Indravarma

Indravarman or Indravarma (Itravasu on his coinage) was an Indo-Scythian king of the Apracas, who ruled in the area of Bajaur in modern northwestern Pakistan. He was the son of Vispavarma.[1] Indravarma had a son, Aspavarma, commander and later king, known from an inscription discovered at Taxila.[2] Aspavarma also mentioned his father Indravarma on some of his coins.

Coin Aspavarma, mentioning his father Indravarman.
Obv King mounted on a horse, holding a whip. Greek legend around ΒΑΣΙΛΕΩΣ ΒΑΣΙΛΕΩΝ ΜΕΓΑΛΟΥ / ΑΖΟΥ.
Rev Pallas Athena holding spear, and triratna symbol. Kharoshthi legend around Imtravarmaputrasa Aspavarmasa strategasa jayatasa "Victorious general Aspavarma, son of Indravarma".

Bajaur casket
Main article: Bajaur casket
The Bajaur casket, Metropolitan Museum of Art.[3]

Indravarman is mainly known from his dedicatory inscription on the Bajaur casket, an ancient reliquary from the area of Bajaur in ancient Gandhara, in the present-day Federally Administered Tribal Areas of Pakistan. It is dated to around 5-6 CE.[3]

The inscription which is written in Kharoshthi, translates into English as:

In the sixty third year of the late great king Aya (Azes), on the sixteenth day of the month of Kartia (Kartika), at this auspicious (?) time, Prince Indravarma (Indravarman), son of the king of Apraca, establishes these bodily relics of Lord Sakyamuni; …. He produces brahma-merit together with his mother, Rukhunaka, daughter of Aji…. And these bodily relics having been brought in possession from the Muraka cave stupa, were established in a secure (?), safe, deep (?), depository…

— Text of the Bajaur casket, Metropolitan Museum of Art.

The casket proves the involvement of the Scythian kings of the Apraca, in particular King Indravarman, in Buddhism.

Indravarma is also known from a seal inscription, which was discovered in Bajaur.[2] He may have had a sister named Vasavadatta, who is known from the dedication of a water pot.[2]

Silver reliquary
Main article: Apracaraja Indravarman's Silver Reliquary

Indravarma is also known for another Buddhist inscription on a silver reliquary in which he mentions him as his father Vispavarma, who was not yet a king. The inscription which is written in Kharoshthi, translates into English as:

Prince Indravarma, son of Commander Vispavarma, together with his wife establishes these bodily relics in his own stupa. Commander Vispavarma and Sisirena, the wife of the Commander, are (hereby) honored. Indravasu, king of Apraca, and his wife Vasumitra, who is the mother of a living son, are (hereby) honored

— Opening inscription in Gāndhārī Prakrit on the Silver Buddhist reliquary of Prince Indravarma.[1]

The date of the Silver reliquary is thought to be anterior to the Bajaur casket, as Indravarma describes his father as "Commander", rather than the later "King" title. It was probably dedicated in the end of the 1st century BCE.[4]

See also

Notes
  1. The World's Writing Systems, Peter T. Daniels, William Bright, Oxford University Press, 1996, p.382
  2. On the Cusp of an Era: Art in the Pre-Kuṣāṇa World, Doris Srinivasan, Brill, 2007, p.269-270
  3. Metropolitan Museum of Art notice
  4. "An Inscribed Silver Buddhist Reliquary of the Time of King Kharaosta and Prince Indravarman", Richard Salomon, Journal of the American Oriental Society, Vol. 116, No. 3 (July–September 1996), pp. 441

References
  • Baums, Stefan. 2012. “Catalog and Revised Texts and Translations of Gandharan Reliquary Inscriptions.” In: David Jongeward, Elizabeth Errington, Richard Salomon and Stefan Baums, Gandharan Buddhist Reliquaries, pp. 207–208, 233–234, Seattle: Early Buddhist Manuscripts Project (Gandharan Studies, Volume 1).
  • Baums, Stefan, and Andrew Glass. 2002– . Catalog of Gāndhārī Texts, nos. CKI 241 and CKI 242
  • Richard Salomon (January–March 1982). "The "Avaca" Inscription and the Origin of the Vikrama Era". Journal of the American Oriental Society. 102 (1): 59–68. doi:10.2307/601111. JSTOR 601111.
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