Reh Inscription
| Reh inscription | |
|---|---|
 The Brahmi script Reh inscription | |
| Writing | Prakrita, Brahmi script |
| Created | 2nd Century BCE - 2nd century CE |
| Place | , Fatehpur district, India |
| Present location | , Fatehpur district, India |
| Part of a series on |
| Shaivism |
|---|
 |
 Hinduism portal |
The Reh Inscription was discovered in 1979 near the Reh archaeological site along Yamuna River about 350 kilometres (220 mi) east of Mathura in India. It is a Prakrit inscription in Brahmi script near the bottom of a Shiva linga. The inscription is dated to between the 2nd century BCE and 2nd century CE based on the script style.[1]
The fragmentary inscription was published by the historian G. R. Sharma in 1980, who proposed that it mentions the Indo-Greek king Menander I. This theory has been discredited by other scholars such as B.N. Mukherjee and Richard Salomon, though the Reh inscription is acknowledged as an important new discovery.[2] The Reh inscription is significant in establishing the existence of aniconic representation of Shiva and Shaivism ideas in ancient north India.
Location[]
The Reh inscription is found on a Shiva linga pillar in a Hindu temple. It was discovered by an Indian research student of Allahabad University named D.P. Sharma who was visiting , Fatehpur district, Uttar Pradesh, in the Ganges valley. The site is about 96 kilometres (60 mi) west of Kausambi and 350 kilometres (220 mi) south-east of Mathura, on the left bank of the Yamuna river.[3][1]
Inscription[]
The fragmentary Brahmi script inscription is on the bottom of a polished Shiva linga shaft made from sandstone that was at some point cut out from its original location.[3] Three of its lines are well preserved, the fourth is at the edge of where the linga was cut off and is damaged. Other lines if any below the fourth line are lost.[3][1] The Shiva linga, at the time of the inscriptions discovery, was consecrated in Hindu temple's sanctum. This, states Bivar, suggests that the local Hindus may have unearthed the Shiva linga with its inscription quite some time ago.[1] The cascade of interest and the antiquity of the Shiva linga led the temple authorities to formally embed and consecrate the linga in its sanctum. The inscription is no longer viewable. Only photographs taken at the time of its discovery are the current source of scholarship on Reh inscription.[3][1]
The Shiva linga on which the Reh inscription is found is referred in scholarly literature as the "Reh Linga".[4] It is in three parts, states Doris Srinivasan, with a dome of 68 centimetres (27 in), shaft of 77 centimetres (30 in) and rest being the base that was presumably part of the foundation where the linga was installed.[4][note 1]
Dating[]
G.R. Sharma proposed that the Reh inscription is from the 2nd-century BCE and is related to the Indo-Greek king Menander, which if true would make the linga the oldest known Shaivism artifact as well as support Sharma's theory that Greek heritage king and his army "invaded Ganges valley and were responsible for widespread devastation and pillaging of ancient India", a "holocast" [sic],[5] destruction of Buddhist sites and historic change in India's economic, social and religious landscape.[3] Later scholars do not agree with this dating or Sharma's interpretation.[4] According to other scholars, Sharma's identification with Menander is based on interpolation and in flawed synthesis.[1][6] Setting aside Sharma's interpretation and analysis, the epigraphical evidence confirms that the Reh Linga and inscription was created sometime between the 2nd century BCE and 2nd century CE.[2][1][6] Doris Srinivasan states that the evidence suggests this can be further narrowed down to 1st-century BCE and 1st century CE.[4][7]
Text[]
The inscription reads:
mahārājasa rājarājasa
mahāṁtasa trātārasa dhāṁmī
kasa Jayaṁtasa ca Apra
Sharma's inscription extrapolation and proposal[]
Sharma has extrapolated the badly damaged fourth line of the inscription, to suggest that the Reh inscription may originally have been:
mahārājasa rājarājasa
mahāṁtasa trātārasa dhāṁmī
kasa Jayaṁtasa ca Apra
[jitasa] Minānada[de?]rasa....– Extrapolated Reh Inscription[9]
| Translation (English) |
Transliteration (original Brahmi script) |
Inscription (Prakrit in the Brahmi script) |
|---|---|---|
|
Of the king of kings, |
|