scythian satraps of Mathura. It mentions

Sodasa Sodasa ( Kharosthi: , ; Middle Brahmi script: , , also , ) was an Indo-Scythian Northern Satrap and ruler of Mathura during the later part of the 1st century BCE or the early part of 1st century CE. He was the son of Rajuvula, the Great Sat ...

, son of Rajuvula, who succeeded him and also made Mathura his capital. The capital also displays at its center a Buddhist

triratana The Triratna ( pi, or ; sa, or ) is a Buddhist symbol, thought to visually represent the Three Jewels of Buddhism (the Buddha, the Dhamma, the Sangha). Symbol The Triratna symbol is composed of: * A lotus flower within a circle. * A ...

symbol, further confirming the involvement of Indo-Scythian rulers with Buddhism. The inscription indicates support of the Sarvastivadin, against the Mahasamghikas. It is on display in the South Asia section of the Sir

Joseph Hotung Sir Joseph Edward Hotung (1930 – 16 December 2021) was a Hong Kong businessman, art collector, and philanthropist. Biography Hotung was born to Edward Hotung, son of Hong Kong tycoon Robert Hotung, in Shanghai in 1930. His brother was Eric Hot ...

Gallery for China and South Asia at the

British Museum The British Museum is a public museum dedicated to human history, art and culture located in the Bloomsbury area of London. Its permanent collection of eight million works is among the largest and most comprehensive in existence. It docum ...

List of inscriptions

Kharoshthi inscription on base of Mathura capital

In a Latin transliteration of simplified Kharosthi script, the inscriptions read:

Interpretation

Sten Konow, who compiled a definitive listing of Indian Buddhist inscriptions said: "If we bear in mind that mb becomes m i.e mm in the dialect of

Kharoshthi The Kharoṣṭhī script, also spelled Kharoshthi (Kharosthi: ), was an ancient Indo-Iranian script used by various Aryan peoples in north-western regions of the Indian subcontinent, more precisely around present-day northern Pakistan and e ...

dhammapada, and that is used for the common o in Sudasa in the Lion Capital Inscriptions, the Kamuia of the Lion Capital can very well represent a Sanskrit Kambojika ... I shall only add that if Kharoshtha and his father Arta were

Kambojas Kamboja ( sa, कम्बोज) was a kingdom of Iron Age India that spanned parts of South and Central Asia, frequently mentioned in Sanskrit and Pali literature. Eponymous with the kingdom name, the Kambojas were an Indo-Iranian people o ...

, the same may have been the case with Moga, and we understand why the Kambojas are sometimes mentioned with the

Saka The Saka ( Old Persian: ; Kharoṣṭhī: ; Ancient Egyptian: , ; , old , mod. , ), Shaka (Sanskrit ( Brāhmī): , , ; Sanskrit (Devanāgarī): , ), or Sacae (Ancient Greek: ; Latin: ) were a group of nomadic Iranian peoples who hist ...

s and

Yavanas The word Yona in Pali and the Prakrits, and the analogue Yavana in Sanskrit and Yavanar in Tamil, were words used in Ancient India to designate Greek speakers. "Yona" and "Yavana" are transliterations of the Greek word for " Ionians" ( grc, ...

". Many of Konow's readings, his sequence of sentences and some of the interpretation, particularly the connection with king Maues, need to be changed in the light of a new reading of H. Falk.Harry Falk, "Ten thoughts on the Mathura Lion capital reliquary". Bhandare, Shailendra & Sanjay Garg (eds.), "Felicitas - Essays in Numismatics, Epigraphy and History in Honour of Joe Cribb". Mumbai, pp. 121-141

References

Sources

*Baums, Stefan. 2012. "Catalog and Revised Texts and Translations of Gandharan Reliquary Inscriptions." In: David Jongeward, Elizabeth Errington, Richard Salomon and Stefan Baums, ''Gandharan Buddhist Reliquaries'', p. 219–222, Seattle: Early Buddhist Manuscripts Project (Gandharan Studies, Volume 1). *Baums, Stefan, and Andrew Glass. 2002–
''Catalog of Gāndhārī Texts''
no
CKI 48
*British Museum Collection Online Reg. No. 1889,0314.

{{DEFAULTSORT:Mathura Lion Capital Asian sculptures in the British Museum 1st century in India Buddhist sculpture Mathura art Sculptures of lions Indian sculpture