The Rukhuna reliquary, also sometimes Rukhana reliquary, also described as the Bajaur reliquary inscription, is a Scythian

reliquary A reliquary (also referred to as a ''shrine'', by the French term ''châsse'', and historically including ''wikt:phylactery, phylacteries'') is a container for relics. A portable reliquary may be called a ''fereter'', and a chapel in which it i ...

which was dedicated and inscribed in 16 CE by Rukhuna, Queen of

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 ...

king

Vijayamitra Vijayamitra (ruled 12 BCE - 20 CE) was an Indo-Scythian king of the Apracas who ruled in the north-western region of ancient India, located in Bajaur of modern Pakistan. Rukhana reliquary Vijayamitra is mentioned in a recently discovered inscr ...

(ruled 12 BCE - 20 CE). The inscription on the reliquary, also called the Bajaur reliquary inscription, was published by Richard Salomon with a photograph in 2005, and gives a relationship between several eras of the period, and especially a confirmation of a

Yavana era The Yavana Era, or Yona (Prakrit: ''Yoṇaṇa vaṣaye'') was a computational era used in the Indian subcontinent from the 2nd century BCE for several centuries thereafter, probably starting in 174 BCE.Des Indo-Grecs aux Sassanides: données pour ...

(''Yoṇaṇa vaṣaye'') in relation to the

Azes era The "Azes era" (also known as the ''Aja'' or ''Ajasa'' era, Prakrit: ''Ayasa vaṣaye'') starting 47/46 BCE, was named after the Indo-Scythian king, "King Azes the Great" or Azes I. As a number of inscriptions are dated in this era it is of great ...

, that is "Azes era= Yavana era - 128 years".

Inscription

The inscription is very useful to clarify relative chronologies during the period. The inscription reads: 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 referential dates at the beginning of the inscription appear both in words and in numbers, together with the name of the era they are calculated in, and are given as follows: This dedication also indicates that King Vijayamitra and his wife Rukhuna were followers of Buddhism. Since Vijamitra is said to have ruled 27 years already, his reign started in 12 BCE, and ended probably a few years after the dedication took place, around 20 CE. The authenticity of the inscription is nearly unanimously accepted by the academic community,

Gérard Fussman Gérard Fussman (17 May 1940 – 14 May 2022) was a French indologist who was a professor at the Collège de France The Collège de France (), formerly known as the ''Collège Royal'' or as the ''Collège impérial'' founded in 1530 by Franço ...

being a dissenting voice.

Similar examples of reliquaries

Darunta steatite container.jpg, The

Darunta Darūnṭa ( ps, درونټه) (or Khayrow Khel), also spelled Daruntah or Derunta, is a village in Jalalabad District of Nangarhar province. It is located next to Jalalabad city on route AO1 in Afghanistan. Numerous remains of stupas from the 1s ...

reliquary from Passani Stupa No.2 is structurally similar to the Rukhuna reliquary, especially with the inside compartments. File:Bimaran steatite container.jpg, Another similar example: the

Bimaran casket The Bimaran casket or Bimaran reliquary is a small gold reliquary for Buddhist relics that was found inside the stupa no.2 at Bimaran, near Jalalabad in eastern Afghanistan. Discovery When it was found by the archaeologist Charles Masson during ...

. This reliquary is inscribed on the outside, rather than the inside. File:PlatesAiKhanoum.jpg, Broadly similar stone containers with compartments from

Ai-Khanoum Ai-Khanoum (, meaning ''Lady Moon''; uz, Oyxonim) is the archaeological site of a Hellenistic city in Takhar Province, Afghanistan. The city, whose original name is unknown, was probably founded by an early ruler of the Seleucid Empire and s ...

, 2nd century BCE. File:AiKhanumVessel.jpg, Stone vessels (''

pyxides A ''pyxis'' (, plural ''pyxides'') is a shape of vessel from the classical world, usually a cylindrical box with a separate lid. Originally mostly used by women to hold cosmetics, trinkets or jewellery, surviving ''pyxides'' are mostly Greek pot ...

'') from the Temple with niches, Sanctuary of

, 3rd-2nd century BCE.

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. 212–213, Seattle: Early Buddhist Manuscripts Project (Gandharan Studies, Volume 1). *Baums, Stefan, and Andrew Glass. 2002–
''Catalog of Gāndhārī Texts''
nos
CKI 405
* * Richard SALOMON, "A New Inscription dated in the "Yona" (Greek) Era of 186/5 B.C." in Afghanistan, ancien carrefour entre l'est et l'ouest, O. Bopearachchi, M.-F. Boussac (eds.), 2005, Languages: French, Englis

{{Gandhara 1st-century inscriptions Indo-Scythian peoples Reliquaries Archaeological discoveries in Pakistan