The Rukhuna reliquary, also sometimes Rukhana reliquary, also described as the Bajaur reliquary inscription, is a Scythian

reliquary A reliquary (also referred to as a ''shrine'', ''Chasse (casket), chasse'', or ''phylactery'') is a container for relics. A portable reliquary, or the room in which one is stored, may also be called a ''feretory''. Relics may be the purported ...

which was dedicated and inscribed in 16 CE by Rukhuna, Queen of

Indo-Scythian The Indo-Scythians, also known as Indo-Sakas, were a group of nomadic people of Iranian peoples, Iranic Scythians, Scythian origin who migrated from Central Asia southward into the present-day regions of Afghanistan, Eastern Iran and the northwe ...

king

Vijayamitra Vijayamitra was an Apracharajas, Apracharaja who ruled in Gandhara, with his capital in Bajaur. He succeeded the previous Apracharaja, Visnuvarma, in 3 BCE with a reign lasting til 32 CE. Rukhana reliquary Vijayamitra is mentioned in a recently ...

(ruled 12 BCE - 20 CE). The inscription on the reliquary, also called the Bajaur reliquary inscription, was published by Richard Salomon with a photograph in 2005, and gives a relationship between several eras of the period, and especially a confirmation of a Yavana era (''Yoṇaṇa vaṣaye'') in relation to the Azes era, that is "Azes era= Yavana era - 128 years".

Inscription

The inscription is very useful to clarify relative chronologies during the period. The inscription reads: In Kharoshthi, the referential dates at the beginning of the inscription appear both in words and in numbers, together with the name of the era they are calculated in, and are given as follows: This dedication also indicates that King Vijayamitra and his wife Rukhuna were followers of Buddhism. Since Vijamitra is said to have ruled 27 years already, his reign started in 12 BCE, and ended probably a few years after the dedication took place, around 20 CE. The authenticity of the inscription is nearly unanimously accepted by the academic community, Gérard Fussman being a dissenting voice.

Similar examples of reliquaries

Darunta steatite container.jpg, The Darunta reliquary from Passani Stupa No.2 is structurally similar to the Rukhuna reliquary, especially with the inside compartments. File:Bimaran steatite container.jpg, Another similar example: the Bimaran casket. This reliquary is inscribed on the outside, rather than the inside. File:PlatesAiKhanoum.jpg, Broadly similar stone containers with compartments from

Ai-Khanoum Ai-Khanoum (, meaning 'Lady Moon'; ) is the archaeological site of a Hellenistic city in Takhar Province, Afghanistan. The city, whose original name is unknown, was likely founded by an early ruler of the Seleucid Empire and served as a mili ...

, 2nd century BCE. File:AiKhanumVessel.jpg, Stone vessels ('' pyxides'') from the Temple with niches, Sanctuary of

, 3rd-2nd century BCE.

Notes

References

*Baums, Stefan. 2012. “Catalog and Revised Texts and Translations of Gandharan Reliquary Inscriptions.” In: David Jongeward, Elizabeth Errington, Richard Salomon and Stefan Baums, ''Gandharan Buddhist Reliquaries'', pp. 212–213, Seattle: Early Buddhist Manuscripts Project (Gandharan Studies, Volume 1). *Baums, Stefan, and Andrew Glass. 2002–
''Catalog of Gāndhārī Texts''
nos
CKI 405
* * Richard SALOMON, "A New Inscription dated in the "Yona" (Greek) Era of 186/5 B.C." in Afghanistan, ancien carrefour entre l'est et l'ouest, O. Bopearachchi, M.-F. Boussac (eds.), 2005, Languages: French, Englis

{{Gandhara 1st-century inscriptions Indo-Scythian peoples Reliquaries Archaeological discoveries in Pakistan