Rajuvula

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thumb|300px|Coin_of_Rajuvula, AE.
Obv: Bust of king Rajuvula, with Greek legend.
Rev: Pallas standing right (crude). Kharoshthi

Rajuvula was an Indo-Scythian Great Satrap ("Mahakshatrapa") who ruled in the area of Mathura in northern India in the years around 10 CE. In central India, the Indo-Scythians conquered the area of Mathura over Indian kings around 60 BCE. Some of their satraps were Hagamasha and Hagana, who were in turn followed by Rajuvula.

Rajuvula is thought to have invaded the last of the Indo-Greek territories in the eastern Punjab, and killed the last of the Indo-Greek kings, Strato II and his son.

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" [Journal of the Royal Asiatic Society of Great Britain & Ireland, 1894, p 533, Royal Asiatic Society of Great Britain and Ireland; See also: Journal of the Royal Asiatic Society of Great Britain & Ireland, 1907, p 1025, Royal Asiatic Society of Great Britain and Ireland; Ancient India: From the Earliest Times to the First Century AD, 1964, p 158, Dr E. J. Rapson.] , which was an older view supported by Bühler, Rapson, Lüders and others. But according to later view propounded by Sten Konow, [Corpus Inscrioptionum Indicarum, Vol II, Part I, pp xxxvi, 36, 47, Dr S Konow.] and accepted by later scholars [Journal of the Royal Asiatic Society of Great Britain and Ireland, 1990, p 141, Royal Asiatic Society of Great Britain and Ireland; Political History of Ancient India, 1996, p 394, Dr H. C. Raychaudhury, Dr B. N. Mukerjee; Kunst aus Indien: Von der Industalkultur im 3. Jahrtausend V. Chr. Bis zum 19. Jahrhundert n ..., 1960, p 9, Künstlerhaus Wien, Museum für Völkerkunde (Vienna, Austria); History of Civilizations of Central Asia, 1999, 201/ 207, Ahmad Hasan Dani, Vadim Mikhaĭlovich Masson, János Harmatta, Boris Abramovich Litvinovskiĭ, Clifford Edmund Bosworth, Unesco; Aspects of Ancient Indian Administration, 2003, 58, D.K. Ganguly; District Gazetteers, 1959, p 33, Uttar Pradesh (India); Five Phases of Indian Art, 1991, p 17, K. D. Bajpai; History of Indian Administration, 1968, p 107, B. N. Puri; The Śakas in India, 1981, p 119, Satya Shrava; Ṛtam, p 46,by Akhila Bharatiya Sanskrit Parishad, Lucknow; Prācīna Kamboja, jana aura janapada =: Ancient Kamboja, people and country, 1981, Dr Jiyālāla Kāmboja, Dr Satyavrat Śāstrī; Indian Linguistics, 1964, p 549, Linguistic Society of India; A History of Indian Buddhism: From Sakyamuni to Early Mahayana, 1998, p 230, Akira Hirakawa; Cf: An Inscribed Silver Buddhist Reliquary of the Time of King Kharaosta and Prince Indravarman, Journal of the American Oriental Society, Vol. 116, No. 3 (Jul. - Sep., 1996), pp. 439, Richard Salomon, University of Washington. The author Richard Salomon accepts Dr Konow's views as probably correct.] , the principal donor making endowments was princess Aiyasi Kamuia, "chief queen of Rajuvula" and "daughter of Yuvaraja Kharaosta Kamuio" [Mahaksha [tra] vasa Rajulasa agra-maheshi Ayasia Kamuia dhida Kharaostasa yuvarana mada Nada-diakasa [taye] sadha matra Abuhola [e] ......Kharaosto yuvaraya Kamuio..] [ See also the Links: [http://www.grifterrec.com/y/cribb/ekk_cribb_03.html] and [http://www.europabarbarorum.com/factions_saka_history.html] ] . Nadasi Kasa (or Nada Diaka) was daughter of Ayasia Kamuia.

According to an older view, Yuvarja Kharaosta Kamuio was thought to be son of Ayasi Kamuia who in turn was thought to be widow of Arta whom Rajuvula later married [See quote in: Aspects of Ancient Indian Administration, 2003, p 58, D.K. Ganguly.] . Konow refuted this view, and concluded that Ayasia Kamuia, chief queen of Rajuvula, was daughter and not the mother of Kharaosta Kamuio. The fact that the last name 'Kamuia' has been used both by Yuvaraja Kharaosta as well as princess Aiyasi clearly proves that Aiyasi Kamuia "was the daughter and not mother of Yuvaraja Kharaosta Kamuio (Kambojaka)", since such family-names or designations are naturally inherited from the father's side and not from the mother's [See: Corpus Inscriptionum Indicarum, Vol II, part I, p 36 & xxxvi, Dr Stein Konow; Journal of the Royal Asiatic Society of Great Britain and Ireland, 1990, p 141, Journal of the Royal Asiatic Society of Great Britain and Ireland; Prācīna Kamboja, jana aura janapada =: Ancient Kamboja, people and country, 1981, p 227/228, Dr Jiyālāla Kāmboja, Dr Satyavrat Śāstrī), The Kambojas Through the Ages, 2005, p 168, Kirpal Singh.] [Dr S. Konow convincingly argues that Yuvaraja Kharaosta is respectfully dmentioned twice (II A.1 and E.1) and in prominent positions in the Capital record, and this would befit only a senior relative of the family of the queen making the endowments, and not a junior member like a son or grand son. Moreover, the Aiyasi Kamuia expressly states a close relationship with Kharaosta and also claims that latter's concurrence for making the endowments has been obtained (See: Corpus Inscriptionum Indicarum II, I, pp xxxv-vi, 36; An Inscribed Silver Buddhist Reliquary of the Time of King Kharaosta and Prince Indravarman, Journal of the American Oriental Society, Vol. 116, No. 3 (Jul. - Sep., 1996), pp. 440, Richard Salomon, University of Washington; Prācīna Kamboja, jana aura janapada =: Ancient Kamboja, people and country, 1981, pp 227/228, Dr Jiyālāla Kāmboja, Dr Satyavrat Śāstrī; The Kambojas Through the Ages, 2005, p 168, Kirpal Singh.] . Hence, Dr Konow's interpretation appears more convincing.

The capital also mentions the genealogy of several Indo-Scythian satraps of Mathura.

The presence of the Buddhist symbol triratana at the center of the capital suggests that Rajuvula was, at least nominally, following the Buddhist faith.

Sodasa, son of Rajuvula, succeeded him and also made Mathura his capital.

Notes

References

*"Monnaies Gréco-Bactriennes et Indo-Grecques, Catalogue Raisonné", Osmund Bopearachchi, 1991, Bibliothèque Nationale de France, ISBN 2-7177-1825-7.
* "The Shape of Ancient Thought. Comparative studies in Greek and Indian Philosophies" by Thomas McEvilley (Allworth Press and the School of Visual Arts, 2002) ISBN 1-58115-203-5
* "Buddhism in Central Asia" by B.N. Puri (Motilal Banarsidass Pub, January 1, 2000) ISBN 81-208-0372-8
* "The Greeks in Bactria and India", W.W. Tarn, Cambridge University Press.