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70-491: The Apracharajas ( Gandhari : 𐨀𐨤𐨿𐨪𐨕𐨪𐨗 ), also known as Avacarajas ( Gandhari : 𐨀𐨬𐨕𐨪𐨗 ), were a local ruling dynasty of Gandhara . The Apracharaja capital, known as Apracapura (also Avacapura ), was located in Bajaur , though from numismatic evidence and reliquary inscriptions, it is asserted that their territory encompassed the wider region of Gandhara, including the cities of Taxila and Pushkalavati . Under

140-411: A Buddhist Avadana , Aspavarma and a Saka noble, Jhadamitra, engaged in discussions concerning the establishment of accommodation for monks during the rainy seasons, displaying that he was a patron of Buddhism . A reliquary inscription dedicated to 50 CE, by a woman named Ariasrava, describes that her donation was made during the reign of Gondophares nephew, Abdagases I , and Aspavarma , describing

210-412: A Greek city whilst also being shaped with Narrow roads, and further describe Phraotes kingdom as containing the old territory of Porus . Following an exchange with the king, Phraotes is reported to have subsidized both barbarians and neighboring states, with the objective of averting incursions into his kingdom. Phraotes also recounts that his father, being the son of a king, had become an orphan from

280-576: A consensus has grown in scholarship which sees the first wave of Buddhist missionary work as associated with Gāndhārī and the Kharoṣṭhī script, and tentatively with the Dharmaguptaka sect. Available evidence also indicates that the first Buddhist missions to Khotan were carried out by the Dharmaguptaka sect, and used a Kharoṣṭhī-written Gāndhārī. However, there is evidence that other sects and traditions of Buddhism also used Gāndhārī, and evidence that

350-509: A living son, and all worthy of worship are worshipped. Patrulaśiśara bathes the relics. In the twenty-seventh year in the ruler of Lord Vijayamitra the Apracarāja, in the seventy-third year of the one called Azes, in the two-hundred-and-first 201 year of the Greeks, on the eighth day of the month Śrāvaṇa. On this day a stupa was established by Rukhuṇā, wife of the Apracarāja, along with Vijayamitra

420-585: A proof of early migration of people ( Kambojas ) from the Transoxian region (i.e., the Parama Kamboja of Central Asia or Scythian region) into the Kabul valley. The Ibex motif is quintessentially characteristic of Iranian and Central Asian ( Scythian ) art and culture. It reflects the arrival and assimilation, by whatever geographic route or routes, of this ancient Central Asian/Iranian motif into

490-519: A sacred reliquary for the bones of Buddha". The Nuristani customs represents the survival in remote region of a local (Bajaur) tradition of ritual wine drinking which, in Buddhist world of Gandhara, may have been assimilated to and rationalized by the cosmological realm of the 'Sadamattas', who dwell on the slope of Mt Meru . The figure of Ibex topping the cover of the reliquary definitely implies Trans- Pamirian (Central Asian) influence and establishes

560-471: A special letter (noted by scholars as an underlined s, [ s ]), which later is used interchangeably with s, suggesting an early change to a sound, likely the voiced dental fricative ð, and a later shift to z and then a plain s. The Middle Prakrits typically weakened th to dh, which later shifted to h. Kharoṣṭhī does not render the distinction between short and long vowels, so the details of that feature are not known. Linguistic evidence links some groups of

630-628: A young age. In accordance with Indian customs, two of his relatives assumed responsibility for his upbringing until they were killed by rebellious nobles during a ritualistic ceremony along the Indus River . This event led to the usurpation of the throne, compelling Phraotes' father to seek refuge with the king situated beyond the Hydaspes River , in modern-day Punjab , a ruler esteemed greater than Phraotes' father. Moreover, Phraotes states that his father, received an education facilitated by

700-590: Is an early Middle Indo-Aryan language – a Prakrit – with unique features that distinguish it from all other known Prakrits. Phonetically, it maintained all three Old Indo-Aryan sibilants – s, ś and ṣ – as distinct sounds where they fell together as [s] in other Prakrits, a change that is considered one of the earliest Middle Indo-Aryan shifts. Gāndhārī also preserves certain Old Indo-Aryan consonant clusters, mostly those involving v and r. In addition, intervocalic Old Indo-Aryan th and dh are written early on with

770-462: Is honoured. All beings are honoured. All beings are brought to nirvana.The son of the general Vispavarma, the prince Indravarma, together with his wive, here these relics establishes in his personal stupa. The general Vispavarma and Śiśireṇa, the wife of the general, are honoured. Indravasu the Apaca king, and Vasumitra, who has a living son, are honoured. General Indravarma is honoured. Utara, the wife of

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840-518: Is presumed to have gained the throne in c. 2 BCE after succeeding Visnuvarma, with a reign of three decades lasting til c. 32 CE before being succeeded by his son Indravasu and then further by Indravasu's grandson Indravarma II in c. 50 CE. Some Aprachas are documented on the Silver Reliquary discovered at Sirkap, near Taxila , designating the title "Stratega," denoting a position equivalent to Senapati , such as that of Indravarma who

910-477: Is suggested that one Gondophares may be identical with Phraotes , a Greek-speaking king of the city of Taxila , met by the Greek philosopher Apollonius of Tyana around 46 CE. The Gondophares who fits this date is Gondophares IV Sases , whose coinage has been dated to 40-78 CE. Apollionus describes the king as an Indian. They describe Phraotes' capital, Taxila , as being the same size as Nineveh , being walled like

980-415: Is worshipped, Dhramasena, the monk and overseer of new constructions are worshipped. Prince Indragivarma, son of Apracarāja Vijayamitra, establishes relics in Śpadi at a previously unestablished location for the worship of all Buddhas. Of the son of the great satrap, the yagu king, Kharahostes, 28 staters, 4 dhānaka, 2 māṣa Of prince Indravarma, 28 staters, 1 drachm Of prince Indravarma, 43 staters The son of

1050-586: Is worshipped. And having taken these relics from a Mauryan Period stupa they were established in a central location that is without danger, without trouble. vasia fifty. Utarā, wife of the General, establishes a stupa at a previously unestablished location in the region of Tramaṇa. All Buddhas are worshipped, all past and future Pratyekabuddhas are worshipped, [and] all Nobles Ones are worshipped. All Buddhas are worshipped, all past, future, and present Pratyekabuddhas are worshipped, all Noble Ones are worshipped. Utara,

1120-548: The Afridi Pashtuns in the 19th century. Georg Morgenstierne claimed that Tirahi is "probably the remnant of a dialect group extending from Tirah through the Peshawar district into Swat and Dir ". Nowadays, it must be entirely extinct and the region is now dominated by Iranian languages brought in by later migrants, such as Pashto . Among the modern day Indo-Aryan languages still spoken today, Torwali shows

1190-510: The Brahmins upon request to the king and married the daughter of the Hydaspian king, whilst having one son that was Phraotes himself. Phraotes proceeds to narrate the opportune moment he seized to reclaim his ancestral kingdom, sparked by a rebellion of the citizens of Taxila against the usurpers. With fervent support from the populace, Phraotes led a triumphant entry into the residence of

1260-633: The Buddha . Notably, Indragivarma, the second son of Vijayamitra the Apracharaja, and Utara, the spouse of Indravarma , detail the construction of stupas in previously unestablished locales. These inscriptions and coinage are consistently composed in Gandhari Prakrit , utilizing the Kharosthi script , thereby highlighting the adherence of these rulers to Gandharan culture. The genesis of

1330-482: The Dardic languages with Gandhari. The Kohistani languages , now all being displaced from their original homelands, were once more widespread in the region and most likely descend from the ancient dialects of the region of Gandhara. The last to disappear was Tirahi , still spoken some years ago in a few villages in the vicinity of Jalalabad in eastern Afghanistan, by descendants of migrants expelled from Tirah by

1400-477: The Kambojas , had earlier offered stubborn resistance to Macedonian invader Alexander in 326 BCE and later also constituted an important component of the grand army of Chandragupta Maurya . According to Dr Bailey, the dynastic/geographic title Apraca/Apaca/Avaca may underlie the modern toponym Bajaur. The inscriptions provide important new information on the history of Apraca dynasty of Bajaur , including

1470-553: The Kushan monk Lokakṣema began translating the first Buddhist sutras into Chinese. The earliest of these translations show evidence of having been translated from Gāndhārī. It is also known that manuscripts in the Kharoṣṭhī script existed in China during this period. Silver Reliquary of Indravarman The Silver Reliquary of Indravarman is an inscribed silver Buddhist reliquary dedicated by Apracaraja king Indravarman in

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1540-713: The Kushan Empire and various central Asian kingdoms, including Khotan and Shanshan . It appears on coins, inscriptions and texts, notably the Gandhāran Buddhist texts . It is notable among the Prakrits for having some archaic phonology, for its relative isolation and independence, for being partially within the influence of the ancient Near East and Mediterranean and for its use of the Kharoṣṭhī script, compared to Brahmic scripts used by other Prakrits. Gāndhārī

1610-531: The Mathura Lion Capital Inscriptions (in which he is twice mentioned as Yuvaraja Kharaosta), than is usually attributed to him. Kharaosta is believed to have been the ruler of Cukhsa—a territory comprising districts of Peshawar, Hazara, Attock and Mianwal in northern Pakistan. The Apraca kings of Bajaur are believed to have been an important allies of Kharaosta in helping to protect his borders from ever-present threat of invasion from

1680-791: The Sanskrit texts. Prashant Srivastava of the University of Lucknow, has in a research monograph highlighted the significant role played by the family of the Apraca kings in ancient Indian history, and connected this family of the Apraca kings with the Ashvaka clan. But, the Ashvaka clan was none else than a sub-branch of the greater Kamboja tribe spread on either side of the Hindukush . (See Ashvakas .) These people, identified as sub-branch of

1750-552: The 1st century BCE, which has been found presumably in the Bajaur area of Gandhara . Believed to have been fabricated at Taxila , the silver reliquary consists of two parts—the base and the cover—both being fluted, and the cover being topped by a figure of long horned Ibex . It has been dated to around the eighth or ninth decades of the 1st century BCE and bears six inscriptions written in pointillē style, in Kharoshthi script and Gandhari /north-western Prakrit . In form,

1820-473: The 1st century of the Common Era. The Middle Prakrit phonetic features are the weakening of intervocalic consonants: degemination and voicing, such as the shift of OIA * k to g . The most rapid loss was the dentals, which started to disappear completely even before the late period as with * t > ∅ as in * pitar > piu ; in contrast, retroflex consonants were never lost. There is also evidence of

1890-584: The American Oriental Society. The lower part of the reliquary with fluted surface, carination and small stem and foot is extremely similar to the "drinking goblets" that have been found in good numbers mainly in Gandhara ( Taxila ) and Kapisa (Kapisi). The lower part of the reliquary resembles the ceremonial drinking cups depicted in ancient Gandharan art and culture relief. Gandharan art of Bacchanalian or Dionysiac drinking scenes are

1960-735: The Aparacas was probably centered in Bajaur and extended to Swat, Gandhāra, Taxila, and parts of eastern Afghanistan in the last half of the first century BCE and the early decades of the first century CE. Since the discovery of an inscribed reliquary casket from Shinkot in Bajaur donated by the Apraca king Vijayamitra (who evidently founded the dynasty), other inscriptions record donations of relics by at least four generations of kings, queens, and court officials. Apraca kings known from Kharosṭḥī inscriptions, coins, and seals included Indravasu, Visṇuvarman (perhaps identical to Viśpavarman), and Indravarman, but

2030-407: The Apraca kings of Bajaur but it is hard to say if the connections are merely of succession only or were formed by blood or ethnic bonds also. The inscription no. II on the silver reliquary was inscribed by yaguraja Khara(y)osata who was the first owner of the silver vessel and the inscriptions no. III, IV, VI and VI on the same reliquary were later inscribed by Apraca king Indravarman which show

2100-483: The Apracarāja, Indravarma the General, and their wives and princes. The bowl was established by Vijayamitra These relics became broken, are not honoured and so have perished over time; neither śrāddha nor food and water are brought for the ancestors, and so the bowl is not fully covered. In the fifth year of Viyakamitra the Apracarāja on the 25th day of the month Vaiśākha this relic of the Fortunate One, Śākyamuni,

2170-645: The Apracharajas is traced to the Apracharajas Visnuvarma and Vijayamitra, however the Bajaur casket inscription associated with them suggests a predecessor named Vijayakamitra, stated to have flourished during the era of Menander II of the Indo-Greek Kingdom . Research on reliquary inscriptions also further describes that Vijayamitra's direct predecessor to have been a Visnuvarma, however he has not been accurately dated. Notably,

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2240-817: The Dardic languages, whereas all the Indo-Aryan languages have replaced that term with reflexes of bhaginī . Until 1994, the only Gāndhāri manuscript available to the scholars was a birch bark manuscript of a Buddhist text, the Dharmapāda , discovered at Kohmāri Mazār near Hotan in Xinjiang in 1893 CE. From 1994 on, a large number of fragmentary manuscripts of Buddhist texts, seventy-seven altogether, were discovered in eastern Afghanistan and Western Pakistan. These include: Mahayana Buddhist Pure Land sūtras were brought from Gandhāra to China as early as 147 CE, when

2310-592: The Dharmaguptaka sect also used Sanskrit at times. It is true that most manuscripts in Gāndhārī belong to the Dharmaguptakas, but virtually all schools — inclusive Mahāyāna — used some Gāndhārī. Von Hinüber (1982b and 1983) has pointed out incompletely Sanskritised Gāndhārī words in works heretofore ascribed to the Sarvāstivādins and drew the conclusion that either the sectarian attribution had to be revised, or

2380-657: The Gandharan world in Pre-Christian times. And lastly, the fluting in the surfaces of the silver reliquary is also an Iranian motif. Thus the Ibex motif combined with wine drinking culture of the goblet itself amply illustrates the influx of regional and extra-regional cultural elements into the eclectic art and culture of Gandhara of the Indo-Iranian/Indo-Scythian period which is indeed reflected in

2450-630: The Perfectly Awakened One, was dedicated by Vijayamitra the Apracarāja. In the sixty-third 63 year of the Great King Azes who has passed, on the 16th day of the month Kārttika at this moment of citra, Prince Indravarma, son of the Apracarāja[Viṣ̄uvarma] establishes this relic of the Fortunate One Śākyamuni at a permanent, deep, previously unestablished location. He produces Brahmā-merit along with [his] mother Rukhuṇaka,

2520-580: The acceptance of the Kāśyapīya monks. All Buddhas are worshipped, all Pratyekabuddhas, Noble Ones, and Disciples are worshipped, [and] all worthy of worship are worshipped. These relics were established along with [his] wife Davili, [their] sons Indraseṇa and Menandra. And [his] mother and father are worshipped, [his] brother Indraseṇa, the Lord Vijayamitra Apracarāja, and Indravarma the General, Ruler of Gandhāra, are worshipped, Rukhuṇaka, one who has

2590-459: The administration of Sases , their domain expanded to incorporate the former territory of the kingdom of Porus , which extended as far as the river Ravi in the Punjab . Based on analysis of their inscriptions and coinage, the Apracharajas are widely believed to have served as significant benefactors of Buddhism . Translated inscriptions indicate the donation of stupas and reliquaries in honor of

2660-538: The administrative structure of the Apracha polity is characterized by a hierarchical arrangement, wherein absolute power is held by the patriarch (Apracharaja), followed by subordinate generals, denoted by the Greek term "Stratega" in inscriptions. Of particular interest is the case of Satruleka, an Apracha figure who is bestowed with the title Satrap , deviating from the typical hierarchical designations. Below these tiers were Apracha princes who were potential successors to

2730-614: The closest linguistic affinity possible to Niya , a dialect of Gāndhārī. Initial identification of a distinct language occurred through study of one of the Buddhist āgamas , the Dīrghāgama , which had been translated into Chinese by Buddhayaśas ( Chinese : 佛陀耶舍 ) and Zhu Fonian ( Chinese : 竺佛念 ). The now dominant hypothesis on the propagation of Buddhism in Central Asia goes back to 1932 when E. Waldschmidt remarked that

2800-579: The coinage of the Indo-Greeks , continued to appear alongside Buddhist ones. Numerous Buddhist dedications were made by the rulers of the Apracas: "Members of the Apraca family in the northwestern borderlands of Pakistan and Afghanistan made numerous Buddhist donations recorded in Kharosṭḥī inscriptions dated in the era of Azes. Although most of these inscriptions lack specific provenance, the domain of

2870-523: The coins. First part Yagu- of the title Yagu-raja used by Kharaosta ( Kamuio ) is a form of Yauvuga or Yauga or Yaüvasa —a Kushana title, which is identified with popular Turkic title Yabgu (i.e. tribal chief). Since this reference pertains to pre-Christian and therefore, pre-Kushana/Pre-Turkic times, this conclusively proves that the use of a title is no proof of a ruler's ethnic affinities. The silver reliquary definitely indicates some sort of connections between prince Kharaosta (Khara(y)osta) and

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2940-467: The dominion of the Indo-Parthians , Apracharaja Sasan , as described on numismatic evidence identifying him as the nephew of Aspavarma , emerged as a figure of significance. Aspavarman, a preceding Apracharaja contemporaneous with Gondophares , was succeeded by Sasan , after having ascended from a subordinate governance role to a recognized position as one of Gondophares's successors. He assumed

3010-1536: The dynastic genealogy remains uncertain." Jayadaman Rudradaman I Damajadasri I Jivadaman Rudrasimha I Satyadaman Jivadaman Rudrasena I Bagamira Arjuna Hvaramira Mirahvara Vāsishka (c. 140 – c. 160) Huvishka (c. 160 – c. 190) Vasudeva I (c. 190 – to at least 230) Samghadaman Damasena Damajadasri II Viradaman Isvaradatta Yasodaman I Vijayasena Damajadasri III Rudrasena II Visvasimha Miratakhma Kozana Bhimarjuna Koziya Datarvharna Datarvharna INDO-SASANIANS Ardashir I , Sassanid king and "Kushanshah" (c. 230 – 250) Peroz I , "Kushanshah" (c. 250 – 265) Hormizd I , "Kushanshah" (c. 265 – 295) Kanishka II (c. 230 – 240) Vashishka (c. 240 – 250) Kanishka III (c. 250 – 275) Hormizd II , "Kushanshah" (c. 295 – 300) Visvasena Rudrasimha II Jivadaman Peroz II , "Kushanshah" (c. 300 – 325) Vasudeva III Vasudeva IV Vasudeva V Chhu (c. 310? – 325) Yasodaman II Rudradaman II Rudrasena III Simhasena Rudrasena IV Shapur II Sassanid king and "Kushanshah" (c. 325) Varhran I , Varhran II , Varhran III "Kushanshahs" (c. 325 – 350) Peroz III "Kushanshah" (c. 350 –360) HEPHTHALITE / HUNAS invasions Shaka I (c. 325 – 345) Kipunada (c. 345 – 375) GUPTA EMPIRE Chandragupta I Samudragupta Gandhari Prakrit Gandhari served as an official language of

3080-498: The dynasty to be of local Gandhari origins. The Apracharajas were a historical dynasty situated in the region of Gandhara, extending from the governance of Menander II within the Indo-Greek Kingdom to the era of the early Kushans . Renowned for their significant support of Buddhism , this assertion is supported by swathes of discovered donations within their principal domain, between Taxila and Bajaur . Archaeological evidence also establishes dynastic affiliations between them and

3150-477: The general Viśpavarma, the prince Indravarma, with his wife, here these relics establishes in his personal stupa. General Viśpavarma and Śiśireṇa, the general's wife, are honoured. Indravasu, king of Apraca, and Vasumitra, who has a living son, are honoured. General Indravarma and Utara, the wife of the general, are honoured. Vijayamitra, the Avaca king, together with his wife, is honoured. The community of all relatives

3220-695: The general, is honoured. Vijayamitra, king of Avaca, together with his wife, is honoured. The community of all beings is honoured and all beings are honoured. All beings are brought to nirvana. [Inside of Bowl] In the ninety-eighth 98 year of the Great King, the Great Azes, on the fifteenth 15 day of the month Caitra. In the reign of Gondophares’ nephew Avakaśa. In the reign of General Aśpavarma, son of Indravarma The Apracharajas embraced Buddhism : they are known for their numerous Buddhist dedications on reliquaries. On their coins Hellenic designs, derived from

3290-545: The joint rule by the Aprachas and the Indo-parthians. In an inscription dated to 30 CE, Satruleka, identified as a maternal nephew of King Vijayamitra , the founder of the Apracharajas, describes himself as a Satrap . This occurrence coincides with the invasion of the Indo-Parthians , suggesting the possibility that his appointment as Satrap may have been affiliated with an alliance alongside Gondophares . During

3360-516: The kings of Apraca dynasty themselves but also about their relationships with other rulers of the far north-western region of traditional India i.e. modern northern Pakistan and eastern Afghanistan around the beginning of Christian era. The inscriptions on the silver reliquary have been investigated by Richard Salomon of the University of Washington , in an article published in the Journal of

3430-416: The latter as the owner of the same vessel. Inscriptions also verify that Apraca king Indravarman had later converted the silver vessel to a Buddhist Reliquary for the stüpa he had raised in Bajaur. The connection of Apraca kings with Yagu-raja Kharaosta has raised chronological questions which call into doubt previously established norms about him and also seem to require a considerably earlier date for

3500-484: The loss of a distinction between aspirates and plain stops as well, which is unusual in the Indo-Aryan languages . In Central Asian Gāndhārī, there is often confusion in writing nasals with homorganic stops; it is unclear if this might represent assimilation of the stop or the appearance of prenasalized consonants to the phonetic inventory. Gāndhārī grammar is difficult to analyse; endings were eroded not only by

3570-416: The loss of final consonants and cluster simplification of all Prakrits but also by the apparent weakening of final vowels "'to the point that they were no longer differentiated'". Nonetheless, there was still at least a rudimentary system of grammatical case . Verbal forms are highly restricted in usage due to the primary usage of longer texts to translations of religious documents and the narrative nature of

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3640-467: The motifs which represent assimilation of local folk traditions of remote river valleys of the Kafiristan where viticulture and wine festivals are known to have been widely practiced. Similar customs are also well documented in recent times in the region of Nuristan (pre-Islamic Kafiristan) which area had formed integral parts of ancient Kapisa. Bajaur, the presumed provenance of the silver reliquary,

3710-685: The names of several previously unknown persons, and on their relationship with Indo-Iranian king Kharayosta—the Yuvaraya Kharaosta " Kamuio " of the Mathura Lion Capital inscriptions or Kharaoṣta (Kharahostes) of the coins. Prince Kharaosta in the Bajaur silver vessel has been described as Yagu-raja as contrasted to Yuva-raja of the Mathura Lion Capital Inscriptions or the Kshatrapa of

3780-661: The names quoted in the Chinese Dīrghāgama (T. 1), which had been translated by the avowedly Dharmaguptaka monk Buddhayaśas (who also translated the Dharmaguptakavinaya ), were not rendered from Sanskrit, but from a then undetermined Prākrit also found in the Khotan Dharmapada . In 1946, Bailey identified this Prākrit, which he named Gāndhārī, as corresponding to the language of most Kharoṣṭhī inscriptions from Northwestern India. Since this time,

3850-411: The one who has a living son and wife of the Apracarāja, along with [his] maternal uncle Ramaka, along with [his] maternal uncle’s wife Daṣakā, along with his wives who are sisters, Vasavadata, Mahaveda, and Ṇika, and wife Utara. For the worship of [his] father Viṣ̄uvarma, the Apracarāja. [His] brother Vaga the General, is worshipped as well as Vijayamitra the [current] Apracarāja. His maternal aunt Bhaïdata

3920-467: The position following Abdagases I . The Kushan ruler Vima Takto is known through numismatic evidence to have overstruck the coins of Sasan , whilst a numismatic hoard had found coins of Sasan togethor with smaller coins of Kujula Kadphises It has also been discovered that Sasan overstruck the coins of Nahapana of the Western Satraps , this line of coinage dating between 40 and 78 CE. It

3990-482: The reign of Vijayamitra. According to Apracha chronology, Indravarma was the son of Visnuvarma, an Aprachraja preceding Vijayamitra . Indravarmas son Aspavarma is situated between 20 and 50 CE, during which numismatic evidence overlaps him with the Indo-Scythian ruler Azes II and Gondophares of the Indo-Parthians whilst also describing him as 'Stratega' or general of the Aprachas. In accordance with

4060-470: The rulers of Oddiyana in modern-day Swat. The dynasty is argued to have been founded by Vijayakamitra, identified as a vassal to Menander II , according to the Shinkot casket . This epigraphic source further articulates that King Vijayamitra , a descendant of Vijayakamitra, approximately half a century subsequent to the initial inscription, is credited with its restoration following inflicted damage. He

4130-435: The silver reliquary of prince Indravarman. The inscriptions refer to several well-known historical figures and also introduce some previously unknown persons. Noteworthy among the former are prince Indravarman and king Khara(y)osta who is to be identified with ruler Kharahostes or Kharaosta who had been known from numismatics and Mathura Lion Capital inscriptions. The Inscription no. II also establishes that king Kharaosta

4200-405: The silver vessel is wholly atypical of Buddhist reliquaries and is said to have been a wine goblet, similar to others found in Gandhara and Kapisa regions. The vessel was later reused by Apraca king Indravarman as a Reliquary to enshrine Buddhist relics in a stüpa raised by Indravarman. The inscriptions on the silver reliquary provide important new information not only about the history of

4270-411: The sutras but seem to parallel changes in other Prakrits. The lexicon of Gāndhārī is also limited by its textual usage; it is still possible to determine unusual forms, such as Gāndhārī forms that show commonalities with forms in modern Indo-Aryan languages of the area, notably some groups of the Dardic languages . An example is the word for sister, which is a descendant of Old Indo-Aryan svasṛ- as in

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4340-478: The tacit dogma "Gāndhārī equals Dharmaguptaka" is wrong. Conversely, Dharmaguptakas also resorted to Sanskrit. Starting in the first century of the common era, there was a large trend toward a type of Gāndhārī which was heavily Sanskritized. In general terms, Gāndhārī is a Middle Prakrit, a term for middle-stage Middle Indo-Aryan languages. It only begins to show the characteristics of the Late Prakrits in

4410-496: The throne. The etymological interpretation of 'apracharaja' has been subject to considerable scholarly discourse. N. G. Majumdar posited that it is defined as 'Kings without rival', however, H. W. Bailey contested this assertion, stating that its significance is simply 'Kings of Apraca'. According to Richard Solomon, Gandhari names of Apracha rulers like Vispavarma may have been originally non-Indic, suggesting them to be of Indo-Scythian descent. Several other scholars consider

4480-420: The usurpers, whilst the citizens brandished torches, swords, and bows in a display of unified resistance. In the seventy-seventh year of the Great King Azes, deceased, on the twenty-fourth 24 day of the month Śrāvaṇa, by Śatruleka, Satrap, son of Subhutikă, and maternal nephew to the Apracarāja, relics of the Fortunate One Śākyamuni were established at a previously unestablished location in the village Aṭhayi, for

4550-507: The valleys of Hindukush with Dionysiac scenes in Gandharan art in general and heirloom silver cups of the modern Nuristanis with Gandharan goblets in particular which is quite persuasive. According to Dr Richard Salomon, "if the association is even approximately correct, it may explain what the new silver reliquary originally may have been. It was undoubtedly a ceremonial silver drinking cup of Indo-Iranian king Kharaosta and later of his successor prince Indravarman who converted it into

4620-433: The west. It does not, therefore, seem unlikely that Arta ( Mahakshatrapa ), Kharaosta Kamuio ( Yuvaraja ), Aiyasia Kamuia ( Agramahisi—the chief queen of Rajuvula ), Maues or Moga ( Gandhara king ) as well as the rulers of Apraca dynasty of Bajaur were probably all related and were connected by some sort of familial connections. The fact that Kharaosta and his daughter Aiyasi have both been referred to as Kamuias in

4690-487: The wife of the prince, establishes relics of the Fortunate One along with Prince Indravarma [I]. A stone pillar was erected…Sadaḍha, Ujiṃda… Utaraüta, Pupidrio, [and] Uṣaṃveo are worshipped, the mother of the regional governor Śreṭha is worshipped, [her] father-in-law, Viṣ̄nuvarma the Apracarāja is worshipped, the one who has a living son, Rukhuṇaka is worshipped, General Vaga is worshipped, the Apracarāja Vijayamitra

4760-563: Was a general during the reign of the Apracharaja Vijayamitra . Indravarma is additionally noteworthy for receiving the above-mentioned Silver Reliquary from the Indo-Scythian monarch Kharahostes , which he subsequently re-dedicated as a Buddhist reliquary, indicating was a gift in exchange for tribute or assistance. According to another reliquary inscription Indravarma is noted as the Lord of Gandhara and general during

4830-467: Was also the original owner and the silver vessel was later inherited by Apraca dynasty. Thus it very offers tantalizing hints of some close relationship between king Kharaosta and the Apraca kings of Bajaur. The territory around the findspot for the silver reliquary was the stronghold of the warlike Indo-Iranian people called Aspasioi (Aspasian) who had formed the western branch of the Ashvakas of

4900-464: Was part of the ancient Kapisa. In this very region of Kafiristan or ancient Kapisa, the heirloom silver wine cups with features very similar to those of old Gandhara and Kapisa goblets are still found and before the Islamization of Kafiristan, these silver wine cups were important ritual objects and symbols of social status. Martha Carter associates the well attested wine festival tradition of

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