Sodasa
| Author:Laxman Burdak, IFS (R) |
Sodasa (शोडास) (80-57 BC) was an Indo-Scythian, and the son of the Great Satrap of Mathura Rajuvula.
Variants
- Shodasa (शोडास) (80-57 ई. पू.)
History
He is mentioned in the Mathura lion capital.
Sodasa reigned during the 1st century CE, and also took the title of Great Satrap, probably in the area of Mathura as well, but apparently under the suzerainty of the Indo-Parthian king Gondophares.
Sodasa was a contemporary of Nahapana.
Mora Mathura well inscription of five Vrishni Viras in 1st century BC
In the 1st century BC, there seems to be evidence for a worship of five Vrishni heroes Balarama, Krishna, Pradyumna, Aniruddha and Samba) for an inscription has been found at Mora near Mathura, which apparently mentions a son of the great satrap Rajuvula, probably the satrap Sodasa, and an image of Vrishni, "probably Vasudeva, and of the "Five Warriors".[1] Brahmi inscription on the Mora stone slab, now in the Mathura Museum.[2], [3]
Doris Srinivasan writes that The Mora well inscription, dating to early decades of CE, kindles anticipation that images of Vrishni Viras should be forthcoming in the Mathura region. At Mora a village 7 miles from Mathura, an inscription was found which states that the images of five Vrishni Heroes were installed in a stone shrine of a person called Tosa (तोषा).[4] Five Vrishni Viras have been identified from a passage in Vayu Purana (97.1-2). They are Samkarsana, Vadudeva, Pradyumna, Sāmba, and Aniruddha.[5] The Vishnudharmottara Purana mentions these five deities within a series that also includes Devaki, Yashoda, Ekanaṃṥā, Rukmini, Satyabhama, and Yuyudhana.[6] The Mora well inscription is one of several testimonials of beliefs preceding and leading upto the formation of Hindu sect of Vaishnavism. Vaishnavism is preceded by the Bhagavata religion of which first stage is the cult of Panchavira Vrishnis.[7]
Seven miles west of Mathura in the small and unimposing village of Mora, General Cunningham made another vital find regarding the historicity of Vaisnavism. In 1882, on the terrace of an ancient well, he discovered a large stone slab filled with inscriptions. Although more than half of the writing had already peeled away on the right side, the remainder was legible. It was transcribed, and a facsimile of the inscription was published in the Archaeological Survey of India’s Annual Report. The message was clear. Not only was Krishna worshiped in the centuries before Christ, but also His expansions or associates, especially "the five heroes of the Vrishni Clan." Scholarly research makes evident that these five are Krishna (Vasudeva), Balarama (Sankarshana), Pradyumna, Samba, and Aniruddha.[8]
In 1908, a Dr. Vogel had the Mora Well slab removed to the Mathura Museum and tried to tamper with the translations of the inscriptions in order to throw the Vedic religion into a bad light. However, because the contents of the inscriptions had already been published authoritatively and were well known in academic circles, Dr. Vogel’s efforts at creating disinformation failed. The complex theology, metaphysics, and cosmology of Sanatana Dharma and Vaisnavism definitely existed in an advanced state centuries before Christ. The Mora Well inscription is an important archeological proof of this historical fact. [9]
मोरा, जिला मथुरा
विजयेन्द्र कुमार माथुर[10] ने लेख किया है ....मोरा गाँव (AS, p.764) ज़िला मथुरा, उत्तर प्रदेश में स्थित है। मोरा ग्राम से महाक्षत्रप शोडास (80-57 ई. पू.) के समय का एक शिला पट्ट लेख प्राप्त हुआ था जो मथुरा के संग्रहालय में है। इससे ज्ञात होता है कि इस ग्राम में तोषा नामक किसी स्त्री ने एक मंदिर बनवाकर पंचवीरों की मूर्तियां स्थापित की थीं। डॉ. ल्यूडर्स के मत में इस लेख में जिन पंचवीरों का उल्लेख है वे कृष्ण, बलराम आदि यदुवंशीय योद्धा थे। लेख उच्चकोटि की संस्कृत में है और छंद भुजंगप्रयात है। इसी ग्राम से एक स्त्री की मूर्ति भी प्राप्त हुई है जो ल्यूडर्स के मत में तोषा की है। यहीं से तीन महावीरों
[p.765]: की मूर्तियां मिली थीं जो अब मथुरा-संग्रहालय में सुरक्षित हैं। एक अभिलिखित ईट भी मोरा से प्राप्त हुइ थी जो मथुरा संग्रहालय में सुरक्षित है जिससे ज्ञात होता है कि जिस भवन में यह ईंट लगी थी उसे बृहस्पतिमित्र की पुत्री राजभार्या यशोमती ने बनवाया था। यह बृहस्पतिमित्र वहीं शुंग-वंशीय नरेश जान पड़ता है जिसके सिक्के कौशांबी तथा अहिच्छत्र में प्राप्त हुए थे। यशोमती का विवाह मथुरा के किसी राजा से हुआ होगा।
मोरा से क्षत्रप रंजुबल का भी अभिलेख प्राप्त हुआ है। इसमें इसे महाक्षत्रप कहा गया है। इसका समय प्रथम शती ई. है। शकक्षत्रपों के इन अभिलेखों से सिद्ध होता है कि मथुरा पर प्रथम-द्वितीय शती ई. में शकों का प्रभुत्व था।
References
- ↑ Barnett, Lionel David (1922). Hindu Gods and Heroes: Studies in the History of the Religion of India. J. Murray. p. 93.
- ↑ Puri, B.N. (1968). India in the Time of Patanjali. Bhartiya Vidya Bhavan.Page 51: The coins of Raj uvula have been recovered from the Sultanpur District.. the Brahmi inscription on the Mora stone slab, now in the Mathura Museum
- ↑ Barnett, Lionel David (1922). Hindu Gods and Heroes: Studies in the History of the Religion of India. J. Murray. p. 92.
- ↑ See H. Luders,Seven Brahmi Inscriptions from Mathura and its vicinity, Epigraphic Indica, xxiv, 1937-38, 194-200
- ↑ J N Banerji, Religion in Art and Archaeology (Vausnavism and Shavism),Lucknow, 1968,pp.12-13
- ↑ Vishnudharmottara Purana, III.85.71-79
- ↑ Many Heads, Arms, and Eyes: Origin, Meaning, and Form of Multiplicity in Indian Art By Doris Srinivasan, Ch. XVI, p.211
- ↑ [http://www.stephen-knapp.com/hinduism_predates_christianity.htm Hinduism Predates Christianity: The Archeological Proof By Stephen Knapp ]
- ↑ [http://www.stephen-knapp.com/hinduism_predates_christianity.htm Hinduism Predates Christianity: The Archeological Proof By Stephen Knapp ]
- ↑ Aitihasik Sthanavali by Vijayendra Kumar Mathur, p.764-765