Vijayamitra (ruled 12 BCE - 20 CE) was 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 ...

king 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 ...

s who ruled in the north-western region of

ancient India According to consensus in modern genetics, anatomically modern humans first arrived on the Indian subcontinent from Africa between 73,000 and 55,000 years ago. Quote: "Y-Chromosome and Mt-DNA data support the colonization of South Asia by m ...

, located in

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 ...

of modern

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 ...

Rukhana reliquary

Vijayamitra is mentioned in a recently discovered inscription 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 ...

on a

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 (the "

Rukhana reliquary The Rukhuna reliquary, also sometimes Rukhana reliquary, also described as the Bajaur reliquary inscription, is a Scythian reliquary which was dedicated and inscribed in 16 CE by Rukhuna, Queen of Indo-Scythian king Vijayamitra (ruled 12 BCE - 20 ...

", published by Salomon in 2005), which gives a relationship between several eras of the period, and especially gives 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 ...

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 ...

: :"In the twenty-seventh - 27 - year in the reign of Lord Vijayamitra, the King of the

; in the seventy-third - 73 - year which is called "of Azes", in the two hundred and first - 201 - year of the Yonas (Greeks), on the eighth day of the month of Sravana; on this day was established

his His or HIS may refer to: Computing * Hightech Information System, a Hong Kong graphics card company * Honeywell Information Systems * Hybrid intelligent system * Microsoft Host Integration Server Education * Hangzhou International School, in ...

stupa by Rukhana, the wife of the King of Apraca, ndby Vijayamitra, the king of Apraca, ndby Indravarma (

Indravasu Indravasu ( Kharosthi: 𐨀𐨁𐨎𐨡𐨿𐨪𐨬𐨯𐨂 ', ' Richard Salomon, ''An Inscribed Silver Buddhist Reliquary of the Time of King Kharaosta and Prince Indravarman'', Journal of the American Oriental Society, Vol. 116, No. 3 (Jul. - Se ...

?), the commander (stratega), ogetherwith their wives and sons." This dedication indicates that King Vijayamitra was a follower of Buddhism. His coins also bear the

triratna 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 dia ...

Buddhist symbol. Since Vijamitra is said to have ruled 27 years already, as the inscription is dated to 16 CE (Year 73 of the

and 201 of the

), his reign started in 12 BCE, and ended probably a few years after the dedication took place, around 20 CE.

Shinkot casket

Vijamitra also made a second inscription in the

Shinkot casket The Shinkot casket, also Bajaur reliquary of the reign of Menander, is a Buddhist reliquary from the Bajaur area in Gandhara, thought to mention the reign of the 2nd century BCE Indo-Greek king Menander I. The steatite casket is said to have ...

, which had initially been dedicated under the reign of

Indo-Greek The Indo-Greek Kingdom, or Graeco-Indian Kingdom, also known historically as the Yavana Kingdom (Yavanarajya), was a Hellenistic period, Hellenistic-era Ancient Greece, Greek kingdom covering various parts of Afghanistan and the northwestern r ...

king

Menander I Menander I Soter ( grc, Μένανδρος Σωτήρ, Ménandros Sōtḗr, Menander the Saviour; pi, मिलिन्दो, Milinda), was a Greco-Bactrian and later Indo-Greek King (reigned c.165/155Bopearachchi (1998) and (1991), respectivel ...

Notes

References

* {{Indo-Scythians History of India History of Pakistan 1st-century BC Iranian monarchs 1st-century monarchs in Asia