Meridarch Theodorus inscription in Swat relic vase

Theodorus ( el, Θεόδωρος) was a "

meridarch A meridarch or ''meridarches'' ( el, μεριδάρχης, from ''meris'', "division", and ''-arches'', "ruler") was the civil governor of a province in the Hellenistic world (4th-1st centuries BCE), and could be translated as "Divisional Commissio ...

" (Civil Governor of a province) in the

Swat In the United States, a SWAT team (special weapons and tactics, originally special weapons assault team) is a police tactical unit that uses specialized or military equipment and tactics. Although they were first created in the 1960s to ...

province of the

Indo-Greek kingdom 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 ( ...

in the northern

Indian subcontinent The Indian subcontinent is a list of the physiographic regions of the world, physiographical region in United Nations geoscheme for Asia#Southern Asia, Southern Asia. It is situated on the Indian Plate, projecting southwards into the Indian O ...

, probably sometime between 100 BCE and the end of Greek rule in Gandhara in 55 BCE. He is only known from a dedication 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 ...

on a relic vase inserted in 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, circumamb ...

in the Swat 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 ...

, dated to the 1st century BCE (line-for-line translation):

Description

:''"Theudorena meridarkhena :''pratithavida'' :''ime sarira'' :''Sakamunisa bhagavato :''bahu-jana-stitiye"'' :"The meridarch Theodorus :has enshrined :these relics :of Lord Shakyamuni, :for the welfare of the mass of the people" :(Swāt relic vase inscription of the Meridarkh Theodoro

This inscription represents one of the first known mention of the Buddha as a deity, using the Indian

bhakti ''Bhakti'' ( sa, भक्ति) literally means "attachment, participation, fondness for, homage, faith, love, devotion, worship, purity".See Monier-Williams, ''Sanskrit Dictionary'', 1899. It was originally used in Hinduism, referring to d ...

word Bhagavat ("Lord", "All-embracing personal deity"), suggesting the emergence of

Mahayana ''Mahāyāna'' (; "Great Vehicle") is a term for a broad group of Buddhist traditions, texts, philosophies, and practices. Mahāyāna Buddhism developed in India (c. 1st century BCE onwards) and is considered one of the three main existing bra ...

doctrines 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 ...

. It is also one of the examples of direct involvement of the Greeks with the Buddhist religion in India. Theodorus is considered as contemporary or slightly posterior to another Indo-Greek named Heliodorus, whose c.100 BCE inscriptions have been preserved in the

Heliodorus pillar The Heliodorus pillar is a stone column that was erected around 113 BCE in central India in Besnagar (near Vidisha, Madhya Pradesh). The pillar was called the ''Garuda-standard'' by Heliodorus, referring to the deity Garuda. The pillar is commonly ...

References

Sources

* ''Monnaies Gréco-Bactriennes et Indo-Grecques, Catalogue Raisonné'', Osmund Bopearachchi, 1991, Bibliothèque Nationale de France, . * ''The Shape of Ancient Thought. Comparative studies in Greek and Indian Philosophies'' by Thomas McEvilley (Allworth Press and the School of Visual Arts, 2002) * ''Buddhism in Central Asia'' by B.N. Puri (Motilal Banarsidass Pub, January 1, 2000) {{ISBN, 81-208-0372-8 * ''The Greeks in Bactria and India'', W.W. Tarn, Cambridge University Press. * Stefan Baums. 2012. “Catalog and Revised Texts and Translations of Gandharan Reliquary Inscriptions.” In: David Jongeward, Elizabeth Errington, Richard Salomon and Stefan Baums, ''Gandharan Buddhist Reliquaries'', p. 204, Seattle: Early Buddhist Manuscripts Project (Gandharan Studies, Volume 1). * Stefan Baums and Andrew Glass. 2002–
''Catalog of Gāndhārī Texts''
no
CKI 32
Greco-Buddhism