Rajuvula

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Author:Laxman Burdak, IFS (R)

Rajuvula (रजुवल) was an Indo-Scythian Great Satrap (Mahakshatrapa) who ruled in the area of Mathura in northern India in the years around 10 CE.

Variants

History

In central India, the Indo-Scythians conquered the area of Mathura over Indian kings around 60 BCE. Some of their satraps were Hagamasha and Hagana, who were in turn followed by Rajuvula.

Rajuvula is thought to have invaded the last of the Indo-Greek territories in the eastern Punjab, and killed the last of the Indo-Greek kings, Strato II and his son.

The Mathura lion capital, an Indo-Scythian sandstone capital from Mathura in Central India, and dated to the 1st century CE, describes in kharoshthi the gift of a stupa with a relic of the Buddha, by queen Nadasi Kasa, "the wife of Rajuvula" and "daughter of Aiyasi Kamuia",[1] which was an older view supported by Bühler, Rapson, Lüders and others. But according to later view propounded by Sten Konow,[2] and accepted by later scholars,[3] the principal donor making endowments was princess Aiyasi Kamuia, "chief queen of Rajuvula" and "daughter of Yuvaraja Kharaosta Kamuio".[4][5] Nadasi Kasa (or Nada Diaka) was daughter of Ayasia Kamuia.

According to an older view, Yuvarja Kharaosta Kamuio was thought to be son of Ayasi Kamuia who in turn was thought to be widow of Arta whom Rajuvula later married.[6] Konow refuted this view, and concluded that Ayasia Kamuia, chief queen of Rajuvula, was daughter and not the mother of Kharaosta Kamuio. The fact that the last name 'Kamuia' has been used both by Yuvaraja Kharaosta as well as princess Aiyasi clearly proves that Aiyasi Kamuia was the daughter and not mother of Yuvaraja Kharaosta Kamuio, since such family-names or designations are naturally inherited from the father's side and not from the mother's.[7][8] 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 at the center of the capital suggests that Rajuvula was, at least nominally, following the Buddhist faith.

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

Mora Mathura well inscription of five Vrishni Viras in 1st century BC

In the 1st century BC, there seems to be evidence for a worship of five Vrishni heroes Balarama, Krishna, Pradyumna, Aniruddha and Samba) for an inscription has been found at Mora near Mathura, which apparently mentions a son of the great satrap Rajuvula, probably the satrap Sodasa, and an image of Vrishni, "probably Vasudeva, and of the "Five Warriors".[9] Brahmi inscription on the Mora stone slab, now in the Mathura Museum.[10], [11]

Doris Srinivasan writes that The Mora well inscription, dating to early decades of CE, kindles anticipation that images of Vrishni Viras should be forthcoming in the Mathura region. At Mora a village 7 miles from Mathura, an inscription was found which states that the images of five Vrishni Heroes were installed in a stone shrine of a person called Tosa (तोषा).[12] Five Vrishni Viras have been identified from a passage in Vayu Purana (97.1-2). They are Samkarsana, Vadudeva, Pradyumna, Sāmba, and Aniruddha.[13] The Vishnudharmottara Purana mentions these five deities within a series that also includes Devaki, Yashoda, Ekanaṃṥā, Rukmini, Satyabhama, and Yuyudhana.[14] The Mora well inscription is one of several testimonials of beliefs preceding and leading upto the formation of Hindu sect of Vaishnavism. Vaishnavism is preceded by the Bhagavata religion of which first stage is the cult of Panchavira Vrishnis.[15]

Seven miles west of Mathura in the small and unimposing village of Mora, General Cunningham made another vital find regarding the historicity of Vaisnavism. In 1882, on the terrace of an ancient well, he discovered a large stone slab filled with inscriptions. Although more than half of the writing had already peeled away on the right side, the remainder was legible. It was transcribed, and a facsimile of the inscription was published in the Archaeological Survey of India’s Annual Report. The message was clear. Not only was Krishna worshiped in the centuries before Christ, but also His expansions or associates, especially "the five heroes of the Vrishni Clan." Scholarly research makes evident that these five are Krishna (Vasudeva), Balarama (Sankarshana), Pradyumna, Samba, and Aniruddha.[16]

In 1908, a Dr. Vogel had the Mora Well slab removed to the Mathura Museum and tried to tamper with the translations of the inscriptions in order to throw the Vedic religion into a bad light. However, because the contents of the inscriptions had already been published authoritatively and were well known in academic circles, Dr. Vogel’s efforts at creating disinformation failed. The complex theology, metaphysics, and cosmology of Sanatana Dharma and Vaisnavism definitely existed in an advanced state centuries before Christ. The Mora Well inscription is an important archeological proof of this historical fact. [17]

मोरा, जिला मथुरा

विजयेन्द्र कुमार माथुर[18] ने लेख किया है ....मोरा गाँव (AS, p.764) ज़िला मथुरा, उत्तर प्रदेश में स्थित है। मोरा ग्राम से महाक्षत्रप शोडास (80-57 ई. पू.) के समय का एक शिला पट्ट लेख प्राप्त हुआ था जो मथुरा के संग्रहालय में है। इससे ज्ञात होता है कि इस ग्राम में तोषा नामक किसी स्त्री ने एक मंदिर बनवाकर पंचवीरों की मूर्तियां स्थापित की थीं। डॉ. ल्यूडर्स के मत में इस लेख में जिन पंचवीरों का उल्लेख है वे कृष्ण, बलराम आदि यदुवंशीय योद्धा थे। लेख उच्चकोटि की संस्कृत में है और छंद भुजंगप्रयात है। इसी ग्राम से एक स्त्री की मूर्ति भी प्राप्त हुई है जो ल्यूडर्स के मत में तोषा की है। यहीं से तीन महावीरों

[p.765]: की मूर्तियां मिली थीं जो अब मथुरा-संग्रहालय में सुरक्षित हैं। एक अभिलिखित ईट भी मोरा से प्राप्त हुइ थी जो मथुरा संग्रहालय में सुरक्षित है जिससे ज्ञात होता है कि जिस भवन में यह ईंट लगी थी उसे बृहस्पतिमित्र की पुत्री राजभार्या यशोमती ने बनवाया था। यह बृहस्पतिमित्र वहीं शुंग-वंशीय नरेश जान पड़ता है जिसके सिक्के कौशांबी तथा अहिच्छत्र में प्राप्त हुए थे। यशोमती का विवाह मथुरा के किसी राजा से हुआ होगा।

मोरा से क्षत्रप रंजुबल का भी अभिलेख प्राप्त हुआ है। इसमें इसे महाक्षत्रप कहा गया है। इसका समय प्रथम शती ई. है। शकक्षत्रपों के इन अभिलेखों से सिद्ध होता है कि मथुरा पर प्रथम-द्वितीय शती ई. में शकों का प्रभुत्व था।

External links

References

  1. Journal of the Royal Asiatic Society of Great Britain & Ireland, 1894, p 533, Royal Asiatic Society of Great Britain and Ireland; See also: Journal of the Royal Asiatic Society of Great Britain & Ireland, 1907, p 1025, Royal Asiatic Society of Great Britain and Ireland; Ancient India: From the Earliest Times to the First Century AD, 1964, p 158, Dr E. J. Rapson.
  2. Corpus Inscrioptionum Indicarum, Vol II, Part I, pp xxxvi, 36, 47, Dr S Konow.
  3. Journal of the Royal Asiatic Society of Great Britain and Ireland, 1990, p 141, Royal Asiatic Society of Great Britain and Ireland; Political History of Ancient India, 1996, p 394, Dr H. C. Raychaudhury, Dr B. N. Mukerjee; Kunst aus Indien: Von der Industalkultur im 3. Jahrtausend V. Chr. Bis zum 19. Jahrhundert n ..., 1960, p 9, Künstlerhaus Wien, Museum für Völkerkunde (Vienna, Austria); History of Civilizations of Central Asia, 1999, 201/ 207, Ahmad Hasan Dani, Vadim Mikhaĭlovich Masson, János Harmatta, Boris Abramovich Litvinovskiĭ, Clifford Edmund Bosworth, Unesco; Aspects of Ancient Indian Administration, 2003, 58, D.K. Ganguly; District Gazetteers, 1959, p 33, Uttar Pradesh (India); Five Phases of Indian Art, 1991, p 17, K. D. Bajpai; History of Indian Administration, 1968, p 107, B. N. Puri; The Śakas in India, 1981, p 119, Satya Shrava; Ṛtam, p 46,by Akhila Bharatiya Sanskrit Parishad, Lucknow; Prācīna Kamboja, jana aura janapada =: Ancient Kamboja, people and country, 1981, Dr Jiyālāla Kāmboja, Dr Satyavrat Śāstrī; Indian Linguistics, 1964, p 549, Linguistic Society of India; A History of Indian Buddhism: From Sakyamuni to Early Mahayana, 1998, p 230, Akira Hirakawa; Cf: 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. - Sep., 1996), pp. 439, Richard Salomon, University of Washington. The author Richard Salomon accepts Dr Konow's views as probably correct.
  4. Mahaksha[tra]vasa Rajulasa agra-maheshi Ayasia Kamuia dhida Kharaostasa yuvarana mada Nada-diakasa [taye] sadha matra Abuhola[e]......Kharaosto yuvaraya Kamuio..
  5. See also the Links: [1] and [2]
  6. See quote in: Aspects of Ancient Indian Administration, 2003, p 58, D.K. Ganguly.
  7. See: Corpus Inscriptionum Indicarum, Vol II, part I, p 36 & xxxvi, Dr Stein Konow; Journal of the Royal Asiatic Society of Great Britain and Ireland, 1990, p 141, Journal of the Royal Asiatic Society of Great Britain and Ireland; Prācīna Kamboja, jana aura janapada =: Ancient Kamboja, people and country, 1981, p 227/228, Dr Jiyālāla Kāmboja, Dr Satyavrat Śāstrī), The Kambojas Through the Ages, 2005, p 168, Kirpal Singh.
  8. Dr S. Konow convincingly argues that Yuvaraja Kharaosta is respectfully dmentioned twice (II A.1 and E.1) and in prominent positions in the Capital record, and this would befit only a senior relative of the family of the queen making the endowments, and not a junior member like a son or grand son. Moreover, the Aiyasi Kamuia expressly states a close relationship with Kharaosta and also claims that latter's concurrence for making the endowments has been obtained (See: Corpus Inscriptionum Indicarum II, I, pp xxxv-vi, 36; 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. - Sep., 1996), pp. 440, Richard Salomon, University of Washington; Prācīna Kamboja, jana aura janapada =: Ancient Kamboja, people and country, 1981, pp 227/228, Dr Jiyālāla Kāmboja, Dr Satyavrat Śāstrī; The Kambojas Through the Ages, 2005, p 168, Kirpal Singh.
  9. Barnett, Lionel David (1922). Hindu Gods and Heroes: Studies in the History of the Religion of India. J. Murray. p. 93.
  10. Puri, B.N. (1968). India in the Time of Patanjali. Bhartiya Vidya Bhavan.Page 51: The coins of Raj uvula have been recovered from the Sultanpur District.. the Brahmi inscription on the Mora stone slab, now in the Mathura Museum
  11. Barnett, Lionel David (1922). Hindu Gods and Heroes: Studies in the History of the Religion of India. J. Murray. p. 92.
  12. See H. Luders,Seven Brahmi Inscriptions from Mathura and its vicinity, Epigraphic Indica, xxiv, 1937-38, 194-200
  13. J N Banerji, Religion in Art and Archaeology (Vausnavism and Shavism),Lucknow, 1968,pp.12-13
  14. Vishnudharmottara Purana, III.85.71-79
  15. Many Heads, Arms, and Eyes: Origin, Meaning, and Form of Multiplicity in Indian Art By Doris Srinivasan, Ch. XVI, p.211
  16. [http://www.stephen-knapp.com/hinduism_predates_christianity.htm Hinduism Predates Christianity: The Archeological Proof By Stephen Knapp ]
  17. [http://www.stephen-knapp.com/hinduism_predates_christianity.htm Hinduism Predates Christianity: The Archeological Proof By Stephen Knapp ]
  18. Aitihasik Sthanavali by Vijayendra Kumar Mathur, p.764-765