Coin of Aspavarma, mentioning his father Indravarman. Obv King mounted on a horse, holding a whip. Greek legend around ΒΑΣΙΛΕΩΣ ΒΑΣΙΛΕΩΝ ΜΕΓΑΛΟΥ / ΑΖΟΥ. RevPallas Athena holding spear, and triratna symbol. Kharoshthi legend around Iṃdravarmaputrasa Aśpavarmasa strategasa jayatasa "Victorious general Aspavarma, son of Indravarma".
Indravarman or Indravarma (Kharosthi: 𐨀𐨁𐨎𐨡𐨿𐨪𐨬𐨪𐨿𐨨Iṃ-dra-va-rma, Iṃdravarma[1]), also called Itravasu on his coinage, was an Indo-Scythian king of the Apracas, who ruled in the area of Bajaur in modern northwestern Pakistan. He was the son of Vispavarma.[2] Indravarma had a son, Aspavarma, commander and later king, known from an inscription discovered at Taxila.[3] Aspavarma also mentioned his father Indravarma on some of his coins.
Indravarman is mainly known from his dedicatory inscription on the Bajaur casket, an ancient reliquary from the area of Bajaur in ancient Gandhara, in the present-day Federally Administered Tribal Areas of Pakistan. It is dated to around 5-6 CE.[4]
The inscription which is written in Kharoshthi, translates into English as:
In the sixty third year of the late great king Aya (Azes), on the sixteenth day of the month of Kartia (Kartika), at this auspicious (?) time, Prince Indravarma (Indravarman), son of the king of Apraca, establishes these bodily relics of Lord Sakyamuni; …. He produces brahma-merit together with his mother, Rukhunaka, daughter of Aji…. And these bodily relics having been brought in possession from the Muraka cave stupa, were established in a secure (?), safe, deep (?), depository…
The casket proves the involvement of the Scythian kings of the Apraca, in particular King Indravarman, in Buddhism.
Indravarma is also known from a seal inscription, which was discovered in Bajaur.[3] He may have had a sister named Vasavadatta, who is known from the dedication of a water pot.[3]
Indravarma is also known for another Buddhist inscription on a silver reliquary in which he mentions him and his father Vispavarma, who was not yet a king. The inscription which is written in Kharoshthi, translates into English as:
Prince Indravarma, son of Commander Vispavarma, together with his wife establishes these bodily relics in his own stupa. Commander Vispavarma and Sisirena, the wife of the Commander, are (hereby) honored. Indravasu, king of Apraca, and his wife Vasumitra, who is the mother of a living son, are (hereby) honored
The date of the Silver reliquary is thought to be anterior to the Bajaur casket, as Indravarma describes his father as "Commander", rather than the later "King" title. It was probably dedicated in the end of the 1st century BCE.[5]
^Cunningham, Alexander, COINS OF THE INDO-SCYTHIANS. The Numismatic Chronicle and Journal of the Numismatic Society, Third Series, Vol. 8 (1888), pp. 199-248
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. 207–208, 233–234, Seattle: Early Buddhist Manuscripts Project (Gandharan Studies, Volume 1).
Richard Salomon (January–March 1982). "The "Avaca" Inscription and the Origin of the Vikrama Era". Journal of the American Oriental Society. 102 (1): 59–68. doi:10.2307/601111. JSTOR601111.
^An Inscribed Silver Buddhist Reliquary of the Time of King Kharaosta and Prince Indravarman, Richard Salomon, Journal of the American Oriental Society, Vol. 116, No. 3 (Jul. - Sep., 1996), pp. 442 [1]
^A Kharosthī Reliquary Inscription of the Time of the Apraca Prince Visnuvarma, by Richard Salomon, South Asian Studies 11 1995, Pages 27-32, Published online: 09 Aug 2010 [2]
