The Silver Reliquary of Indravarman is an inscribed silver

Buddhist 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 ...

reliquary dedicated by Apracaraja 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 the 1st century BCE,The item belongs to the Shumei Culture Foundation in Otsu, Japan and was loaned to the Los Angeles County Museum of Art, when it was studied by Richard Salomon of the University of Washington, who examined and studied the inscriptions and published his results in Journal of the American Oriental Society, Vol 116, No 3, 1996, pp 1418-452. which has been found presumably in the

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 ...

area of

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 ...

.IMPORTANT: Kapisa formed the heart of ancient Kamboja. In fact, scholars assert that Kapisa is an alternative name for the Kamboja. See main article:

Kapisa Province Kapisa (Pashto/Dari: ) is the smallest of Afghanistan's thirty-four provinces and is located in the north-east of the country. It has an estimated population of 496,840 people and an area of , making it the most densely populated province apar ...

Believed to have been fabricated at

Taxila Taxila or Takshashila (; sa, तक्षशिला; pi, ; , ; , ) is a city in Punjab, Pakistan. Located in the Taxila Tehsil of Rawalpindi District, it lies approximately northwest of the Islamabad–Rawalpindi metropolitan area and ...

, the silver reliquary consists of two parts—the base and the cover—both being fluted,Fluting is an Iranian motif (Richard Salomon). and the cover being topped by a figure of long horned

Ibex An ibex (plural ibex, ibexes or ibices) is any of several species of wild goat (genus ''Capra''), distinguished by the male's large recurved horns, which are transversely ridged in front. Ibex are found in Eurasia, North Africa and East Africa. ...

. It has been dated to around the eighth or ninth decades of the 1st century BCE and bears six inscriptions written in ''pointillē'' style, in Kharoshthi

script Script may refer to: Writing systems * Script, a distinctive writing system, based on a repertoire of specific elements or symbols, or that repertoire * Script (styles of handwriting) ** Script typeface, a typeface with characteristics of handw ...

and

Gandhari Gandhari may refer to: * Gandhari (Mahabharata), a character in the Indian epic ''Mahabharata'' * Gandhari khilla, a hill fort near Bokkalagutta, Telangana, India * Gandhari language, north-western prakrit spoken in Gāndhāra **Kharosthi, or Gan ...

/north-western

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 ...

. In form, the silver vessel is wholly atypical of

reliquaries and is said to have been a wine goblet, similar to others found in

and Kapisa regions. The vessel was later reused by

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 ...

king

as a

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 ...

to enshrine Buddhist relics in a stüpa raised by Indravarman. The inscriptions on the silver reliquary provide important new information not only about the history of the kings of Apraca dynasty themselves but also about their relationships with other rulers of the far north-western region of traditional India i.e. modern northern Pakistan and eastern

Afghanistan Afghanistan, officially the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan,; prs, امارت اسلامی افغانستان is a landlocked country located at the crossroads of Central Asia and South Asia. Referred to as the Heart of Asia, it is bordere ...

around the beginning of Christian era. The inscriptions on the silver reliquary have been investigated by Richard Salomon of the

University of Washington The University of Washington (UW, simply Washington, or informally U-Dub) is a public research university in Seattle, Washington. Founded in 1861, Washington is one of the oldest universities on the West Coast; it was established in Seattle a ...

, in an article published in the ''Journal of the American Oriental Society.

Form and function

The lower part of the reliquary with fluted surface, carination and small stem and foot is extremely similar to the "drinking goblets" that have been found in good numbers mainly in

(

) and Kapisa (Kapisi). The lower part of the reliquary resembles the ceremonial drinking cups depicted in ancient Gandharan art and culture relief. Gandharan art of Bacchanalian or Dionysiac drinking scenes are the motifs which represent assimilation of local folk traditions of remote river valleys of the

Kafiristan Kāfiristān, or Kāfirstān ( ps, کاپیرستان, prs, کافرستان), is a historical region that covered present-day Nuristan Province in Afghanistan and Chitral District of Pakistan. This historic region lies on, and mainly comprises ...

where viticulture and wine festivals are known to have been widely practiced. Similar customs are also well documented in recent times in the region of

Nuristan Nuristan, also spelled as Nurestan or Nooristan (Dari: ; Kamkata-vari language, Kamkata-vari: ), is one of the 34 provinces of Afghanistan, located in the eastern part of the country. It is divided into seven Districts of Afghanistan, districts ...

(pre-Islamic Kafiristan) which area had formed integral parts of ancient Kapisa. Bajaur, the presumed provenance of the silver reliquary, was part of the ancient Kapisa. In this very region of Kafiristan or ancient Kapisa, the heirloom silver wine cups Called ''ürei'' in Waigali. with features very similar to those of old Gandhara and Kapisa goblets are still found and before the

Islam Islam (; ar, ۘالِإسلَام, , ) is an Abrahamic religions, Abrahamic Monotheism#Islam, monotheistic religion centred primarily around the Quran, a religious text considered by Muslims to be the direct word of God in Islam, God (or ...

ization of Kafiristan, these silver wine cups were important ritual objects and symbols of social status. Martha Carter associates the well attested wine festival tradition of the valleys of

Hindukush The Hindu Kush is an mountain range in Central and South Asia to the west of the Himalayas. It stretches from central and western Afghanistan, Quote: "The Hindu Kush mountains run along the Afghan border with the North-West Frontier Provinc ...

with Dionysiac scenes in Gandharan art in general and heirloom silver cups of the modern

Nuristanis The Nuristanis, formerly known as Kafiristanis, are an ethnic group native to the Nuristan Province of northeastern Afghanistan and Chitral District of northwestern Pakistan. Their languages comprise the Nuristani branch of Indo-Iranian langu ...

with Gandharan goblets in particular which is quite persuasive.It is worthy of note here that the warlike, highly independent and militarily dominating Siyah-posh clans like Kam/Kamoj/Kamtoj of Kafiristan/Nuristan the modern representatives of the ancient Kambojas of Kapisa territory (See: Mountstuart Elphinstone, "An account of the kingdom of Caubol", fn p 619; Journal of the Royal Asiatic Society, 1843, p 140; Journal of the Asiatic Society of Bengal, 1874, p 260 fn; Die altpersischen Keilinschriften: Im Grundtexte mit Uebersetzung, Grammatik und Glossar, 1881, p 86, Friedrich Spiegel; Political History of Ancient India, 1996, p 133, fn, Dr H. C. Raychaudhury, Dr B. N. Banerjee; The Achaemenids and India, 1974, p 13, Dr S Chattopadhyaya; Vishnu Purana, p 374, fn, H. H. Wilson; The Geographical Dictionary of Ancient and Medieval India, Numdo Lal Dey). According to Dr Richard Salomon, "if the association is even approximately correct, it may explain what the new silver reliquary originally may have been. It was undoubtedly a ceremonial silver drinking cup of Indo-Iranian king Kharaosta and later of his successor prince Indravarman who converted it into a sacred reliquary for the bones of Buddha". The Nuristani customs represents the survival in remote region of a local (Bajaur) tradition of ritual wine drinking which, in Buddhist world of Gandhara, may have been assimilated to and rationalized by the cosmological realm of the 'Sadamattas', who dwell on the slope of Mt Meru. The figure of Ibex topping the cover of the reliquary definitely implies Trans- Pamirian (Central Asian) influence and establishes a proof of ''early migration'' of people (

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 ...

) from the Transoxian region (i.e., the

Parama Kamboja Parama Kamboja Kingdom was mentioned in the epic Mahabharata to be on the far north west along with the Bahlika, Uttara Madra and Uttara Kuru countries. It was located in parts of modern-day Afghanistan, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan. Parama Kambo ...

of Central Asia or Scythian region) into the

Kabul Kabul (; ps, , ; , ) is the capital and largest city of Afghanistan. Located in the eastern half of the country, it is also a municipality, forming part of the Kabul Province; it is administratively divided into 22 municipal districts. Acco ...

valley. The Ibex motif is quintessentially characteristic of

Iranian Iranian may refer to: * Iran, a sovereign state * Iranian peoples, the speakers of the Iranian languages. The term Iranic peoples is also used for this term to distinguish the pan ethnic term from Iranian, used for the people of Iran * Iranian lan ...

and

Central Asia Central Asia, also known as Middle Asia, is a subregion, region of Asia that stretches from the Caspian Sea in the west to western China and Mongolia in the east, and from Afghanistan and Iran in the south to Russia in the north. It includes t ...

n (''Scythian'') art and culture. It reflects the arrival and assimilation, by whatever geographic route or routes, of this ancient Central Asian/Iranian motif into the Gandharan world in Pre-Christian times. And lastly, the fluting in the surfaces of the silver reliquary is also an Iranian motif. Thus the Ibex motif combined with wine drinking culture of the goblet itself amply illustrates the influx of regional and extra-regional cultural elements into the eclectic art and culture of Gandhara of the Indo-Iranian/Indo-Scythian period which is indeed reflected in the silver reliquary of prince Indravarman.

Contents of inscriptions

Apracarajas' relations with yuvaraja Kharaosta

The inscriptions refer to several well-known historical figures and also introduce some previously unknown persons. Noteworthy among the former are prince Indravarman and king Khara(y)osta who is to be identified with ruler

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 ...

or Kharaosta who had been known from numismatics and Mathura Lion Capital inscriptions. The ''Inscription no. II'' also establishes that king Kharaosta was also the original owner and the silver vessel was later inherited by Apraca dynasty. Thus it very offers tantalizing hints of some close relationship between king Kharaosta and the Apraca kings of Bajaur.

Bajaur, the home of Aspasioi clan

The territory around the findspot for the silver reliquary was the stronghold of the warlike Indo-Iranian people called AspasioiArrian calls them Aspasioi. The people derived their name from Iranian ''Aspa'' = ''horse''. Pāṇini calls them Aśvayanas. (Aspasian) who had formed the western branch of the AshvakasFrom Sanskrit ''Ashva'' = ''horse''. Arrian calls them Assakenoi. They were the eastern branch of the Ashvakas mentioned as Ashvakayanas by Pāṇini's Ashtadhyayi, Ashvakas in Mahabharata. of the

Sanskrit Sanskrit (; attributively , ; nominally , , ) is a classical language belonging to the Indo-Aryan branch of the Indo-European languages. It arose in South Asia after its predecessor languages had diffused there from the northwest in the late ...

texts.It is also important to note that the name of one of the kings of Apraca dynasty is Aspavarman. This king has also been referred to simply as Aspa i.e. Aspa-bhrata-putrasa. Aspavarman was son of Apraca king Indravarman. The "Aspa" part of the name (Aspavarman) alludes to connections with the Aspasians or Aspasioi of Arrian.Many kings of Apraca dynasty have used Varman as the surname or last name. Varman as surname implies Kshatriya caste and has been used by Ksatyriya lineages in ancient times (See entry "Varman" in ''Monier Williams Sanskrit-English Dictionary''; See also entry "Varman" in: ''Cologne Digital Sanskrit English Dictionary''). It is worthy to note that the Kambojas have repeatedly been described as Kshatriyas in ancient Indian texts (See:

Pāṇini , era = ;;6th–5th century BCE , region = Indian philosophy , main_interests = Grammar, linguistics , notable_works = ' (Sanskrit#Classical Sanskrit, Classical Sanskrit) , influenced= , notable_ideas=Descript ...

's Astadhyayi Sutra 4.1.168-175;

Harivamsa The ''Harivamsa'' ( , literally "the genealogy of Hari") is an important work of Sanskrit literature, containing 16,374 shlokas, mostly in the '' anustubh'' metre. The text is also known as the ''Harivamsa Purana.'' This text is believed to ...

14.19-20;

Vayu Purana The ''Vayu Purana'' ( sa, वायुपुराण, ) is a Sanskrit text and one of the eighteen major Puranas of Hinduism. ''Vayu Purana'' is mentioned in the manuscripts of the Mahabharata and other Hindu texts, which has led scholars to pr ...

, 88.127-43;

Manusmriti The ''Manusmṛiti'' ( sa, मनुस्मृति), also known as the ''Mānava-Dharmaśāstra'' or Laws of Manu, is one of the many legal texts and constitution among the many ' of Hinduism. In ancient India, the sages often wrote their ...

X.43-44;

Mahabharata The ''Mahābhārata'' ( ; sa, महाभारतम्, ', ) is one of the two major Sanskrit epics of ancient India in Hinduism, the other being the ''Rāmāyaṇa''. It narrates the struggle between two groups of cousins in the Kuruk ...

13.33.20-21); Cf also: (Mahabharata 13.35.17-18);

Kautiliya Chanakya (Sanskrit: चाणक्य; IAST: ', ; 375–283 BCE) was an ancient Indian polymath who was active as a teacher, author, strategist, philosopher, economist, jurist, and royal advisor. He is traditionally identified as Kauṭilya o ...

Arthashastra The ''Arthashastra'' ( sa, अर्थशास्त्रम्, ) is an Ancient Indian Sanskrit treatise on statecraft, political science, economic policy and military strategy. Kautilya, also identified as Vishnugupta and Chanakya, is ...

11.1.1-4. Thus the fact that many kings of the Apraca dynasty used Varman last name indicates that the Apraca dynasty belonged to Kshatriya lineage and hence most likely belonged to the Ashvaka branch of the Indo-Iranian Kamboja tribe. Prashant Srivastava of the University of Lucknow, has in a research monograph highlighted the significant role played by the family of the Apraca kings in ancient Indian history, and connected this family of the Apraca kings with the Ashvaka clan. But, the Ashvaka clan was none else than a sub-branch of the greater Kamboja tribe spread on either side of the

. (See Ashvakas.) These people, identified as sub-branch of the

, had earlier offered stubborn resistance to Macedonian invader

Alexander Alexander is a male given name. The most prominent bearer of the name is Alexander the Great, the king of the Ancient Greek kingdom of Macedonia who created one of the largest empires in ancient history. Variants listed here are Aleksandar, Al ...

in 326 BCE and later also constituted an important component of the grand army of

Chandragupta Maurya Chandragupta Maurya (350-295 BCE) was a ruler in Ancient India who expanded a geographically-extensive kingdom based in Magadha and founded the Maurya dynasty. He reigned from 320 BCE to 298 BCE. The Maurya kingdom expanded to become an empi ...

.They find pre-eminent mention as Kambojas in the Rock Edicts V as well XIII of king

Ashoka Ashoka (, ; also ''Asoka''; 304 – 232 BCE), popularly known as Ashoka the Great, was the third emperor of the Maurya Empire of Indian subcontinent during to 232 BCE. His empire covered a large part of the Indian subcontinent, ...

(reign 273 BCE to 232 BCE) located in Shabaz Garhi in Peshawar Valley and Mansehra District of North-West Frontier Province, Pakistan. According to Dr Bailey, the dynastic/geographic title Apraca/Apaca/Avaca may underlie the modern toponym Bajaur.

Kharayosta or Kharaosta king vs Apraca dynasty

The inscriptions provide important new information on the history of

dynasty of

, including the names of several previously unknown persons, and on their relationship with Indo-Iranian king Kharayosta—the ''Yuvaraya Kharaosta'' " Kamuio" of the

Mathura Lion Capital 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 Norther ...

inscriptions or ''Kharaoṣta (Kharahostes)'' of the coins. Prince Kharaosta in the Bajaur silver vessel has been described as ''Yagu-raja'' as contrasted to ''Yuva-raja'' of the Mathura Lion Capital Inscriptions or the Kshatrapa of the coins. First part ''Yagu-'' of the title ''Yagu-raja'' used by Kharaosta (''Kamuio'') is a form of ''Yauvuga or Yauga'' or ''Yaüvasa''—a

Kushana The Kushan Empire ( grc, Βασιλεία Κοσσανῶν; xbc, Κυϸανο, ; sa, कुषाण वंश; Brahmi: , '; BHS: ; xpr, 𐭊𐭅𐭔𐭍 𐭇𐭔𐭕𐭓, ; zh, 貴霜 ) was a syncretic empire, formed by the Yuezhi, i ...

title, which is identified with popular Turkic title ''Yabgu'' (i.e. tribal chief). Since this reference pertains to pre-Christian and therefore, pre-Kushana/Pre-Turkic times, this conclusively proves that the use of a title is no proof of a ruler's ethnic affinities. The silver reliquary definitely indicates some sort of connections between prince Kharaosta (Khara(y)osta) and the Apraca kings of Bajaur but it is hard to say if the connections are merely of succession only or were formed by blood or ethnic bonds also. The ''inscription no. II'' on the silver reliquary was inscribed by ''yaguraja'' Khara(y)osata who was the first owner of the silver vessel and the ''inscriptions no. III, IV, VI and VI'' on the same reliquary were later inscribed by Apraca king Indravarman which show the latter as the owner of the same vessel. Inscriptions also verify that Apraca king Indravarman had later converted the silver vessel to a

Reliquary for the stüpa he had raised in Bajaur. The connection of Apraca kings with ''Yagu-raja Kharaosta'' has raised chronological questions which call into doubt previously established norms about him and also seem to require a considerably earlier date for the

Mathura Lion Capital Inscriptions 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 which he is twice mentioned as Yuvaraja Kharaosta), than is usually attributed to him. Kharaosta is believed to have been the ruler of Cukhsa—a territory comprising districts of Peshawar, Hazara, Attock and Mianwal in northern Pakistan. The Apraca kings of Bajaur are believed to have been an important allies of Kharaosta in helping to protect his borders from ever-present threat of invasion from the west. It does not, therefore, seem unlikely that Arta (''Mahakshatrapa''), Kharaosta Kamuio (''Yuvaraja''), Aiyasia Kamuia (''Agramahisi—the chief queen of Rajuvula''),

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 establishe ...

or Moga (''Gandhara king'') as well as the rulers of Apraca dynasty of Bajaur were probably all related and were connected by some sort of familial connections. The fact that Kharaosta and his daughter Aiyasi have both been referred to as Kamuias in the Mathura Lion Capital inscriptions may also hold a clue that the Apraca dynasty was also probably a Kamuia (Kamboja) dynasty. The surname Kamuia is a Kharoshthised/Prakritised form of

Pali Pali () is a Middle Indo-Aryan liturgical language native to the Indian subcontinent. It is widely studied because it is the language of the Buddhist ''Pāli Canon'' or ''Tipiṭaka'' as well as the sacred language of ''Theravāda'' Buddhism ...

Kambojika or

Kamboja. See main article: Kamuia

Footnotes

References

Bibliography

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