The Bharhut Yavana is a

high relief High may refer to: Science and technology * Height * High (atmospheric), a high-pressure area * High (computability), a quality of a Turing degree, in computability theory * High (tectonics), in geology an area where relative tectonic uplift t ...

of a warrior which was discovered among the reliefs of the railings around the

Bharhut Bharhut is a village in the Satna district of Madhya Pradesh, central India. It is known for a Buddhist stupa, unique in that each panel is explicitly labelled in Brahmi characters saying what the panel depicts. The major donor for the Bharhut st ...

Stupa. It is dated to circa 100 BCE, with a range from 150 BCE to 80 BCE. The relief is currently in the

Indian Museum Indian Museum (formerly called Imperial Museum of Calcutta) is a grand museum in Central Kolkata, West Bengal, India. It is the ninth oldest museum in the world and the oldest, as well as the largest museum in Asia, by size of collection. It ...

Kolkata Kolkata, also known as Calcutta ( its official name until 2001), is the capital and largest city of the Indian state of West Bengal. It lies on the eastern bank of the Hooghly River, west of the border with Bangladesh. It is the primary ...

."The Diffusion of Classical Art in Antiquity, John Boardman, 1993, p.112 The man in the relief has been described as a

Greek Greek may refer to: Anything of, from, or related to Greece, a country in Southern Europe: *Greeks, an ethnic group *Greek language, a branch of the Indo-European language family **Proto-Greek language, the assumed last common ancestor of all kno ...

, called "

Yavana The word Yona in Pali and the Prakrits, and the analogue Yavana in Sanskrit, were used in Ancient India to designate Greek speakers. "Yona" and "Yavana" are transliterations of the Greek word for "Ionians" (), who were probably the first Gre ...

s" among the Indians.

Characteristics

The role of the standing warrior is that of a

dvarapala A Dvarapala or Dvarapalaka (Sanskrit, "door guard"; IAST: ' ) is a door or gate guardian often portrayed as a warrior or fearsome giant, usually armed with a weapon - the most common being the Gada (mace), ''gada'' (mace). The dvarapala statue i ...

, deities who were Guardians of a temple gate. Bharhut Stupa Yavana symbolism

Many elements point to the depiction being that of a foreigner, and possibly an

Indo-Greek The Indo-Greek Kingdom, also known as the Yavana Kingdom, was a Hellenistic period, Hellenistic-era Ancient Greece, Greek kingdom covering various parts of modern-day Afghanistan, Pakistan and northwestern India. The term "Indo-Greek Kingdom" ...

, called a

among the Indians of the period. Elements leading to this suggestion are the hairstyle (short curly hairstyle without an

India India, officially the Republic of India, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, seventh-largest country by area; the List of countries by population (United Nations), most populous country since ...

turban A turban (from Persian language, Persian دولبند‌, ''dolband''; via Middle French ''turbant'') is a type of headwear based on cloth winding. Featuring many variations, it is worn as customary headwear by people of various cultures. Commun ...

), the hair band normally worn by Indo-Greek kings on their coins, the tunic, and boots. In his right hand he holds a

grape A grape is a fruit, botanically a berry, of the deciduous woody vines of the flowering plant genus ''Vitis''. Grapes are a non- climacteric type of fruit, generally occurring in clusters. The cultivation of grapes began approximately 8,0 ...

plant, possibly emblematic of his origin. The sheath of his broadsword is decorated with a srivasta or

nandipada The ''Nandipada'' ("foot of Nandi") is an ancient Indian symbol, also called a taurine symbol, representing a bull's hoof or the mark left by the foot of a bull in the ground. The nandipada and the zebu bull are generally associated with Nandi ...

, symbols of

Buddhism Buddhism, also known as Buddhadharma and Dharmavinaya, is an Indian religion and List of philosophies, philosophical tradition based on Pre-sectarian Buddhism, teachings attributed to the Buddha, a wandering teacher who lived in the 6th or ...

. He is holding in his right hand a

vine A vine is any plant with a growth habit of trailing or scandent (that is, climbing) stems, lianas, or runners. The word ''vine'' can also refer to such stems or runners themselves, for instance, when used in wicker work.Jackson; Benjamin; Da ...

, which could also be

ivy ''Hedera'', commonly called ivy (plural ivies), is a genus of 12–15 species of evergreen climbing or ground-creeping woody plants in the family Araliaceae, native to Western Europe, Central Europe, Southern Europe, Macaronesia, northwestern ...

. This type of head with the band of a Greek king is also seen on reliefs at

Sanchi Sanchi Stupa is a Buddhist art, Buddhist complex, famous for its Great Stupa, on a hilltop at Sanchi Town in Raisen District of the States and territories of India, State of Madhya Pradesh, India. It is located, about 23 kilometers from Raisen ...

, in which man in northern dress are seen riding horned and winged lions."The Diffusion of Classical Art in Antiquity, John Boardman, 1993, p.112 Note 91 It has been suggested that the warrior is actually the

king

Menander Menander (; ; c. 342/341 – c. 290 BC) was a Greek scriptwriter and the best-known representative of Athenian Ancient Greek comedy, New Comedy. He wrote 108 comedies and took the prize at the Lenaia festival eight times. His record at the Cit ...

who may have conquered Indian territory as far as

Pataliputra Pataliputra (IAST: ), adjacent to modern-day Patna, Bihar, was a city in ancient India, originally built by Magadha ruler Ajatashatru in 490 BCE, as a small fort () near the Ganges river.. Udayin laid the foundation of the city of Pataliput ...

and is known through the

Milinda Panha The ''Milindapañha'' () is a Buddhist text which dates from sometime between 100 BC and 200 AD. It purports to record a dialogue between the Indian Buddhist sage Nāgasena, and the 2nd century BC Indo-Greek king Menander I (Pali: ''Milinda'') ...

to have converted to

Inscription

The inscription at the top, classified as Inscription 55 in the Pillars of Railing of the SW Quadrant at Bharhut (The Stupa of Bharhut, Cunningham, p. 13

, is in the Brahmi script and reads from left to right:

Other instances of foreigners in Indian Temples

Besides this relief in Bharhut, devotees in Greek attire also appear in number at the Buddhist Stupa of

. Some of them appear to be making a dedication to Southern Gateway of the Great Stupa.John Marshall, A Guide to Sanchi, 191
p.57ff
(Public Domain text) The official notice at Sanchi reads " :File:Scene Index - North Gateway - Stupa 1 - Sanchi Hill 2013-02-21 4272.JPG, Foreigners worshiping Stupa". The relief shows 18 of these foreigners and 4

Gandharva A ''gandharva'' () is a member of a class of celestial beings in Indian religions, such as Hinduism, Buddhism, and Jainism, whose males are divine performers such as musicians and singers, and the females are divine dancers. In Hinduism, they ...

celestial deities in the sky above. These have been called "Greek-looking foreigners" wearing Greek clothing complete with

tunic A tunic is a garment for the torso, usually simple in style, reaching from the shoulders to a length somewhere between the hips and the ankles. It might have arm-sleeves, either short or full-length. Most forms have no fastenings. The name deri ...

s, capes and sandals, typical of the Greek travelling costume, and using Greek and

Central Asian Central Asia is a region of Asia consisting of Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, and Uzbekistan. The countries as a group are also colloquially referred to as the "-stans" as all have names ending with the Persian language, Pers ...

musical instruments ( the double flute

aulos An ''aulos'' (plural ''auloi''; , plural ) or ''tibia'' (Latin) was a wind instrument in ancient Greece, often depicted in art and also attested by archaeology. Though the word ''aulos'' is often translated as "flute" or as " double flute", ...

, or the

carnyx The ancient carnyx was a wind instrument used by the Celts during the Iron Age, between and . It was a type of trumpet made of bronze with an elongated S shape, held so that the long straight central portion was vertical and the short mouthpie ...

-like Cornu horns), possibly pointing to the

Indo-Greeks The Indo-Greek Kingdom, also known as the Yavana Kingdom, was a Hellenistic-era Greek kingdom covering various parts of modern-day Afghanistan, Pakistan and northwestern India. The term "Indo-Greek Kingdom" loosely describes a number of var ...

. The men are depicted with short curly hair, often held together with a

headband A headband or hairband is a clothing accessory worn in the hair or around the forehead, usually to hold hair away from the face or eyes. Headbands generally consist of a loop of elastic material or a horseshoe-shaped piece of flexible plast ...

of the type commonly seen on Greek coins. Three inscriptions are known from

donors at Sanchi, the clearest of which reads "''Setapathiyasa Yonasa danam''" ("Gift of the

Yona The word Yona in Pali and the Prakrits, and the analogue Yavana in Sanskrit, were used in Ancient India to designate Greek speakers. "Yona" and "Yavana" are transliterations of the Greek word for "Ionians" (), who were probably the first Gr ...

of Setapatha"), Setapatha being an uncertain city.The Idea of Ancient India: Essays on Religion, Politics, and Archaeology,

SAGE Publications Sage Publishing, formerly SAGE Publications, is an American independent academic publishing company, founded in 1965 in New York City by Sara Miller McCune and now based in the Newbury Park neighborhood of Thousand Oaks, California. Sage ...

India, Upinder Singh, 201
p.18
/ref> Around 113 BCE,

Heliodorus Heliodorus is a Greek name meaning "Gift of the Sun". Several persons named Heliodorus are known to us from ancient times, the best known of which are: * Heliodorus (minister) a minister of Seleucus IV Philopator c. 175 BC * Heliodorus of Athen ...

, an ambassador of the

ruler

Antialcidas Antialcidas Nikephoros (; epithet means "the Bearer of Victory" or "the Victorious", Brahmi: 𑀅𑀁𑀢𑀮𑀺𑀓𑀺𑀢𑀲 ''Aṃtalikitasa'', in the Heliodorus Pillar) was a king of the Indo-Greek Kingdom, who reigned from his capital at ...

, is known to have dedicated a pillar, the

Heliodorus pillar The Heliodorus pillar is a stone column that was erected around 113 BCE in central India in Besnagar (Vidisha), Madhya Pradesh. The pillar is commonly named after Heliodorus (identified by him as a Garuda-standard), who was an ambassador of the In ...

, around 5 miles from Sanchi, in the village of

Vidisha Vidisha (विदिशा, formerly known as Bhelsa and known as Besnagar and Bhaddilpur in ancient times) is a city in Indian state of Madhya Pradesh and the administrative headquarters of Vidisha district. It is located 62.5 km north ...

. {, class="wikitable" style="margin:0 auto;" align="center" colspan=1 cellpadding="3" style="font-size: 80%; width: 100%;" , align="center" colspan=1 style="background:#F4A460; font-size: 100%;", Northwestern foreigners at

, - , File:Sanchi Stupa 2 man on horse.jpg, Foreigner on a horse, circa 115 BCE, Stupa No2.An Encyclopaedia of Indian Archaeology, by

Amalananda Ghosh Amalananda Ghosh (3 March 1910 – 1981) was an Indian archaeologist, author and editor of numerous works on India's ancient civilizations, and the organizer and director of archaeological expeditions during the mid-1900s. Education Ghosh was ...

, BRIL
p.295
/ref>Buddhist Landscapes in Central India: Sanchi Hill and Archaeologies of Religious and Social Change, C. Third Century BC to Fifth Century AD, Julia Shaw, Left Coast Press, 201
p.90
/ref> File:Foreigners at Sanchi Stupa I North Gateway.jpg, Foreign devotees and musicians on the Northern Gateway of Stupa I, circa 100 BCE. File:Foreigners in Greek dress playing carnyxes and aolus flute at Sanchi.jpg, Detail of the foreigners, in Greek dress and playing

es and aolus flute. File:Torana of Stupa 3 in Sanchi Foreign riders.jpg, Foreign horseriders, Southern Gateway of Stupa 3. File:Torana of Stupa 3 in Sanchi Foreigner fighting a Makara.jpg, Foreigner with headband fighting a

Makara Makara () is a legendary sea-creature in Hindu mythology. In Hindu astrology, Makara is equivalent to the Zodiac sign Capricorn. Makara appears as the vahana (vehicle) of the river goddess Ganga, Narmada, and of the god of the ocean, Varun ...

Torana A ''torana'' (; '' awr-uh-nuh') is a free-standing ornamental or arched gateway for ceremonial purposes in Hindu architecture, Hindu, Buddhist and Jain architecture of the Indian subcontinent. Toranas can also be widely seen in Southeast Asi ...

of Stupa 3 in

. Stupa 3 front architrave bottom panel right post.jpg, Hero with headband wrestling a Makara. File:Foreigners riding winged lions Sanchi Stupa 1 Eastern Gateway.jpg, Foreigners holding grapes and riding winged lions, Sanchi Stupa 1, Eastern Gateway.

References

2nd-century BC sculptures 1st-century BC sculptures Archaeological sites in Madhya Pradesh Indo-Greeks Menander I Reliefs Sculptures of men in India