The
Heliodorus pillar is a stone column that was erected around 110 BCE in central
IndiaIndia, officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the south, the Arabian Sea on the west, and the Bay of Bengal...
in
VidishaVidisha or Besnagar or old name Bhelsa is a city in the central Indian state Madhya Pradesh, near its capital Bhopal. It is the administrative headquarters of Vidisha District.-History:...
near modern Besnagar, by Heliodorus, a Greek ambassador of the Indo-Greek king
AntialcidasAntialcidas Nikephoros "the Victorious" was a Western Indo-Greek king of the Eucratid Dynasty, who reigned from his capital at Taxila. Bopearachchi has suggested that he ruled from ca 115 to 95 BCE in the western parts of the Indo-Greek realms, whereas RC Senior places him around 130 to 120 BCE and...
to the court of the Sunga king
BhagabhadraBhagabhadra was one of the kings of the Indian Sunga dynasty. He ruled in north, central, and eastern India around 110 BCE. Although the capital of the Sungas was at Pataliputra, he was also known to have held court at Vidisha....
. The site is located only 5 miles from the famous Buddhist stupa of
SanchiSanchi is a small village in Raisen District of the State of Madhya Pradesh, India, it is located 46 km north east of Bhopal, and 10 km from Besnagar and Vidisha in the central part of the state of Madhya Pradesh...
.
The pillar was surmounted by a sculpture of
GarudaThe Garuda is a large mythical bird or bird-like creature that appears in both Hindu and Buddhist mythology....
and was apparently dedicated by Heliodorus to the god
VasudevaIn Hindu mythology, Vasudeva is the father of Krishna, the son of , of the Yadav and Vrishni dynasties. His sister Kunti was married to Pandu...
in front of the temple of
VasudevaIn Hindu mythology, Vasudeva is the father of Krishna, the son of , of the Yadav and Vrishni dynasties. His sister Kunti was married to Pandu...
.
There are two inscriptions on the pillar.
The first inscription describes in Brahmi the situation of Heliodorus and his relationship to the Sunga and Indo-Greek kings.
- "This Garuda-standard of Vasudeva
In Hindu mythology, Vasudeva is the father of Krishna, the son of , of the Yadav and Vrishni dynasties. His sister Kunti was married to Pandu...
, the God of Gods
- was erected here by the devotee Heliodoros,
- the son of Dion, a man of Taxila
Taxila is an important archaeological site in the Punjab province of Pakistan.It dates back to the Ancient Indian period and contains the ruins of the Gandhāran city of Takshashila an important Vedic/Hindu and Buddhist centre of learning from the 6th century BCEto the 5th century CE...
,
- sent by the Great Greek (Yona
"Yona" is a Pali word used in ancient India to designate Greek speakers. Its equivalent in Sanskrit, Telugu and Tamil is the word "Yavana". "Yona" and Yavana are both transliterations of the Greek word for "Ionians" , who were probably the first Greeks to be known in the East...
) King
- Antialkidas, as ambassador to
- King Kasiputra Bhagabhadra, the Savior
- son of the princess from Benares, in the fourteenth year of his reign."
)
Although not perfectly clear, the inscription seems to be referring to Heliodoros as a
BhagavataBhagavata, with the literal meaning of that which comes from Bhagavan or the Lord, signifies in the context of Hinduism. In this context bhakti has the primary meaning of 'adoration', while Bhagavat means 'the Adorable One', and Bhagavata is a worshiper of the Adorable One...
(
SanskritSanskrit is a historical Indo-Aryan language, one of the liturgical languages of Hinduism and Buddhism, and one of the 22 official languages of India. It is also declared as a classical language by the government of India....
: “One Devoted to
BhagavanBhagavan, also written Bhagwan or Bhagawan, from the Sanskrit nt-stem literally means "possessing fortune, blessed, prosperous" , and hence "illustrious, divine, venerable, holy", etc.In some traditions of Hinduism it is used to indicate the Supreme Being or...
(Lord)”), meaning "a devotee".
Discussion
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The
Heliodorus pillar is a stone column that was erected around 110 BCE in central
IndiaIndia, officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the south, the Arabian Sea on the west, and the Bay of Bengal...
in
VidishaVidisha or Besnagar or old name Bhelsa is a city in the central Indian state Madhya Pradesh, near its capital Bhopal. It is the administrative headquarters of Vidisha District.-History:...
near modern Besnagar, by Heliodorus, a Greek ambassador of the Indo-Greek king
AntialcidasAntialcidas Nikephoros "the Victorious" was a Western Indo-Greek king of the Eucratid Dynasty, who reigned from his capital at Taxila. Bopearachchi has suggested that he ruled from ca 115 to 95 BCE in the western parts of the Indo-Greek realms, whereas RC Senior places him around 130 to 120 BCE and...
to the court of the Sunga king
BhagabhadraBhagabhadra was one of the kings of the Indian Sunga dynasty. He ruled in north, central, and eastern India around 110 BCE. Although the capital of the Sungas was at Pataliputra, he was also known to have held court at Vidisha....
. The site is located only 5 miles from the famous Buddhist stupa of
SanchiSanchi is a small village in Raisen District of the State of Madhya Pradesh, India, it is located 46 km north east of Bhopal, and 10 km from Besnagar and Vidisha in the central part of the state of Madhya Pradesh...
.
The pillar was surmounted by a sculpture of
GarudaThe Garuda is a large mythical bird or bird-like creature that appears in both Hindu and Buddhist mythology....
and was apparently dedicated by Heliodorus to the god
VasudevaIn Hindu mythology, Vasudeva is the father of Krishna, the son of , of the Yadav and Vrishni dynasties. His sister Kunti was married to Pandu...
in front of the temple of
VasudevaIn Hindu mythology, Vasudeva is the father of Krishna, the son of , of the Yadav and Vrishni dynasties. His sister Kunti was married to Pandu...
.
Inscriptions
There are two inscriptions on the pillar.
The first inscription describes in Brahmi the situation of Heliodorus and his relationship to the Sunga and Indo-Greek kings.
- "This Garuda-standard of Vasudeva
In Hindu mythology, Vasudeva is the father of Krishna, the son of , of the Yadav and Vrishni dynasties. His sister Kunti was married to Pandu...
, the God of Gods
- was erected here by the devotee Heliodoros,
- the son of Dion, a man of Taxila
Taxila is an important archaeological site in the Punjab province of Pakistan.It dates back to the Ancient Indian period and contains the ruins of the Gandhāran city of Takshashila an important Vedic/Hindu and Buddhist centre of learning from the 6th century BCEto the 5th century CE...
,
- sent by the Great Greek (Yona
"Yona" is a Pali word used in ancient India to designate Greek speakers. Its equivalent in Sanskrit, Telugu and Tamil is the word "Yavana". "Yona" and Yavana are both transliterations of the Greek word for "Ionians" , who were probably the first Greeks to be known in the East...
) King
- Antialkidas, as ambassador to
- King Kasiputra Bhagabhadra, the Savior
- son of the princess from Benares, in the fourteenth year of his reign."
)
Although not perfectly clear, the inscription seems to be referring to Heliodoros as a
BhagavataBhagavata, with the literal meaning of that which comes from Bhagavan or the Lord, signifies in the context of Hinduism. In this context bhakti has the primary meaning of 'adoration', while Bhagavat means 'the Adorable One', and Bhagavata is a worshiper of the Adorable One...
(
SanskritSanskrit is a historical Indo-Aryan language, one of the liturgical languages of Hinduism and Buddhism, and one of the 22 official languages of India. It is also declared as a classical language by the government of India....
: “One Devoted to
BhagavanBhagavan, also written Bhagwan or Bhagawan, from the Sanskrit nt-stem literally means "possessing fortune, blessed, prosperous" , and hence "illustrious, divine, venerable, holy", etc.In some traditions of Hinduism it is used to indicate the Supreme Being or...
(Lord)”), meaning "a devotee". In the context of Hinduism, a Bhagavat would be a member of the earliest recorded
HinduA Hindu is an adherent of Hinduism, a set of religious, philosophical and cultural systems that originated in the Indian subcontinent. The vast body of Hindu scriptures, divided into Śruti and Smriti , lay the foundation of Hindu beliefs which primarily include dhárma, kárma, ahimsa and saṃsāra...
faith devoted to
VishnuVishnu , , is the Supreme God in Vaishnavite tradition of Hinduism. Smarta followers of Adi Shankara, among others, venerate Vishnu as one of the five primary forms of God...
.
The second inscription on the pillar describes in more detail the spiritual content of the faith supported by Heliodorus:
- "Three immortal precepts (footsteps)... when practiced
- lead to heaven: self-restraint, charity, consciousness."
).
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