A new Bactrian inscription of Kanishka the Great, in Silk Road Art and Archaeology, vol.4 (Kamakura 1995/6), pp.76-142 (with N.Sims-Williams) (original) (raw)
This monograph presents evidence of ancient coins of India to prove that so-called Śrivatsa, nandipāda, triratna symbol (and variants) constitute Indus Script Hypertexts, descriptive mint metalwork catalogues. The plain text of the Indus hypertext of the frequently used symbol or hieroglyph-multiplex, reads: dhatu ayo ḍhāḷako kammaṭa 'mineral, alloy metal, large ingot, mint'. Mahavamsa XXV,28 uses two words from this Indus Script text: ayo kammata. Here is an attestation from Ananda Coomaraswamy's note: [quote] Ayas: not in the Dictionary. This word is always used for iron... Mahavamsa, XXV, 28, ayo-kammata-dvara, "iron studded gate " (of a city) ; ib., 30, ayo-gulath, " iron balls "; ib., XXIX, 8, ayo-jala, an iron trellis used in the foundations of a stfipa. Reference might have been made to the iron pillars at Delhi and Dhar, and the use of iron in building at Konarak. [unquote] (Ananda K. Coomaraswamy, Indian Architectural terms, in: American Oriental Society, Vol. 48, 1928, pp.250-275). Obverse:elephant PLUS five other Indus script hypertexts Reverse: four Indus Script hypertexts including dotted circle + fish-fin pair '-- dhatu dul ayo kammaṭa, 'mineral, alloy metal, metal casting mint' hypertext. Purushkapura Kanishka Stupa See: Bharhut stupa toraṇa: Architectural splendour of Meluhha Indus Script hieroglyphs, dharma-dhamma pilgrimage http://tinyurl.com/q97poy2 1899 engraving showing the remnants of the Kanishka stupa in Shaji-ki-Dheri. (84 meter diameter, original height> 200 meters!) Source: Gandhara,Philip von Zabern,2010.Identification of this Gandhara relief sculpture with the Kanishka Stupa: Hans Loeschner, “Money Talks ! Ancient Values Exchanged through Monetary Objects, Coins and Sealings“, pp. 2 - 15 in “It‘s a Deal! Dynamic Transactions“, Eds. Robert F. Lawson & Carol S. Lawson Chrysalis Reader @ 2012 Swedenborg Foundation Press The "Kanishka casket", dated to 127 CE, with the Buddha surrounded by Brahma and Indra, and Kanishka standing at the center of the lower part, British Museum. It was discovered in a deposit chamber under the monumental Kanishka stupa (described by Chinese pilgrims in the 7th century as the tallest stupa in all India), during the archeological excavations in 1908-1909 in Shah-ji-Dheri on the outskirts of Peshawar. It is said to have contained three bone fragments of the Buddha,[1] which were forwarded to Burma by the British following the excavation,[2] where they still remain. The casket is today at the Peshawar Museum, and a copy is in the British Museum. The casket is dedicated in Kharoshthi. The inscription reads: "(*mahara)jasa kanishkasa kanishka-pure nagare aya gadha-karae deya-dharme sarva-satvana hita-suhartha bhavatu mahasenasa sagharaki dasa agisala nava-karmi ana*kanishkasa vihare mahasenasa sangharame" "In the acceptance (i.e. for the acceptance) of the Sarvāstivādin teachers, this perfume box is the meritorious gift of Mahārāja Kanishka [ . . . jasa Kani] in the city of Kanishkapura [Kanishkapure nagare]. May (it) be for the welfare and happiness of all beings. . . . sa, the superintendent of construction of the refectory in Kanishka's vihāra [nashkasa vihare], in Mahāsena's saṁghārāma [Mahasenasa saṁgharame]." [3] "The servant (dasa) Agnisala, the superintendent of works at the vihara of Kanishka in the monastery of Mahasena" ("dasa agisala nava-karmi ana*kaniskasa vihara mahasenasa sangharame"). agnisala, is the refectory of the monastery. ( Prudence R. Myer: Again the Kanishka Casket, In: The Art Bulletin, Vol. 48, No. 3/4 (Sep.–Dec., 1966), pp. 396–403) Detail of the Buddha, surrounded by cherubs, with devotee or bodhisattva Detail of Kanishka, surrounded by the Sun-God and the Moon-God. A garland, supported by cherubs goes around the scene in typical Hellenistic style. Detail of the flight of sacred geese, or hamsa. The Bimaran Casket or reliquary on display in the British Museum, with a depiction of the Buddha, surrounded by Brahma (left) and Śakra (right). The Bimaran casket or Bimaran reliquary is a small gold reliquary for Buddhist relics that was found inside the stupa no.2 at Bimaran, near Jalalabad in eastern Afghanistan. When it was found by the archaeologist Charles Masson during his work in Afghanistan between 1833 and 1838, the casket contained coins of the Indo-Scythian king Azes I. The most recent research however (2015) attributes the coins to Indo-Scythian king Kharahostes or his son Mujatria, who minted posthumous issues in the name of Azes. (DATING AND LOCATING MUJATRIA AND THE TWO KHARAHOSTES by Joe Cribb, 2015, p.27 et sig) The steatite box that contained the Bimaran casket. The Bimaran casket was kept in a steatite box, with inscriptions stating that it contained some relics of the Buddha. When opened in the 19th century, the box did not contain identifiable relics, but instead some burnt pearls, bead of precious and semi-precious stones, and the four coins of Azes II. The inscriptions written on the box are [2]: Main body of the container: "Shivaraksita mumjavamdaputrasa danamuhe niyadide bhagavata sharirehi sarvabudhana puyae" "Sacred gift of Shivaraksita, son of Munjavamda; presented for Lord's relics, in honour of all Buddhas" (Translation by Fussman) Lid of the container: "Shivaraksita mumjavamdaputrasa danamuhe bhagavata sharirehi" "Gift of Shivaraksita, son of Munjavamda; presented for Lord's relics" in honour of all Buddhas" (Translation by Fussman) Lid of the container: "Shivaraksita mumjavamdaputrasa danamuhe bhagavata sharirehi" "Gift of Shivaraksita, son of Munjavamda; presented for Lord's relics" The archeological find of the Azes II coins inside the casket would suggest a date between 30 BCE to 10 BCE. Azes II would have employed some Indo-Greek artists in the territories recently conquered, and made the dedication to a stupa. The coins are not very worn, and would therefore have been dedicated soon after their minting. Indo-Scythians are indeed known for their association with Buddhism, as in the Mathura lion capital. Such date would make the casket the earliest known representation of the Buddha: "In the art of Gandhara, the first known image of the standing Buddha and approximatively dated, is that of the Bimaran reliquary, which specialists attribute to the Indo-Scythian period, more particularly to the rule of Azes II"(Christine Sachs, "De l'Indus à l'Oxus")... The four coins in the Bimaran casket are of the same type: tetradrachms of debased silver in the name of Azes, in near-new condition.On the obverse they show a king on a horse to the right with right hand extended, with a three-pellet dynastic mark and a circular legend in Greek. The legend reads in corrupted Greek WEIΛON WEOΛΛWN IOCAAC(that is, ΒΑΣΙΛΕΩΣ ΒΑΣΙΛΕΩΝ ΑΖΟΥ) "King of Kings Azes". On the reverse appears a figure of Tyche standing and holding a cornucopia, with a Kharoshthi legend.The legend reads 'Maharajasa mahatasa Dhramakisa Rajatirajasa Ayasa "The Great king followower of the Dharma, King of Kings Azes..." " One of the coins of the Bimaran casket, illustrated by Charles Masson.[5][6] Obv. Azes riding, with corrupted Greek legend (WEIΛON WEOΛΛWN IOCAAC) for ΒΑΣΙΛΕΩΣ ΒΑΣΙΛΕΩΝ ΑΖΟΥ "King of Kings Azes", and Buddhist Triratna symbol behind the head of the king. Rev. City goddess Tyche standing left holding cornucopia and raised right hand. Kharoshthilegend Maharajasa mahatasa Dhramakisa Rajatirajasa Ayasa "The Great king followower of the Dharma, King of Kings Azes". Coin of Kharahostes, in the name of Azes. Obv. Azes riding, with corrupted Greek legend (WEIΛON WEOΛΛWN IOCAAC) for ΒΑΣΙΛΕΩΣ ΒΑΣΙΛΕΩΝ ΑΖΟΥ "King of Kings Azes", and Buddhist Triratna symbol behind the head of the king. Rev. City goddess Tyche standing left holding cornucopia and raised right hand. Kharoshthilegend Maharajasa mahatasa Dhramakisa Rajatirajasa Ayasa "The Great king followower of the Dharma, King of Kings Azes" Left image: Dynastic mark (in front of the horse) on the coins of the Bimaran casket, British Museum . Right image: Dynastic mark on a coin of Kharahostes. The coins types and dynastic mark on the coins of the Bimaran Casket are characteristic of Kharahostes.("The crossroads of Asia", edited by Ellizabeth Errington and Joe Cribb, The ancient India and Iran Trust, 1992) The rare coins of Kujula Kadphises with a tripartite mark resembling the three-pellet mark of Kharahostes (here on the reverse), have coin types ("Laureate head and king seated") which are totally different from those of the Bimaran reliquary. And this is the only issue of Kujula where this symbol appears (http://grifterrec.rasmir.com/kushan/kushan.html ) The three-pellet symbol mark is not known from any other ruler either (apart from the son of Kharahostes Mujatria), Early Buddhist imagery includes coins of Indo-Greek kings such as Menander II (left, circa 90–85 BCE), in which Zeus, through Nike, hands a wreath of victory to a Wheel of the Law, or the Tillya Tepe Buddhist coin (right, 1st c.BCE-1st c.CE). Tillya Tepe coin: Obverse: The legend in Kharoshthi reads Dharmacakrapravata[ko] "The one who turned the Wheel of the Law".On the reverse, it depicts a lion with the Buddhist symbol of the triratna, with the Kharoshthi legend Sih[o] vigatabhay[o] "The lion who dispelled fear". Kushana chronology (Hans Loeschner, 2011)