Heliodorus pillar - Knowledge

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has a base support of two placement stones held with a layer of stone-metal. Above this was an untrimmed stone portion of the pillar. Above the untrimmed section is a trimmed octagonal cross-section. The original ground level was about 4.5 centimeter above the junction of the untrimmed and trimmed section. Above the length with octagonal facet is the section of the pillar with sixteen facets. Above the sixteenths section is the thirty-two faceted section, beyond which is the short round pillar section all the way to the top where sat the crowning emblem (now missing). The pillar is about 17.7 feet above a square platform (12 feet side), and the platform itself is about 3 feet high above the ground. The currently visible portion of the pillar's octagonal section is about 4 feet 10 inches high. The sixteenths section is fully visible and is 6 feet 2 inches high. The thirty-twos is also fully visible and is about 11.5 inches high, while the round section is 2 feet and 2 inches high. The bell capital is about 1 feet 6 inches deep and 1 feet 8 inches wide. The abacus is a 1 feet 7 inch sided ornate square.

543:) of an elliptical temple. Further excavations below the foundation revealed a different foundation of likely a more ancient temple. These ancient temple foundation, layout and structures were similar to those discovered at Chittorgarh (Rajasthan). A more comprehensive excavation underneath the pillar and around the pillar led to the discovery that the pillar itself was much deeper, had a metal-stone interface, features Cunningham's early report had missed, and that secondary foundations were added over time to match the new ground level after major floods. Further, many more structures and items were discovered at the site. The archaeologists discovered that the Heliodorus pillar itself was one of eight pillars, all aligned along the north-south axis. These discoveries confirmed that the Besnagar Heliodorus pillar was a part of a more extensive ancient temple site. 519: 1012: 1720: 1323: 1415: 1206: 1311: 357: 1180: 113: 1678: 1164: 937: 477: 426:

carved fan, rosettes, the faceted symmetry merging into a round section. He also guessed there may be an inscription below the crust, and reported the pillar as, "the most curious and novel" of all his discoveries. Near the standing Besnagar pillar, Cunningham found the remains of a fan-palm pinnacle, which he thought originally belonged to the pillar. Assuming that this broken part was part of the standing pillar, he sketched a composite version. The fan-palm design is otherwise known to be associated to the worship of

1054: 502: 3548:"The rider of the horse holds a portable pillar-standard (dhvaja stambha) related to the stationary type seen since Maurya and pre-Maurya times, here probably intended as a royal insignia. It is interesting to note resemblance between this standard with its square abacus, lotus capital, and bird-man creature called a kinnara and what was probably the original concept of the Heliodorus Garuda pillar at Vidisa. Since this particular sculpture of the Bharhut vedika was dedicated by an individual from 1659: 1631: 5407: 556: 1230: 40: 609: 710:, as described in some Puranic lists. However, later excavations by German archaeologists near Mathura (Sonkh) have shown that the Sunga dynasty may have ended before the Heliodorus pillar was installed. Therefore, it is probable that the Bhagabhadra may have been a local ruler. The virtues in the shorter inscription has been variously translated by different scholars. John Irwin, for example, translates it as "Restraint, Renunciation and Rectitude". 1358:(gathering hall) – were found. These sections had a thick support base for their walls. These core temple remains cover an area of 30 x 30 m with 2.40 m. The sections had post-holes, which likely contained the wooden pillars for the temple superstructure above. In the soil were iron nails that likely held together the wooden pillars. According to Khare, the superstructure of the temple was likely made of wood, mud and other perishable materials. 406: 1719: 967: 1297:

different mounds along the river, within a kilometer from the pillar. Lake speculated these to be variously related to Buddhism, Hinduism and Jainism. Near the Heliodorus pillar site, his team discovered Sapta-Matrikas (seven mothers of the Shaktism tradition of Hinduism), dating to the 5th–6th century CE. These discoveries suggest that Besnagar was probably an important ancient temples and pilgrimage site.

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Vāsudeva, with a wooden pillar (Garuda dhvaja) in front of the east-facing elliptical shrine. This too was destroyed by floods sometime in the 2nd-century BCE. In late 2nd-century BCE, after some ground preparation, yet another Vāsudeva temple was rebuilt, this time with eight stone pillars aligned in the north-south cardinal axis. Only one of these eight pillars have survived: the Heliodorus pillar.

1562:, and Heliodorus originated from Taxila where Buddhism was strong. At the time of Dahlquist's 1962 publication, he stated there was no proof that a sect of Vishnu-Krishna devotees existed at that time in Taxila. Lastly, according to Dahlquist, there is no definite evidence that Vāsudeva should necessarily refer to Vishnu-Krishna. As god-of-the-god, Vāsudeva can well be associated with 151: 133: 386:(formerly, Bais River and the basis for "Bes"-nagar). The fertile region was historically important because it was on the trade route between the northern Gangetic valley, the Deccan and the South Indian kingdoms of the subcontinent. The Besnagar site is at the northeastern periphery of the confluence, and close to 1477:, which shows that he was already widely considered as a deity by that time, and probably as early as the 4th century according to literary evidence. In the Heliodorus pillar, Vāsudeva-Krishna was worshipped as the "God of Gods", the Supreme Deity. At one point Vāsudeva-Krishna came to be associated to the God 1365:(Chittorgarh, Rajasthan) – about 500 kilometers to the west of Vidisha, and the Nagari temple too has been dated to the second half of the 1st-millennium BCE. The archaeological discoveries about Vāsudeva Krishna at the Mathura site – about 500 kilometers to the north, states Khare, confirm that Garuda, 1528:

devotional practices although he might have been the one to erect a column that is still extant. Certainly there were numerous others including the king who sent him as an ambassador." Professor Kunja Govinda Goswami of Calcutta University concludes that Heliodorus "was well acquainted with the texts

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However, the understanding of Vāsudeva as an emanation of Vishnu probably appeared much later, as there is nothing to suggest it in the early evidence: the worship of Vāsudeva between the 4th century BCE and the 2nd century BCE was a warrior-hero worship, after which the progressive amalgamation with

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with birds (swag with flowers, leaves and hanging vines). Early scholars mistook it as geese (or swan), but a closer examination revealed that they are regular pigeon-like birds, not geese (nor swan). The upper festoon is about 6.5 inches long. According to Donald Stadtner, the capitals found at the

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In 1910, an archaeological team led by H H Lake revisited the Heliodorus pillar site and nearby mounds. They found the Brahmi inscriptions on the pillar, and noticed several mistakes in the early Cunningham report. They also found many other broken wall pieces, pillar sections and broken statues in

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The 1913–15 excavations, though partial, revealed that the modern era Besnagar site had experienced numerous floods that had deposited silt over the last 2,000 years. The partial dig uncovered an extensive rectangular, square and other substructure and many brick foundations aligned to the cardinal

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According to Indologist Edwin F. Bryant, Heliodorus converted to the Krishna religion during this period. This is evident from the column dedicated to Garuda, Vishnu's eagle carrier, which features an inscription where Heliodorus identifies himself as a devotee of Vasudeva Krishna. The fact that a

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The 1913 excavation revealed that a significant part of the Heliodorus pillar is below the platform. It sits on top of the remains of a more ancient pillar probably damaged by floods. Over time, silt from various floods have deposited and a raised platform was added at some point. The pillar shaft

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which somewhat derogatorily mentions both Vāsudeva and Baladeva The Jataka tales too include a story about Krishna. Heliodorus converted to the Krishna religion when he was serving as an envoy. The Heliodorus pillar's inscription is generally dated to the late 2nd century BCE or about 100 BCE, is

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The pillar and the unusual inscriptions attracted two larger archaeological excavations. The first was completed between 1913 and 1915, under Bhandarkar, but left incomplete because the priest blocked efforts citing rights to his home and compound walls his ancestors had built over the mound. The

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Excavation of the huge Temple of Vāsudeva next to the Heliodorus pillar. The Temple measured 30x30 meters, and the walls were 2.4 meters thick. Pottery remains assigns the site to the 2nd century BCE. Further excavations also revealed the outline of a smaller elliptic temple structure, which was

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The 1963–65 excavations suggest that the site had an elliptical shrine – possibly 4th to 3rd-century BCE – with a brick foundation and likely a wooden superstructure. This was destroyed by a flood around 200 BCE. New soil was then added and the ground level raised to build a new second temple to

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Cunningham, an avid British archaeologist credited with many discoveries of ancient sites on the subcontinent, saw no inscription due to the thick crust surrounding the pillar. He nevertheless sensed its historical significance from the shape and the visible features such as the crowning emblem,

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When Cunningham first saw it, the pillar was thickly encrusted with ritually applied red paste (vermillion). This encrusted pillar was the object of worship and ritual animal sacrifice. Next to the red-colored pillar was a high soil mound, and on top of the mound a priest had built his home and

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reported the discovered inscriptions, and to everyone's surprise, the longer inscription related to a Greek ambassador named Heliodorus of 2nd-century BCE and the deity Vāsudeva. An additional smaller inscription on the pillar listed human virtues, later identified to be from a verse of the

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second excavation was completed between 1963 and 1965, under Khare, who had convinced the locals to move their religious practice to a location near a tree close by and relocating the priest's family. The archaeologists for the second excavation had full access to the Besnagar pillar site.

1573:, ignoring all the "indications to the contrary", and dispute Dahlquist's treatment of the evidence. The Greek texts that describe ancient India, have numerous references that suggest the existence of Vishnu-Krishna before the time of Heliodorus. For example, there is little doubt that 1341:

The 1963–65 excavations revealed that the Heliodorus pillar was a part of an ancient temple site. The archaeologists found an ancient elliptical foundation, extensive floor and plinth produced from burnt bricks. Further, the foundations for all the major components of a Hindu temple –

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together with the other artefacts initially discovered at the site. In particular, a statue fragment in the Gwalior Museum, composed of bird's feet holding a Naga, with the tail end resting on a portion of a vedika, may correspond to the lost Garuda capital of the Heliodorus pillar.

1373:. The Heliodorus pillar was a part of an ancient Vaishnava temple. According to Susan Mishra and Himanshu Ray, the Heliodorus pillar Besnagar site (2nd century BCE) and the Nagari site (1st century BCE) are perhaps the "earliest Hindu temples" that archaeologists have discovered. 1612:

During the Besnagar site excavations by archaeologists Lake and Bhandarkar, a number of additional inscriptions were found such as one in Vidisha. These also mention Vaishnava-related terms. In one of those inscriptions, is the mention of another Bhagavata installing a pillar of

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The Garuda capital of the Heliodorus pillar has not been found in the surveys, but it has been suggested that it had already been excavated by Cunningham, who was unaware of the Garuda attribution of the pillar, and that the remains of this Garuda capital were transferred to the

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prominent foreign envoy embraced the Krishna tradition in the first century BCE suggests that the tradition had established firm roots by then. Moreover, there are several other inscriptions prior to the Common Era, created by Indian sponsors of the Vasudeva Krishna tradition.

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The Heliodorus pillar is neither tapered nor polished like the ancient Ashokan pillars found in India. It is also about half the diameter of Ashoka pillars. The Brahmi inscriptions are found on the octagonal surface just below the lower ornamental band of half-rosettes.

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and the band found in Besnagar. They have elephants and lions, which are absent in Besnagar. According to Julia Shaw, the elephants and lions motif is typically found with Buddhist art of this period. The two styles have differences yet informed the other, states Shaw.

451:(mythical elephant-crocodile-fish composite). He assumed, based on the shape of the bell, which he considered "of true Ashokan proportions", that this broken part was part of a lost pillar of the Ashokan period. Further, about a kilometer away, Cunningham found 1205: 1003:, the town where the Heliodorus pillar is located, as explained in the attached dedicatory inscription, which suggests that the Garuda capital in the Bharhut relief may just be an imitation of the one on the Heliodorus pillar. The inscription in 1108:

The presence of these pillar capitals, found near the Heliodorus pillar, suggests that the Bhagavata worship, although centered around the figures of Vāsudeva and Saṃkarṣaṇa, may also have involved the worship of other Vrishni deities, such as

2969:"Venerating Vāsudeva, as did Heliodor in the time of Antialkidas, should not be regarded as a "conversion" to Hinduism, but rather as the result for a search for the most helpful local powers, upholding own traditions in a foreign garb." in 4782:"Venerating Vāsudeva, as did Heliodor in the time of Antialkidas, should not be regarded as a "conversion" to Hinduism, but rather as the result of a search for the most helpful local powers, upholding own traditions in a foreign garb."in 4718:"Whether as a diplomatic gesture or as a result of personal conviction, Heliodorus declared himself a Bhagavata, which by then evidently meant acknowledgement of Vasudeva as supreme deity; and the pillar which he dedicated to the god" in 1179: 1132:

Excavations suggests that these various pillars with their symbolic capitals were standing in line at the site, and that the Heliodorus pillar was just one of them, standing at the northern end of the line. Although the pillars are

1546:, it was a logical and normal practice for Greeks to make dedications to foreign gods, as they were just interested in appropriating their power, and this natural Greek behaviour cannot be construed as a "conversion to Hinduism". 1089:(crocodile) capital, a banyan-tree capital, and a possible statue of the goddess Lakshmi, also associated with the Bhagavat worship. Just as Garuda is associated with Vāsudesa, the fan-palm capital is generally associated with 988: 1381:

The Heliodorus pillar, being dated rather precisely to the period of the reign of Antialkidas (approximately 115–80 BCE), is an essential marker of the evolution of Indian art during the Sunga period. It is, following the

343:. An alternative interpretation is that making dedications to foreign gods was only a logical practice for the Greeks, intended to appropriate their local power and cannot be regarded as a "conversion" to Hinduism. 575:

The ornamental bands on the pillar are at the junctions of the octagon-sixteenths and sixteenths-thirty-seconds sections. The lower ornamental band consists of half-rosettes, while the upper ornamental band is a

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Between 1909 and early 1910, nearly 30 years after the pillar's discovery, a small Indian and British archaeological team led by H H Lake revisited the site. After the thick red crust was cleaned out, they found

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Alternatively, the dedication made by Heliodorus to Vāsudeva as supreme deity may simply have been a diplomatic gesture. This may also have been an instance of a typically Greek religious practice: according to

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of the 1st century BCE. It is thought that "by the beginning of the Christian era, the worship of Vasudeva, Vishnu and Narayana amalgamated". As a third step, Vāsudeva-Krishna was incorporated into the

3265:, Annual Report 1913-1914, Archaeological Survey of India, Government of India Press, pages 186–225 with plates; the ASI Annual Report 1914-15 pages 66–81; the ASI Western Circle Report 1915, 1447:, a type of formation very common in Sanskrit signifying "of, belonging to, descended from". The worship of Vāsudeva may have evolved from the worship of a historical figure belonging to the 1163: 5502: 3552:, as indicated by an inscription, this resemblance is even more remarkable and may indicate that the Bharhut form was based specifically on the Vedika pillar, or a common prototype." in 1630: 319:

in 1877. Two major archaeological excavations in the 20th-century have revealed the pillar to be a part of an ancient Vāsudeva temple site. Aside from religious scriptures such as the

1386:, the next pillar to be associated clearly with a datable inscription. The motifs on the pillar are key in dating some of the architectural elements of the nearby Buddhist complex of 518: 5243: 1658: 5967: 1011: 461:(wishing tree). Cunningham assumed this discovery too was related to the Besnagar pillar in some way. The kalpa tree design is otherwise known to be associated to the goddess 1524:. Hopkins, chairman of the department of religious studies at Franklin and Marshall College, has said, "Heliodorus was presumably not the earliest Greek who was converted to 468:

Later research showed that the fan palm pinnacle could not fit, and the discovery of the inscription on the pillar suggested that a Garuda emblem was crowning the structure.

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axes. More ruined parts, plates and capitals were also found. The relative alignments suggested that the Besnagar pillar was likely a part of a more extensive ancient site.

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whose evidence has survived. But some scholars, most notably A. L. Basham and Thomas Hopkins, are of the opinion that Heliodorus was not the earliest Greek to convert to

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in Sanchi are dated to the last quarter of the 2nd century BCE due to their similarity with architectural motifs on the Heliodorus pillar as well as similarities of the

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and are considered the first archeological evidence of its existence. The pillar has been called one of the earliest surviving records of a foreign convert into

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Indology's Pulse Arts in Context, Doris Meth Srinivasan Festschrift Volume, Eds. Corinna Wessels Mevissen and Gerd Mevissen with Assistance of Vinay Kumar Gupta

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Indology's Pulse Arts in Context, Doris Meth Srinivasan Festschrift Volume, Eds. Corinna Wessels Mevissen and Gerd Mevissen with Assistance of Vinay Kumar Gupta

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Indology's Pulse Arts in Context, Doris Meth Srinivasan Festschrift Volume, Eds. Corinna Wessels Mevissen and Gerd Mevissen with Assistance of Vinay Kumar Gupta

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Other sculptures and pillar capitals were found near the Heliodorus pillar, and it is thought they were dedicated to Vāsudeva's kinsmen, otherwise known as the

1157:) by a Gautamiputra Bhagavata, suggesting that there may have been two Garuda pillars, just as there were two fan-palm pillars, in front the Vāsudeva Temple. 112: 5744: 5507: 1117:

emblem may have been incorporated into the Vāsudeva shrine. In effect, the findings surrounding the Heliodorus pillar suggest the worship of a trio of the

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Heliodorus pillar site are similar, yet different in ways from the Sunga capitals found at Sanchi. The Sanchi discoveries lack the clockwise birds, the

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probably destroyed by the end of the 3rd century BCE. The platform and the base of the Heliodorus pillar are visible in the immediate background.

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Images of the deities were probably present in shrines adjoining the pillars, in a style rather similar with their depiction on the coinage of

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which symbolizes joining earth, space and heaven, and is thought to connote the "cosmic axis" and express the cosmic totality of the Deity.

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