The Bajaur casket, also called the Indravarma reliquary, year 63, or sometimes referred to as the Avaca inscription,
is an ancient reliquary from the area of
Bajaur
Bajaur District ( ps, باجوړ ولسوالۍ, ur, ) is a district in Malakand Division of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province in Pakistan. Until 2018, it was an agency of the Federally Administered Tribal Areas, then during restructuring that merged ...
in ancient
Gandhara
Gandhāra is the name of an ancient region located in the northwestern region of the Indian subcontinent, more precisely in present-day north-west Pakistan and parts of south-east Afghanistan. The region centered around the Peshawar Vall ...
, in the present-day
Federally Administered Tribal Areas
, conventional_long_name = Federally Administered Tribal Areas
, nation = Pakistan
, subdivision = Autonomous territory
, image_flag = Flag of FATA.svg
, image_coat = File:Coat of arms ...
of
Pakistan
Pakistan ( ur, ), officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan ( ur, , label=none), is a country in South Asia. It is the world's List of countries and dependencies by population, fifth-most populous country, with a population of almost 24 ...
. It is dated to around 5-6 CE.
[Metropolitan Museum of Art.] It proves the involvement of the
Scythian
The Scythians or Scyths, and sometimes also referred to as the Classical Scythians and the Pontic Scythians, were an ancient Eastern
* : "In modern scholarship the name 'Sakas' is reserved for the ancient tribes of northern and eastern Centra ...
kings of the
Apraca
The Apracharajas (Kharosthi: 𐨀𐨤𐨿𐨪𐨕𐨪𐨗 ', ', 𐨀𐨤𐨕𐨪𐨗 ', ' Richard Salomon, ''An Inscribed Silver Buddhist Reliquary of the Time of King Kharaosta and Prince Indravarman'', Journal of the American Oriental Society, V ...
, in particular King
Indravarman
Indravarman or Indravarma ( Kharosthi: 𐨀𐨁𐨎𐨡𐨿𐨪𐨬𐨪𐨿𐨨 ', '), also called Itravasu on his coinage, was an Indo-Scythian king of the Apracas, who ruled in the area of Bajaur in modern northwestern Pakistan. He was the son of ...
, in
Buddhism
Buddhism ( , ), also known as Buddha Dharma and Dharmavinaya (), is an Indian religion or philosophical tradition based on teachings attributed to the Buddha. It originated in northern India as a -movement in the 5th century BCE, and gra ...
. The casket is made of
schist
Schist ( ) is a medium-grained metamorphic rock showing pronounced schistosity. This means that the rock is composed of mineral grains easily seen with a low-power hand lens, oriented in such a way that the rock is easily split into thin flakes o ...
.
The inscription which is written in
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 ...
:
The inscription was highly useful in clarifying the little-known
Apraca
The Apracharajas (Kharosthi: 𐨀𐨤𐨿𐨪𐨕𐨪𐨗 ', ', 𐨀𐨤𐨕𐨪𐨗 ', ' Richard Salomon, ''An Inscribed Silver Buddhist Reliquary of the Time of King Kharaosta and Prince Indravarman'', Journal of the American Oriental Society, V ...
dynasty.
Notes
References
*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'', pp. 207–208, Seattle: Early Buddhist Manuscripts Project (Gandharan Studies, Volume 1).
*Baums, Stefan, and Andrew Glass. 2002–
''Catalog of Gāndhārī Texts'' no
CKI 242*
See also
*
Cetiya
upright=1.25, Phra Pathom Chedi, one of the biggest Chedis in Thailand; in Thai, the term Chedi (cetiya) is used interchangeably with the term Stupa
Cetiya, "reminders" or "memorials" (Sanskrit ''caitya''), are objects and places used by Buddhi ...
*
Bimaran reliquary
*
Kanishka reliquary
*
Rukhuna reliquary
*
Apracharajas
The Apracharajas ( Kharosthi: 𐨀𐨤𐨿𐨪𐨕𐨪𐨗 ', ', 𐨀𐨤𐨕𐨪𐨗 ', ' Richard Salomon, ''An Inscribed Silver Buddhist Reliquary of the Time of King Kharaosta and Prince Indravarman'', Journal of the American Oriental Society, ...
*
Bajaur
Bajaur District ( ps, باجوړ ولسوالۍ, ur, ) is a district in Malakand Division of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province in Pakistan. Until 2018, it was an agency of the Federally Administered Tribal Areas, then during restructuring that merged ...
{{Gandhara
Archaeology in Pakistan