The Mathura lion capital is an Indo-Scythian sandstone capital (a part of a pillar) from Mathura in Northern India, dated to the first decade of the 1st century CE (1–10 CE).[1] It was consecrated under the rule of Rajuvula, one of the Northern Satraps of the region of Mathura.
The capital was unearthed at the Saptarishi mound of Mathura by Bhagwan Lal Indraji in 1869.[2] It is covered with Prakrit inscriptions in the kharoshthi script of northwestern India.[3] The capital was made on the occasion of the funeral of "the illustrious king Muki and his horse" (Muki has been conjectured to be Maues).
The capital describes, among other donations, the gift of a stupa with a relic of the Buddha, by Queen Ayasia, the "chief queen of the Indo-Scythian ruler of Mathura, satrap Rajuvula". 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", who is mentioned as the "daughter of Kharahostes". The lion capital also mentions the genealogy of several Indo-Scythian satraps of Mathura. It mentions Sodasa, son of Rajuvula, who succeeded him and also made Mathura his capital.
The capital also displays at its center a Buddhist triratana symbol, further confirming the involvement of Indo-Scythian rulers with Buddhism.
It is on display in the South Asia section of the Sir Joseph Hotung Gallery for China and South Asia at the British Museum.
List of inscriptions
Buddhist symbol of the triratana at the center of the capital, supported by a convoluted tree, possibly a variation of the anthemion design.Kharoshthi inscription on base of Mathura capital.Lion detail on the Mathura lion capital. British Museum.Layout of the Mathura lion capital inscriptions.[5]
In a Latin transliteration of simplified Kharosthi script, the inscriptions read:[6][7][8][9][10]
The Saptarishi Tila statue, possibly representing Kambojika, the Chief Queen of Mahakshatrapa Rajula. Found in the Saptarishi Mound, the same mound where the Mathura lion capital was found. c. 1st century CE. Other angles.
Sten Konow, who compiled a definitive listing of Indian Buddhist inscriptions said: "If we bear in mind that mb becomes m i.e mm in the dialect of Kharoshthi dhammapada, and that is used for the common o in Sudasa in the Lion Capital Inscriptions, the Kamuia of the Lion Capital can very well represent a Sanskrit Kambojika ... I shall only add that if Kharoshtha and his father Arta were Kambojas, the same may have been the case with Moga, and we understand why the Kambojas are sometimes mentioned with the Sakas and Yavanas".[11] Many of Konow's readings, his sequence of sentences and some of the interpretation, particularly the connection with king Maues, need to be changed in the light of a new reading of H. Falk.[12]
References
^Salomon, Richard (July 1996). "An Inscribed Silver Buddhist Reliquary of the Time of King Kharaosta and Prince Indravarman". Journal of the American Oriental Society. 116 (3): 442. doi:10.2307/605147. JSTOR605147.
^Sten Konow, Corpus Inscriptionum Indicarum, Vol II, Part I, p. xxxvi, p. 36
^Harry Falk, "Ten thoughts on the Mathura Lion capital reliquary". Bhandare, Shailendra & Sanjay Garg (eds.), "Felicitas – Essays in Numismatics, Epigraphy and History in Honour of Joe Cribb". Mumbai, pp. 121–141
Sources
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. 219–222, Seattle: Early Buddhist Manuscripts Project (Gandharan Studies, Volume 1).
