>पाटलिपुत्र at 04:31, 3 November 2020

2020-11-03T04:31:55Z

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{{Infobox artifact
|name = Bharhut Yavana
|image = Bharhut Yavana.jpg
|image_caption = The Bharhut Yavana.
|material = Red sandstone
|size =
|writing =
|created =
|period = c. 100 BCE
|place = [[Bharhut]], [[India]].
|discovered_coords =24°27′00″N 80°55′00″E
|location = [[Mathura Museum]]
| map =
{{Location map
| India
| width = 300px
| float = center
| border =
| caption =
| alt =
| relief = yes
| AlternativeMap =
| overlay_image =
| label = [[Bharhut]], (Discovery)
| label_size =
| position =
| background =
| mark =
| marksize =
| link =
| lat_deg = 24.44
| lon_deg = 80.87
}}
|id =
|registration =
}}
The '''Bharhut Yavana''' is a [[high relief]] of a warrior which was discovered among the reliefs of the railings around the [[Bharhut]] Stupa. It is dated to circa 100 BCE, with a range from 150 BCE to 80 BCE.<ref>Didactic Narration: Jataka Iconography in Dunhuang with a Catalogue of Jataka Representations in China, Alexander Peter Bell, LIT Verlag Münster, 2000 [https://books.google.com/books?id=77hHrXX4COgC&pg=PA18 p.18]</ref> The relief is currently in the [[Indian Museum]] in [[Kolkata]].<ref name="Boardman 112">"The Diffusion of Classical Art in Antiquity, John Boardman, 1993, p.112</ref> The man in the relief has been described as a [[Indo-Greek|Greek]], called "[[Yavana]]s" among the Indians.<ref name="Boardman 112"/>

==Characteristics==
The role of the stading warrior is that of a [[dvarapala]], deities who were Guardians of a temple gate.

[[File:Bharhut Stupa Yavana symbolism.jpg|thumb|left|The Bharhut Yavana with details.]]
[[File:Menander portrait.jpg|thumb|left|upright|Portrait of [[Indo-Greek]] king [[Menander I|Menander]].]]
Many elements point to the depiction being that of a foreigner, and possibly an [[Indo-Greek]], called a [[Yavana]] among the Indians of the period. Elements leading to this suggestion are the hairstyle (short curly hairstyle without an [[India]]n [[turban]]), the hair band normally worn by Indo-Greek kings on their coins, the tunic, and boots. In his right hand he holds a [[grape]] plant, possibly emblematic of his origin. The sheath of his broadsword is decorated with a [[srivasta]] or [[nandipada]], symbols of [[Buddhism]].<ref>Faces of Power: Alexander's Image and Hellenistic Politics by Andrew Stewart [https://books.google.com/books?id=1SUw29Q_SeMC&pg=PA180 p.180]</ref><ref name="Boardman 112"/>

He is holding in his right hand a [[vine]], which could also be [[ivy]].<ref>"The Diffusion of Classical Art in Antiquity, John Boardman, 1993, p.112 Note 90</ref>

This type of head with the band of a Greek king is also seen on reliefs at [[Sanchi]], in which man in northern dress are seen [[:File:Foreigners riding winged lions Sanchi Stupa 1 Eastern Gateway.jpg|riding horned and winged lions]].<ref name="Antiquity, John Boardman 1993, p.112">"The Diffusion of Classical Art in Antiquity, John Boardman, 1993, p.112 Note 91</ref>

It has been suggested that the warrior is actually the [[Indo-Greek]] king [[Menander I|Menander]] who may have conquered Indian territory as far as [[Pataliputra]] and is known through the [[Milinda Panha]] to have converted to [[Buddhism]].<ref>Faces of Power: Alexander's Image and Hellenistic Politics, Andrew Stewart, University of California Press, 1993 [https://books.google.fr/books?id=1SUw29Q_SeMC&pg=PA180 p.180]</ref><ref>Popular Controversies in World History: Investigating History's Intriguing Questions [4 volumes]: Investigating History's Intriguing Questions, [[Steven L. Danver]], ABC-CLIO, 2010 [https://books.google.com/books?id=slVobUjdzGMC&pg=RA1-PA91 p.91]</ref><ref>Buddhist Art & Antiquities of Himachal Pradesh, Upto 8th Century A.D., Omacanda Hāṇḍā, Indus Publishing, 1994 [https://books.google.com/books?id=6Cqgb9pL3L4C&pg=PA48 p.48]</ref>

===Inscription===
The inscription at the top, classified as Inscription 55 in the Pillars of Railing of the SW Quadrant at Bharhut (The Stupa of Bharhut, Cunningham, p. 136 [http://www.photodharma.net/Guests/Kawasaki-Bharhut/Cunningham-Bharhut.pdf]), is in the Brahmi script and reads from left to right:<br>
{{quote|[[File:Inscription 55 Pillars of Railing SW Quadrant.jpg|thumb|500px|Inscription 55 in the Pillars of Railing of the SW Quadrant at Bharhut.]]
"Bhadanta Mahilasa thabho dânam"<br>
"Pillar-gift of the lay brother Mahila."|Inscription of the Bharhut Yavana}}

==Other instances of foreigners in Indian Temples==
Besides this relief in Bharhut, devotees in Greek attire also appear in number at the Buddhist Stupa of [[Sanchi]].

Some of them appear to be making a dedication to Southern Gateway of the Great Stupa.<ref name="Marshall 57">John Marshall, A Guide to Sanchi, 1918 [https://archive.org/stream/in.ernet.dli.2015.459148 p.57ff] (Public Domain text)</ref> The official notice at Sanchi reads "[[:File:Scene Index - North Gateway - Stupa 1 - Sanchi Hill 2013-02-21 4272.JPG|Foreigners worshiping Stupa]]". The relief shows 18 of these foreigners and 4 [[Gandharva]] celestial deities in the sky above.

These have been called "Greek-looking foreigners"<ref>Susan Huntington, "The art of ancient India", p. 100</ref> wearing Greek clothing complete with [[tunic]]s, capes and sandals, typical of the [[:File:Greek_travelling_costume.jpg|Greek travelling costume]],<ref>"The Greeks evidently introduced the himation and the chiton seen in the terracottas from Taxila and the short kilt worn by the soldier on the Sanchi relief." in Foreign influence on Indian culture: from c. 600 B.C. to 320 A.D., Manjari Ukil Originals, 2006, p.162</ref> and using Greek and [[Central Asian]] musical instruments ( the double flute [[aulos]], or the [[carnyx]]-like [[Cornu (horn)|Cornu horns]]), possibly pointing to the [[Indo-Greeks]]. The men are depicted with short curly hair, often held together with a [[headband]] of the type commonly seen on [[Greek coins]].

Three inscriptions are known from [[Yavana]] donors at Sanchi, the clearest of which reads "''Setapathiyasa Yonasa danam''" ("Gift of the [[Yona]] of Setapatha"), Setapatha being an uncertain city.<ref>The Idea of Ancient India: Essays on Religion, Politics, and Archaeology, [[Sage Publications]] India, Upinder Singh, 2016 [https://books.google.com/books?id=KIWTCwAAQBAJ&pg=PA18 p.18]</ref>

Around 113 BCE, [[Heliodurus|Heliodorus]], an ambassador of the [[Indo-Greek]] ruler [[Antialcidas]], is known to have dedicated a pillar, the [[Heliodorus pillar]], around 5 miles from Sanchi, in the village of [[Vidisha]].

{| class="wikitable" style="margin:0 auto;" align="center" colspan=1 cellpadding="3" style="font-size: 80%; width: 100%;"
|align="center" colspan=1 style="background:#F4A460; font-size: 100%;"| '''Northwestern foreigners at [[Sanchi]]'''
|-
|<gallery mode="packed" heights=150px>
File:Sanchi Stupa 2 man on horse.jpg|Foreigner on a horse, circa 115 BCE, Stupa No2.<ref name="AG">An Encyclopaedia of Indian Archaeology, by [[Amalananda Ghosh]], BRILL [https://books.google.fr/books?id=Wba-EZhZcfgC&pg=PA295 p.295]</ref><ref name="Shaw 90">Buddhist Landscapes in Central India: Sanchi Hill and Archaeologies of Religious and Social Change, C. Third Century BC to Fifth Century AD, Julia Shaw, Left Coast Press, 2013 [https://books.google.com/books?id=jzkyBgAAQBAJ&pg=PA90 p.90]</ref>
File:Foreigners at Sanchi Stupa I North Gateway.jpg|Foreign devotees and musicians on the Northern Gateway of Stupa I, circa 100 BCE.
File:Foreigners in Greek dress playing carnyxes and aolus flute at Sanchi.jpg|Detail of the foreigners, in Greek dress and playing [[carnyx]]es and [[Musical system of ancient Greece|aolus]] flute.
File:Torana of Stupa 3 in Sanchi Foreign riders.jpg|Foreign horseriders, Southern Gateway of Stupa 3.
File:Torana of Stupa 3 in Sanchi Foreigner fighting a Makara.jpg|Foreigner with headband fighting a [[Makara (Hindu mythology)|Makara]]. [[Torana]] of Stupa 3 in [[Sanchi]].
Stupa 3 front architrave bottom panel right post.jpg|Hero with headband wrestling a Makara.
File:Foreigners riding winged lions Sanchi Stupa 1 Eastern Gateway.jpg|Foreigners holding grapes and riding winged lions, Sanchi Stupa 1, Eastern Gateway.<ref name="Antiquity, John Boardman 1993, p.112"/>
</gallery>
|}

==References==
<references />

[[Category:Archaeological sites in Madhya Pradesh]]
[[Category:Indo-Greeks]]

Bharhut Yavana - Revision history

>पाटलिपुत्र at 04:31, 3 November 2020