Apracha

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Apracharajas
(Gandhari): 𐨀𐨤𐨿𐨪𐨕𐨪𐨗
52 BCE–78 CE
Silver coin of the Apracharaja Sases of Apracharajas
Silver coin of the Apracharaja Sases
Approximate location of the Apracharajas.
Approximate location of the Apracharajas.
CapitalBajaur
Common languagesGandhari Prakrit
Religion
Gandharan Buddhism
GovernmentMonarchy
Raja 
• c. 52 BCE
Vijayakamitra
• c. late 1st BCE
Visnuvarma
• c. 2 BCE
Vijayamitra
• c. 32 CE
Indravasu
• c. 50 CE
Indravarma II
• c. Late 1st Century CE
Sases/Phraotes?
Historical eraAntiquity
• Established
52 BCE
• Disestablished
78 CE
CurrencyTetradrachm

The Apracharajas (Gandhari: 𐨀𐨤𐨿𐨪𐨕𐨪𐨗),[1] also known as Avacarajas (Gandhari: 𐨀𐨬𐨕𐨪𐨗),[2] were a local ruling dynasty of Gandhara. Their capital, known as Apracapura or Avacapura, was located in Bajaur,[2] though from numismatic evidence and reliquary inscriptions, it appears that their territory at times encompassed the wider region of Gandhara.[3] The official language of Apracharajas was Gandhari Prakrit, written in the Kharosthi script.

Based on their inscriptions and coinage, the Apracharajas are known to have patronised Buddhism. They constructed stupas and donated reliquaries in honor of the Buddha. The exact genealogical relation of Apracharajas with each other and their origins, however, remain less certain.[4][5]

Origins

The etymology of 'apracharaja' has been the subject of dispute. N. G. Majumdar defined it as 'Kings without rival', however, H. W. Bailey contested this assertion, stating that it simply meant 'Kings of Apraca'.[6]

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.[2] Several other scholars consider the dynasty to be of local origins.[7][8][9]

History

The Apracharajas were mainly based in Gandhara, with their period extending from Menander II to the era of the early Kushans. They were known for supporting Buddhism.[3] Apracharajas were in marital alliance with the rulers of Oddiyana in modern-day Swat.[10]

The dynasty appears to have been founded by Vijayakamitra, a vassal to Menander II according to the Shinkot casket. The Shinkot casket inscription further states that Vijayamitra, a descendant of Vijayakamitra, around half a century after the initial inscription, restored it after it was damaged.[11] He 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[12] before being succeeded by his son Indravasu and then by Indravasu's grandson Indravarma II in c. 50 CE.[13]

Some Apracharajas are documented in the Silver Reliquary (discovered at Sirkap, near Taxila) to have used the title of "stratega," a Greek title denoting a position equivalent to senapati, such as Indravarma who was initially a general during the reign of the Vijayamitra.[14] Indravarma is additionally noted for receiving the Silver Reliquary from the Indo-Scythian monarch Kharahostes, which he subsequently rededicated as a Buddhist reliquary.[15] In another reliquary inscription, Indravarma is noted as the Lord of Gandhara.[16] According to Apracha chronology, Indravarma was the son of Visnuvarma, the Apracharaja preceding Vijayamitra.

Indravarma's son Aspavarma ruled between 20 and 50 CE; based on numismatic evidence, his tenure overlapped with that of Indo-Scythian ruler Azes II and the Indo-Parthian ruler Gondophares.[17] According to a Buddhist Avadana, Aspavarma and a Saka noble, Jhadamitra, discussed the establishment of accommodation for monks during the rainy seasons.[18] A reliquary inscription dedicated in 50 CE by a woman named Ariasrava describes that her donation was made during the reign of Gondophares' nephew, Abdagases I, and Aspavarma.[19]

In an inscription dated to 30 CE, Satruleka, identified as a maternal nephew of Vijayamitra, describes himself as a Satrap. This coincides with the invasion of the Indo-Parthians, suggesting that he was appointed as Satrap in an alliance with Gondophares.[20]

During the dominance of the Indo-Parthians, Sasan, nephew of Aspavarma, emerged as a figure of significance.[21] Aspavarman, a preceding Apracharaja contemporaneous with Gondophares, was succeeded by Sasan, and his coinage shows that he assumed an independent position following Abdagases I.[22][23] The Kushan ruler Vima Takto is known to have overstruck the coins of Sasan, whilst in a hoard the coins of Sasan were found together with that of Kujula Kadphises.[24] In turn, Sasan also overstruck the coins of Nahapana of the Western Satraps, whose rule is dated between 40 and 78 CE.[25]

Apracha reliquary inscriptions

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 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 a living son, and all worthy of worship are worshipped. Patrulaśiśara bathes the relics.

— Satruleka, Nephew of Vijayamitra

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 the Apracarāja, Indravarma the General, and their wives and princes.

—  Bajaur reliquary inscription, Rukhana

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, the Perfectly Awakened One, was dedicated by Vijayamitra the Apracarāja.

— Shinkot casket, Vijayamitra

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, 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 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.

— Prince Indravarma, son of Visnuvarma

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.

— Utara, wife of Indravarma

All Buddhas are worshipped, all past, future, and present Pratyekabuddhas are worshipped, all Noble Ones are worshipped. Utara, 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 is worshipped, Dhramasena, the monk and overseer of new constructions are worshipped.

— Utara, wife of Indravarma

Prince Indragivarma, son of Apracarāja Vijayamitra, establishes relics in Śpadi at a previously unestablished location for the worship of all Buddhas.

— Indragivarma, second son of Vijayamitra

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 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 is honoured. All beings are honoured. All beings are brought to nirvana.The son of the general Vispavarma, the prince Indravarma, together with his wife, 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 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.

— Silver reliquary inscription, Prince Indravarma II

[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

— Ariasrava

Patronage of Buddhism

The Apracharajas embraced Buddhism: they are known for their numerous Buddhist dedications on reliquaries. On their coins Hellenic designs, derived from 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 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 the dynastic genealogy remains uncertain."

— Neelis, Jason, Early Buddhist Transmission and Trade Networks: Mobility and Exchange.[28]

The Bajaur casket was a Buddhist dedication made by Apraca king Indravarman. Metropolitan Museum of Art.[29]

Genealogy

Significant Aprachas

Family tree

Apracharajas
Vijayamitra
(1)
r. c. 1st Century
Indravasu
(2)
r. c. 1st Century
Vispavarma
(3)
r. c. 1st Century
Indravarma
(4)
r. c. 1st Century
Aspavarma
(5)
r. c. 1st Century		Child of
Indravarma
Sasa
(6)
r. c. 1st Century

See also

References

  1. Richard Salomon, The "Avaca" Inscription and the Origin of the Vikrama Era, Journal of the American Oriental Society Vol. 102, No. 1 (Jan. - Mar., 1982), pp. 59–68.
  2. Richard Salomon, 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. 418–452
  3. Neelis, Jason (19 November 2010). Early Buddhist Transmission and Trade Networks: Mobility and Exchange Within and Beyond the Northwestern Borderlands of South Asia. BRILL. p. 118. ISBN 978-90-04-18159-5. The domain of the Apracas was probably centred in Bajaur and extended to Swat, Gandhara, Taxila and other parts of Eastern Afghanistan
  4. "Buddhism and Society in the Indic North and Northwest, 2nd Century BCE–3rd Century CE" (PDF). Loṇa identifies herself as a woman of the inner court, a minor wife of Viṣ̄uvarma, who is here entitled prince. His status as prince indicates that he is eligible to succeed the current Apracarāja ruler, who is neither named here nor elsewhere.... All that can be concluded is that the Apraca dynasty predates all evidence we have for it, sometime in the early to mid 1st century BCE.... The presence of two Apracarājas, Viṣ̄uvarma and Vijayamitra, in this inscription previously presented issues to scholars as they are named without explicit reference as to who was the current or the former... Harry Falk argues that in the Indic Northwest the title was more restricted in its usage, denoting a widowed wife of a deceased ruler who is mother to a present ruler. This is true in the case of Uzaṃda, the still living (tiṣṭhatā) mother of the Oḍirāja Seṇavarma, as it is made explicit that the latter's father, Ajidaseṇa, is deceased. Applying this logic to the case of Rukhuṇa, Falk thus argues that her husband Viṣ̄uvarma is deceased and that Vijayamitra is the living son to whom the title refers and the current ruler. (ruling out the situation in which they reigned concurrently)
  5. "Buddhism and Society in the Indic North and Northwest, 2nd Century BCE–3rd Century CE" (PDF). p. 177. The Apracarājas thus installed their own political system, which was structured in terms of a dynastic hierarchy. At the head were the patriarchs, the rulers who were ubiquitously entitled Apracarāja. Six have been hitherto identified—Vijayamitra I, Viṣ̄uvarma, Vijayamitra II, Indravasu, Vijayamitra III, and Indravarma—although the existence of the three Vijayamitras remains unclear, as does the identity of Indravarma. Underneath them were the Generals, of which four are named—Vaga, Indravarma I (who may have become Apracarāja), Viśpavarma, and Aśpavarma—but their positions in the dynastic lineage are again uncertain in many cases. Finally, several figures are called prince (kumāra)—Viṣ̄uvarma, Indravarma I, Indragivarma, and Indravarma II—of whom at least one was to become a general and two were to become rulers, indicating the status was reserved for potential successors.
  6. "Buddhism and Society in the Indic North and Northwest, 2nd Century BCE–3rd Century CE" (PDF). p. 170. In particular, the etymology of the term Apraca remains obscure and currently there are two interpretations: N.G. Majumdar first proposed an underlying Skt. apratya ('without rival'), i.e., 'kings without rival', which long stood as the accepted interpretation. But H. W. Bailey later suggested that spelling variations in the term evidence formative linguistic stages (apaca > avaca > apraca) suggestive of an Ir. baja, the prefix found today in the modern toponym Bajaur, whence several inscriptions of the Apracarājas, i.e. 'kings of Apraca'.
  7. Greek Gods in the East, Stančo, Ladislav, Charles University in Prague, Karolinum Press, 2012, p. 45
  8. Filigenzi, Anna (2015). Art and Landscape : Buddhist Rock Sculptures of Late Antique Swat/Uḍḍiyāna. Verlag der Österreichischen Akademie der Wissenschaften. pp. 33–34. doi:10.26530/oapen_574675. hdl:20.500.12657/33090. ISBN 978-3-7001-7241-3.
  9. UNESCO (1994). History of civilizations of Central Asia: The Development of Sedentary and Nomadic Civilizations: 700 B.C. to A.D. 250. UNESCO Publishing. p. 199. ISBN 978-92-3-102846-5.
  10. Neelis, Jason (19 November 2010). Early Buddhist Transmission and Trade Networks: Mobility and Exchange Within and Beyond the Northwestern Borderlands of South Asia. BRILL. p. 119. ISBN 978-90-04-18159-5. The apracas were also connected by marital alliance with the Odi kings in the Swat valley since a royal relative and officer named Suhasoma in a Buddhist reliquary inscription of Senavarman was married to Vasavadatta.
  11. Kubica, Olga (14 April 2023). Greco-Buddhist Relations in the Hellenistic Far East: Sources and Contexts. Taylor & Francis. pp. 134–135. ISBN 978-1-000-86852-4.
  12. "Buddhism and Society in the Indic North and Northwest, 2nd Century BCE–3rd Century CE" (PDF). p. 207. The first was dedicated by Prahodi, the woman of the inner court of Vijayamitra, and is dated 32 Vijayamitra (30/31 CE)...This year represents in all likelihood one of Vijayamitra's last as ruler, for the throne would subsequently be given to his son Indravasu..
  13. "Buddhism and Society in the Indic North and Northwest, 2nd Century BCE–3rd Century CE" (PDF). p. 220. More likely is that Indravasu governed until c. 50 CE, whereafter he was succeeded by his grandson Indravarma II
  14. Neelis, Jason (19 November 2010). Early Buddhist Transmission and Trade Networks: Mobility and Exchange Within and Beyond the Northwestern Borderlands of South Asia. BRILL. pp. 118–119. ISBN 978-90-04-18159-5. Another important member of the Apraca lineage was the general (stratega) Aspavarman
  15. Neelis, Jason (19 November 2010). Early Buddhist Transmission and Trade Networks: Mobility and Exchange Within and Beyond the Northwestern Borderlands of South Asia. BRILL. p. 119. ISBN 978-90-04-18159-5. A silver drinking vessel with an animal style ibex figure formerly belonging to the "Yagu king" Kharaosta that was rededicated as a Buddhist reliquary by Indravarman may indicate this object was given to the apracas as a gift in exchange for some form of tribute or assistance
  16. "Buddhism and Society in the Indic North and Northwest, 2nd Century BCE–3rd Century CE" (PDF). pp. 204–205. the Lord Vijayamitra Apracarāja, and Indravarma the General, Ruler of Gandhāra, are worshipped
  17. Neelis, Jason (19 November 2010). Early Buddhist Transmission and Trade Networks: Mobility and Exchange Within and Beyond the Northwestern Borderlands of South Asia. BRILL. p. 119. ISBN 978-90-04-18159-5. Since Aspavarman's coins overlap with late or post-humous issues of Azes II and the Indo-parthian ruler Gondophares, he probably flourished from ca. 20-50 CE.
  18. Khettry, Sarita (2014). "Social Background of Buddhism in Gandhara(c.2 Nd Century Bce to the Middle of the 4th Century Ce)". Proceedings of the Indian History Congress. 75: 44. ISSN 2249-1937. JSTOR 44158359. The name of Aspavarma occurs four times in the eighth avadana of the above mentioned Buddhist manuscripts. The story in the avadana text involves some interaction between Aspavarman and Jhadamitra (a Saka noble) with regard to the provision of a place for the monks to stay during the rainy season. This shows that the Aspavarman was a patron of the Buddhist Samgha.
  19. "Buddhism and Society in the Indic North and Northwest, 2nd Century BCE–3rd Century CE" (PDF). p. 163. the Reliquary Inscription of Ariaśrava et al (No. 31), dated 98 Azes (50/51 CE), whose donor, Ariaśrava, stipulates her relic dedication was made in the reign of Gondopahres' nephew Abdagases and the General Aśpavarma, son of Indravarma I:
  20. "Buddhism and Society in the Indic North and Northwest, 2nd Century BCE–3rd Century CE" (PDF). pp. 174–175. One figure named Śatruleka 2 , who names himself as the 'maternal nephew of the Apracarāja [Vijayamitra], was indeed a satrap...one cannot ignore also that the date of his inscription is 77 Azes (29/30 CE)...or that he was installed as part of a new Indo-Parthian alliance
  21. Sastri, K. a Nilakanta (1957). Comprehensive History Of India Vol.2 (mauryas And Satavahanas). p. 215. The interesting additional information we get from these coins is that Sasan, a former associate of Gondophares and afterwards one of his successors in the Taxila region, was the son of Aspa's brother
  22. Sastri, K. a Nilakanta (1957). Comprehensive History Of India Vol.2 (mauryas And Satavahanas). p. 215. The coins further show that Sasan, who was at first a subordinate ruler under Gondophares, subsequently assumed independent or quasiindependent status.
  23. Srinivasan, Doris (30 April 2007). On the Cusp of an Era: Art in the Pre-Kuṣāṇa World. BRILL. p. 106. ISBN 978-90-474-2049-1. In the Indus valley Gondophares was succeeded by his nephew Abdagases and then by Sases.
  24. Srinivasan, Doris (30 April 2007). On the Cusp of an Era: Art in the Pre-Kuṣāṇa World. BRILL. p. 115. ISBN 978-90-474-2049-1.
  25. Rienjang, Wannaporn; Stewart, Peter (14 March 2018). Problems of Chronology in Gandhāran Art: Proceedings of the First International Workshop of the Gandhāra Connections Project, University of Oxford, 23rd-24th March, 2017. Archaeopress. pp. 16–17. ISBN 978-1-78491-855-2.
  26. "Afghanistan, carrefour en l'Est et l'Ouest" pp. 373. Also Senior 2003
  27. Des Indo-Grecs aux Sassanides, Rika Gyselen, Peeters Publishers, 2007, p. 103
  28. Neelis, Jason, Early Buddhist Transmission and Trade Networks: Mobility and Exchange. Brill, Leiden and Boston. 2011, pp. 117–118. ISBN 978 90 04 18159 5.
  29. Metropolitan Museum of Art notice
  30. Walter, Mariko N. (1 January 2022). "Greek Buddhism? Early religious contacts in Greco-Bactrian and Indo-Greek Kingdoms". The Silk Road: Interwoven History, Vol. 2 Buddhism: 201. Prince Indragivarma, son of Apracarāja Vijayamitra,
  31. Salomon, Richard (1996). "An Inscribed Silver Buddhist Reliquary of the Time of King Kharaosta and Prince Indravarman". Journal of the American Oriental Society. Vol. 116, no. 3. University of Washington. p. 418. JSTOR 605147.
  32. Dating and locating Mujatria and the two Kharahostes, Joe Cribb, p. 29