Parkham

Author:Laxman Burdak, IFS (R)

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The statue of Jat Ruler Kanishka of Kaswan clan was obtained from Parkham (Mathura)

Parkham (परखम) is a village in Mathura/Chhata tahsil of Mathura district in Uttar Pradesh.

Location

Parkham in Mathura district map

It is about 20 kilometers south of Mathura.

Variants

• Parakhama परखम, जिला मथुरा, उ.प्र., (AS, p.529)

History

The statue of Jat Ruler Kanishka of Kaswan clan was obtained from Parkham (Mathura).

Image of Yaksha from Parkham Mathura, 3rd-2nd century. Mathura Museum.

It is well known for the discovery of an ancient and monumental Yaksha statue, thought to be dating to the 3rd century BCE based on the Brahmi inscription on its pedestal. Based in stylistic analysis however, it could be 2nd century or 1st century BCE.

According to "A History of Ancient and Early Medieval India: From the Stone Age to the 12 the century" by Upinder Singh p.365, the statue is 2.59 meters high, on stylistic grounds it should be dated to the 2nd/1st century BC, but an inscription in Brahmi suggest a 3rd century BC date. The inscription says "Made by Gomitaka, a pupil of Kunika. Set up by eight brothers, members of the Manibhadra congregation ("puga")." This inscription thus indicates that the statue represents the Yaksha Manibhadra. The script of the inscription is Mauryan Brahmi.EI8 p.174 The hem of the dress is sometimes considered as derived from Greek art. Describing a similar stature, John Boardman writes: "It has no local antecedents and looks most like a Greek Late Archaic mannerism". According to Boardman these folds are also similar to those of the Bharhut Yavana (John Boardman, "The Diffusion of Classical Art in Antiquity", Princeton University Press, 1993, p.112.)

परखम

विजयेन्द्र कुमार माथुर ने लेख किया है ...परखम ग्राम (AS, p.529) उत्तर प्रदेश के मथुरा ज़िले से 14 मील दूर आगरा-दिल्ली मार्ग पर स्थित है। परखम ग्राम से यक्ष की एक विशालकाय मूर्ति प्राप्त हुई थी, जो अब मथुरा संग्रहालय में है। मूर्ति में यक्ष को सुन्दर ढंग से धोती, दुपट्टा तथा कुछ सादे गहने, जैसे- कर्णफूल, गुलूबंद, ग्रैवेयक आदि पहनाए गए हैं। मूर्ति की चरण-चौकी पर मौर्यकालीन ब्राह्मी लिपि में तीन पंक्तियों का एक लेख खुदा है, जिससे ज्ञात होता है कि कुणिक के शिष्य गोमित्र ने इस मूर्ति को बनाया [p.530]: था। (दे. पुरातत्व संग्रहालय, मथुरा, परिचय पृ.3) परखम से प्राप्त यह मूर्ति मथुरा की प्राचीनतम मूर्ति है। यह मौर्यकालीनहै किंतु फिर भी इस पर प्रमार्जन नहीं है जो तत्कालीन स्थापत्य की विशेषता थी। इस मूर्ति के आधार पर मथुरा मूर्ति-कला की परम्परा में शुंगकाल में यक्षों की तथा कुषाण काल में बोधिसत्वों की मूर्तियों का निर्माण हुआ था।

Parkham in Parish

Parkham is a small village within the Parish of Parkham four miles south of Horns Cross and the A39 on the North Devon coast. The parish lies within the Kenwith ward in the Torridge district. About 800 people live within Parkham and in the surrounding area. (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Parkham)

References

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