Nahapana
Nahapana | |
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Chastana |
Nahapana (
Name
Nahapana's name appears on his coins in the Kharosthi form Nahapana (𐨣𐨱𐨤𐨣), the Brahmi form Nahapāna (), and the Greek form Nahapána (Ναηαπάνα),[4] which are derived from the Saka name *Nāhapānä, which means "protector of the clan".[5]
Period
The exact period of Nahapana is not certain. A group of his inscriptions are dated to the years 41-46 of an unspecified era. Assuming that this era is the Shaka era (which starts in 78 CE), some scholars have assigned his reign to 119-124 CE.[6] Others believe that the years 41-46 are his regnal years, and assign his rule to a different period. For example, Krishna Chandra Sagar assigns his reign to 24-70 CE,[7] while R.C.C. Fynes dates it to c. 66-71 CE,[8] and Shailendra Bhandare regards 78 CE as the last year of his reign.[9]
Reign
The
Beyond the
Syrastrene. It is a fertile country, yielding wheat and rice and sesame oil and clarified butter, cotton and the Indian cloths made therefrom, of the coarser sorts. Very many cattle are pastured there, and the men are of great stature and black in color. The metropolis of this country is Minnagara, from which much cotton cloth is brought down to Barygaza.— Periplus 41[11]
He also established the Kshatrapa coinage, in a style derived from
Nahapana is mentioned as a donator in inscriptions of numerous Buddhist caves in northern India. The Nasik and Karle inscriptions refer to Nahapana's dynastic name (Kshaharata, for "Kshatrapa") but not to his ethnicity (Saka-Pahlava), which is known from other sources.[12]
Nahapana had a son-in-law named Ushavadata (Sanskrit:
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Nahapana coin hoard.
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A silver drachma of Nahapana. Obv: Bust of the king crowned with a diadem on the right. Legend in Greek: ΡΑΝΝΙ (ω ΙΑΗΑΡΑΤΑϹ) ΝΑΗΑΠΑ (ΝΑϹ)
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A silver drachma of Nahapana. Rev: An arrow to the left and a lightning to the right. Legend in kharoshthi on the left: Rano Chaharatasa Nahapanasa. Brahmi legend on the right: Rajna Kshaha (ratasa Nahapanasa).
Defeat by Gautamiputra Satakarni
Overstrikes of Nahapana's coins by the powerful
Earlier scholars such as
Nahapana was founder of one of the two major Saka Satrap dynasties in north-western India, the Kshaharatas ("Satraps"); the other dynasty included the one founded by Chashtana.[20]
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Coin ofGautamiputra Yajna Satakarni struck over a drachm of Nahapana. Circa 167-196 CE. Ujjainsymbol and three arched mountain symbol struck respectively on the obverse and reverse of a drachm of Nahapana.
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Regular design of the coinage ofGautamiputra Yajna Satakarni, which was struck over the coinage of Nahapana
Construction and dedication of Buddhist caves
The Western Satraps are known for the construction and dedication of numerous Buddhist caves in Central India, particularly in the areas of Maharashtra and Gujarat.[21][22]
Karla caves
In particular, the chaitya cave complex of the Karla Caves, the largest in South Asia, was constructed and dedicated in 120 CE by Nahapana, according to several inscriptions in the cave.[21][23][24]
An important inscription relates to Nahapana in the Great Chaitya at Karla Caves (Valukura is thought to be an ancient name for Karla Caves):
Success!! By
Usabhadata, the son of Dinaka and the son-in-law of the king, the Khaharata, the Kshatrapa Nahapana, who gave three hundred thousand cows, who made gifts of gold and a tirtha on the river Banasa, who gave to the Devas and Bramhanas sixteen villages, who at the pure tirtha Prabhasa gave eight wives to the Brahmanas, and who also fed annually a hundred thousand Brahmanas- there has been given the village of Karajika for the support of the ascetics living in the caves at Valuraka without any distinction of sect or origin, for all who would keep the varsha.— Inscription of Nahapana, Karla Caves.[25]
Nahapana vihara at Nasik
Parts of the Nasik Caves also were carved during the time of Nahapana,[22] and the Junnar caves also have inscriptions of Nahapana,[26] as well as the Manmodi Caves.
Cave No.10 "Nahapana Vihara" at the Nasik Caves |
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Nahapana cave in Junnar
In a Buddhist cave of the Bhimasankar group of the
[Raño]jmahākhatapasa sāminahapānasa
[Ā]mātyasa Vachhasagotasa Ayamasa
[de]yadhama cha [po?] ḍhi maṭapo cha puñathaya vase 46 kato[32][31]
"The meritorious gift of a mandapa and cistern by Ayama of the Vatsa-gotra,
Prime Minister to the king, the great Satrap, the Lord Nahapana, made for merit, in the year 46."— Inscription of Nahapana, Manmodi Caves.[31]
References
- ^ ISBN 9781136155314.
- ISBN 9780199096138.
- ^ Seaby's Coin and Medal Bulletin: July 1980. Seaby Publications Ltd. 1980. p. 219.
- ^ ISBN 978-1-332-41465-9.
- ISBN 978-8-120-81408-0.
- ISBN 978-0-7141-1492-7.
- ISBN 978-81-7211-028-4.
- ^ a b c R.C.C. Fynes 1995, p. 44.
- ^ Bhandare, Shailendra, (1999). Historical Analysis, pp. 168-178; Shimada, Akira, (2012). Early Buddhist Architecture in Context: The Great Stupa at Amaravati (ca 300 BCE - 300 CE), Brill, p. 51.
- ^ "The mention of 'Nambanus' whom the scholars have identified as Nahapana in the Periplus of the Erythrean Sea would help us to solve the problem of Nahapana's time.", in "History of the Andhras" Archived March 13, 2007, at the Wayback Machine
- ^ quoted in "The Periplus of the Erythraean Sea: Travel and Trade in the Indian Ocean by a Merchant of the First Century". Fordham University. Retrieved 11 May 2013.
- ^ Prasad, Durga. History of the Andrhas: Up to 1565 AD (PDF). P. G. Publishers. Archived from the original (PDF) on 24 April 2015.
- ^ Maharastra.gov.in Ancient Period Archived March 3, 2007, at the Wayback Machine
- ISBN 9788131711200.
- ISBN 978-1-108-05552-9.
- ISBN 978-81-208-2941-1.
- ^ a b M. K. Dhavalikar 1996, p. 135.
- ^ Bhandare, Shailendra, (1999). Historical Analysis, pp. 168-178; Shimada, Akira, (2012). Early Buddhist Architecture in Context: The Great Stupa at Amaravati (ca 300 BCE - 300 CE), Brill, p.51.
- ^ Bhandare, Shailendra, (1999). Historical Analysis, pp. 168-178
- ISBN 9780852297605.
- ^ a b c World Heritage Monuments and Related Edifices in India, Volume 1 ʻAlī Jāvīd, Tabassum Javeed, Algora Publishing, 2008 p.42
- ^ a b Foreign Influence on Ancient India, Krishna Chandra Sagar, Northern Book Centre, 1992 p.150
- ^ Southern India: A Guide to Monuments Sites & Museums, by George Michell, Roli Books Private Limited, 1 mai 2013 p.72
- Kshatrapasrule in the western Deccan during the 1st century." in Guide to Monuments of India 1: Buddhist, Jain, Hindu - by George Michell, Philip H. Davies, Viking - 1989 Page 374
- ^ Senart, E. (1902–1903). Hultzsch, E. (ed.). Epigraphia Indica. Vol. 7. Kolkata: Government of India Central Printing Office. p. 58.
- ^ Buddhist Critical Spirituality: Prajñā and Śūnyatā, by Shōhei Ichimura p.40
- ISBN 978-1-246-36021-9.
- ^ Fergusson, James; Burgess, James (1880). The cave temples of India. London : Allen. p. 261.
- ^ Mirashi, Vasudev Vishnu (1981). The history and inscriptions of the Sātavāhanas and the Western Kshatrapas. Maharashtra State Board for Literature and Culture. p. 113.
- ^ Archaeological Survey of Western India. Government Central Press. 1879.
- ^ a b c Burgess, Jas (1883). Archaeological Survey Of Western India. p. 103.
- ^ Burgess, Jas (1883). Archaeological Survey Of Western India. p. Plate LIV No.11 (Junnar No.32).
Bibliography
- JSTOR 41702166.
- R.C.C. Fynes (1995). "The Religious Patronage of the Satavahana Dynasty". South Asian Studies. 11 (1): 43–50. .
- R.C. Senior "Indo-Scythian coins and history" Vol IV, ISBN 0-9709268-6-3
External links
- [3], by Durga Prasad, with numerous references to Nahapana.
- Coins of Nahapana
- More coins of Nahapana
- Coins with biography