Rajuvula (

Greek Greek may refer to: Greece Anything of, from, or related to Greece, a country in Southern Europe: *Greeks, an ethnic group. *Greek language, a branch of the Indo-European language family. **Proto-Greek language, the assumed last common ancestor ...

;

Brahmi Brahmi (; ; ISO: ''Brāhmī'') is a writing system of ancient South Asia. "Until the late nineteenth century, the script of the Aśokan (non-Kharosthi) inscriptions and its immediate derivatives was referred to by various names such as 'lath' o ...

: , ;

Kharosthi 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 ...

: , ; , ; , ) 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 c ...

Great Satrap (''Mahākṣatrapa''), 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 ...

" who ruled in the area of

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 the northern

Indian Subcontinent The Indian subcontinent is a physiographical region in Southern Asia. It is situated on the Indian Plate, projecting southwards into the Indian Ocean from the Himalayas. Geopolitically, it includes the countries of Bangladesh, Bhutan, In ...

in the years around 10 CE. 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 Northern S ...

was consecrated under the reign of Rajuvula. In central India, the Indo-Scythians had conquered the area of

from Indian kings around 60 BCE. Some of their

satrap A satrap () was a governor of the provinces of the ancient Median and Achaemenid Empires and in several of their successors, such as in the Sasanian Empire and the Hellenistic empires. The satrap served as viceroy to the king, though with cons ...

s were

Hagamasha Hagamasha (, ) was an Indo-Scythian Northern Satrap (ruled in Mathura in the 1st century BCE, probably after 60 BCE). Name Hagamasha's name is attested on his coins in the Brahmi form , which is derived from the Saka name , meaning "whose chariot ...

and Hagana, who were in turn followed by Rajuvula.

Name

Rajuvula's name is attested on his coins in the

form and the

forms (), (), and (), which are derived from 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 histo ...

name , meaning "ruling king"

Biography

Rajuvula is thought to have invaded the last of the

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

territories in the eastern

Punjab Punjab (; Punjabi Language, Punjabi: پنجاب ; ਪੰਜਾਬ ; ; also Romanization, romanised as ''Panjāb'' or ''Panj-Āb'') is a geopolitical, cultural, and historical region in South Asia, specifically in the northern part of the I ...

, and replaced the last of the Indo-Greek kings,

Strato II Strato II Soter ( grc, Στράτων B΄ ὁ Σωτήρ, ''Strátōn B΄ ho Sotḗr''; epithet means "the Saviour") also known as Stratha, was an Indo-Greek king. He ruled c. 25 BCE to 10 CE according to Bopearachchi. R. C. Senior suggests ...

and

Strato III Strato III Philopator ( el, Στράτων Γ΄ Φιλοπάτωρ; epither means "the Father-loving") was an Indo-Greek king who ruled c. 25 BCE to 10 CE. He is only known through the joint coins with his father Strato II. He may have been su ...

. The main coinage of Rajuvula imitated that of the Indo-Greek rulers he supplanted. MathuraLionCapital

The

, an

sandstone capital from

in Central India, and dated to the 1st century CE, describes 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 e ...

the gift of a

stupa A stupa ( sa, स्तूप, lit=heap, ) is a mound-like or hemispherical structure containing relics (such as ''śarīra'' – typically the remains of Buddhist monks or nuns) that is used as a place of meditation. In Buddhism, circum ...

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

Nadasi Kasa Nadasi Kasa (also Nadasi Akasa, Nadadi Akasa, or Nada Diaka) was a queen of the Saka Mahakshatrapa Rajuvula, daughter of Aiyasi Kamuia. She finds mention in inscription no A-5 of the Mathura Lion Capital. F. W. Thomas has read this name as ''Nad ...

, "the wife of Rajuvula" and "daughter of Aiyasi Kamuia", which was an older view supported by Bühler, Rapson, Lüders and others. But according to a later view propounded by

Sten Konow Sten Konow. Sten Konow (17 April 1867 – 29 June 1948) was a Norwegian Indologist. He was professor of Indic philology at the Christiania University, Oslo, from 1910, moving to Hamburg University in 1914, where he was professor for Indian ...

, and accepted by later scholars, the principal donor making endowments was princess

Aiyasi Kamuia 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 ...

, "chief queen of Rajuvula" and "daughter of Yuvaraja

Kharaosta Kamuio 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, ...

". Nadasi Kasa (or Nada Diaka) was daughter of Ayasia Kamuia. According to an older view, Yuvaraja Kharaosta Kamuio was thought to be the son of Ayasi Kamuia who in turn was thought to be the widow of Arta whom Rajuvula later married. Konow refuted this view, and concluded that Ayasia Kamuia, chief queen of Rajuvula, was the daughter and not the mother of Kharaosta Kamuio. The fact that the last name '

Kamuia 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 ...

' has been used both by Yuvaraja Kharaosta as well as the princess Aiyasi clearly proves that Aiyasi Kamuia was the daughter and not the mother of Yuvaraja

(Kambojaka), since such family-names or designations are naturally inherited from the father's side and not from the mother's. Hence, Dr Konow's interpretation appears more convincing. The capital also mentions the genealogy of several Indo-Scythian satraps of Mathura. The presence of the Buddhist symbol

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 ...

at the center of the capital suggests that Rajuvula was, at least nominally, following the Buddhist faith. Several other inscription from Mathura mention Rajuvula, such as the

Mora Well Inscription The Mora Well inscription is an ancient Sanskrit inscription found in the village of Mora about from Mathura, India.Heinrich Lüders and Klaus Ludwig Janert (1961), Mathurā inscriptions, Göttingen : Vandenhoeck & Ruprecht, , page 154, image ...

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 Satr ...

, son of Rajuvula, succeeded him and also made Mathura his capital.

Coinage of Rajuvula

File:Rajuvula Northern Satrap with Greek legend and Athena Alkidemos.jpg, Coin of Rajuvula with Greek legend and Athena Alkidemos. File:Rajuvula Northern Satrap with lion and Herakles holding lion skin.jpg, Coin of Rajuvula with lion and

Herakles Heracles ( ; grc-gre, Ἡρακλῆς, , glory/fame of Hera), born Alcaeus (, ''Alkaios'') or Alcides (, ''Alkeidēs''), was a divine hero in Greek mythology, the son of Zeus and Alcmene, and the foster son of Amphitryon.By his adoptive ...

holding lion skin. Here the king's title is ''Mahakshatrapa "Great Satrap". Coin probably minted in

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 a ...

. File:Coin of Rajuvula.jpg, Billon drachm of the Indo-Scythian king Rajuvula (c. 10-25 CE). Weight: 2.21 gm, diameter: 12 mm File:A118 SatrapRujuvula Jammu MACW2501 1ar (8723600518).jpg, A coin of a silver drachma of the satrap Rujuvula who governs the Jammu in India from ca 10/1 BC to 1/10 AD for the Indo-Scythians. A / Diademed bust of the satrap to the right in stereotyped style. Greek inscription BASILEPS SPTROS around. R / Pallas left and inscription Chatrapasa apratihatachakrasa in Kharoshti around, control mark in the field. Dimension: 13 mm Weight: 2.42 g. Workshop of

Jammu Jammu is the winter capital of the Indian union territory of Jammu and Kashmir. It is the headquarters and the largest city in Jammu district of the union territory. Lying on the banks of the river Tawi, the city of Jammu, with an area of ...

. File:Coin bearing the face of Rajavula.jpg, A coin bearing the face of Rajuvula File:Coins of Satakarani.jpg, Two coins from the reign of Rajuvula File:Coins of Strato and Rajuvula discovered together in a mound in Mathura.jpg, upright=1.3, Coins of Strato (top) and Rajuvula (bottom) discovered together in a mound in Mathura.

Notes

References

* * * *

External links

Coins of Rajuvula
{{authority control Indo-Scythian kings 1st-century monarchs in Asia 1st-century Iranian people