The Besnagar Pillar inscription was discovered in 1874 in Besnagar, near Vidisha, India. It is engraved on a monolithic pillar erected during the 2nd century CE. The inscription describes how the Greek ambassador Heliodorus, from Taxila, erected the pillar in honor of Vasudeva. It also mentions that Heliodorus was an ambassador of the Indo-Greek king Antialcidas sent to the court of the Indian king Bhagabhadra. The inscription provides important historical information about political and religious developments in 2nd century India, such as the interaction between Indo-Greek and Indian kings and the popularity and worship of Vaishnavism in the region.

1. Besnagar Pillar Inscription
By
Prachi Virag Sontakke

2. AIHC & Arch-C-602: Ancient Indian Palaeography and Epigraphy
Unit I : Definition and Scope of Palaeography and Epigraphy
1. Meaning and scope of Palaeography and Epigraphy
2. Epigraphy as a source of history.
Unit II : Beginning of Writing and Script
3. Antiquity of writing in India
4. Brāhmī script: Theories of origin and Aśokan Brāhmī
5. Origin of Kharos
Unit III : Development of Script
6. Aśokan Brāhmī script
7. Kusana script
8. Gupta brahmi
Unit IV : Historical and Cultural Study of Aśokan, Pre-Kusana and Kusana inscriptions
9. Rummindei Pillar Inscription
10. Besanagar Garud inscription
11. Sarnath Bodhisattva Image Inscription of Kanishka
Unit V : Historical and Cultural Study of Gupta and Post-Gupta Period
12. Mehrauli Iron Pillar Inscription of King Candra
13. Kahaum stone pillar Inscription of Skandagupta
14. Aihole inscription of Pulakeśin II

3. Besnagar Pillar inscription
• Location: Vidisha
• Date : c.2nd cent CE
• Language: Central-western epigraphic Prakrit, with a
few Sanskritized spellings
• Script: Brahmi script of the Sunga period
• Issued by : Heliodoros.
• Nature: Religious. Venerating Vasudeva

4. Location
• Besnagar : near the confluence of Betwa
River and Bais River
• The fertile region was historically important.
• On the trade route between the northern
Gangetic valley, the Deccan and the South
Indian kingdoms of the subcontinent.
• Close to Sanchi and Udayagiri, both ancient
and of significance to Buddhism and
Hinduism

6. Discovery
• 1874-1875: Cunningham
• When Cunningham first saw it, the pillar was thickly encrusted with ritually applied
vermillion.
• This encrusted pillar was the object of worship and ritual animal sacrifice.
• The locals at the time called the pillar the Khamba Baba or Kham Baba.
• Cunningham found a second pillar capital on the ground with an emblem in the form of a
makara (mythical elephant-crocodile-fish composite).
• He assumed that this broken part was part of a lost pillar of the Ashokan period.
• Cunningham found a third pillar capital of similar style, with an emblem in the form of a
kalpadruma (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 cult of Sri Lakshmi

7. Second survey: 1909-1910
• A small Indian and British archaeological team led by H H Lake
revisited the site in 1909.
• After the thick red crust was cleaned out, they found Brahmi script
inscriptions.
• John Marshall reported the discovered inscriptions.

8. 1913-15 excavation
• Led by Bhandarkar
• Left incomplete because the priest blocked efforts citing rights to his home and compound
walls his ancestors had built over the mound.
• Excavations revealed that numerous flood slit deposit of over last 2,000 years.
• Partial dig uncovered an extensive rectangular, square, other substructure & many brick
foundations aligned to the cardinal axes.
• More ruined parts, plates and capitals were also found.
• Relative alignments suggested that Besnagar pillar was likely a part of a more extensive
ancient site

9. Cross-section of the Heliodorus pillar
sketched during the 1913 CE
archaeological excavation

11. Fourth survey-excavation in 1963-1965
• M.D.Khare 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.
• Excavations revealed that the mound under the demolished later era priest home,
contained the brick foundation for a sanctum and pillared halls of an elliptical temple
assigned to 2nd cent BCE.
• 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.
• Secondary foundations were added over time to match the new ground level after major
floods.
• Discoveries confirmed that the Besnagar pillar was a part of a more extensive ancient
temple site.

13. Inscriptions on Pillar
• Two inscriptions on the pillar.
• The inscriptions have been analysed by several authors, such as E. J. Rapson,
Sukthankar, Richard Salomon and Shane Wallace.
• The text of the inscriptions is in the Brahmi script of the Sunga period,
• The language is Central-western epigraphic Prakrit, with a few Sanskritized
spellings.
• The first inscription describes the private religious dedication of Heliodorus.
• The second inscription on the pillar, in the same script, recites a verse from the
Hindu epic Mahabharata

14. • 𑀯𑀤𑁂𑀯𑀲 𑀯(𑀲𑀤𑁂)𑀯𑀲 𑀕𑀭𑀼𑀟𑀥𑁆𑀯𑀚𑁄 𑀅𑀬𑀁
• Devadevasa Vā[sude]vasa Garuḍadhvaje ayaṃ
• 𑀓𑀭𑀼𑀢𑁄 𑀇(𑀅) 𑀳𑁂𑀮𑀺𑀉𑁄𑀤𑁂𑀭𑁂𑀡 𑀪𑀸𑀕
• karito i[a] Heliodoreṇa bhāga-
• 𑀯𑀢𑁄𑀦 𑀤𑀺𑀬𑀁𑀲 𑀧𑀼𑀢𑁄𑀡 𑀢𑀔𑁆𑀔𑀲𑀮𑀺𑀓𑁂𑀦
• vatena Diyasa putreṇa Takhkhasilākena
• 𑀬𑁄𑀦𑀤𑀺𑀢𑁄𑀦 𑀅𑀕𑀢𑁄𑀦 𑀫𑀳𑀸𑀭𑀼𑀚𑀲
• Yonadatena agatena mahārājasa
• 𑀅𑀢𑀮𑀺𑀓𑀢𑀲 𑀉𑁄𑀧𑀼𑀢 𑀲𑀓𑀲𑀭𑀼𑀜𑁄
• Aṃtalikitasa upa[ṃ]tā samkāsam-raño
• 𑀓𑀲𑀧𑀼𑀢𑀲 𑀪𑀸𑀕𑀪𑀸𑀤𑀺𑀲 𑀢𑀢𑀭𑀼𑀲
• Kāsīput[r]asa [Bh]āgabhadrasa trātārasa
• 𑀯𑀲𑁂𑀦 (𑀘𑀢)𑀤𑀺𑀲𑁂𑀦 𑀭𑀼𑀚𑁄𑀦 𑀯𑀥𑁆𑀯𑀫𑀦𑀲
• vasena [chatu]daseṃna rājena vadhamānasa
• 𑀢𑀦 𑀅𑀫𑀢𑁋𑀧𑀼𑀤𑀺𑀦 (𑀇𑀫𑁂) (𑀲)𑀅𑀦𑀣𑀺𑀢𑀦
• Trini amuta𑁋pādāni (i me) (su)anuthitāni
• 𑀦𑁂𑀬𑀁𑀢 𑀲(𑀕) 𑀤𑀺𑀫 𑀘𑀕 𑀅𑀧𑀼𑀫𑀤𑀺
• neyamti sva(gam) dama cāga apramāda

15. Inscribed Text: Part I
• Line 1. This Garuda-standard of Vāsudeva, the god of gods
• Line 2. was constructed here by Heliodora (Heliodoros), the
Bhagavata,
• Line 3. son of Dion, a man of Takhkhasila (Taxila),
• Line 4. the Greek ambassador who came from the Great King
• Line 5. Amtalikita (Antialkidas) to King
• Line 6. Kasiputra Bhagabhadra, the Savior,
• Line 7. prospering in (his) fourteenth regnal year

16. Inscribed Text: Part II
• Line 1. (These?) three steps to immortality, when correctly followed,
• Line 2. lead to heaven: control, generosity, and attention.
• (The virtues in the inscription have been variously translated by different
scholars.
• John Irwin, for example, translates it as "Restraint, Renunciation and
Rectitude)

18. Deciphered text
• This Garuda-pillar of Vãsudeva, the god of gods, was constructed here
by Heliodora, the Bhãgavata, son of Diya, of Takhkhasilã, the Greek
ambassador who came from the Great King Amtalikita to King
Kãsîputra Bhãgabhadra, the Savior, prospering in (his) fourteenth
regnal year.
• (These?) three steps to immortality, when correctly followed, lead to
heaven: control, generosity, and attention

20. Significance of inscription
Political
Religious
Architectural

21. Political significance: King Bhagbhadra
• Rapson + Marshal + Raichaudhary + Mookherji + Sircar : Bhagbhadra = 5th king of
Sungas ‘Bhadrak’.
• Bhandarkar + Jaggannatha + Govind Pai + A.K.Narain: Bhagbhadra= 9th king of Sunga
dynasty ‘Bhagvata’.
• Basis: Bhagvata purana.
• Some: Bhagabhadra = A local ruler
• Basis: Excavations by Hartel near Mathura (Sonkh) have shown that the Sunga dynasty
may have ended before the Heliodorus pillar was installed.
• Vogel: Kasiputas Bhagbadra = From Benaras.

22. Bhagbhadra as Sunga king
• Validates that the Sungas ruled in the area of Vidisha around 100 BCE
• This is also corroborated by nearby Sanchi stupa belonging to the
period of the Sungas.
• Although the capital of the Sungas was at Pataliputra, they were known
to have held court at Vidisha.

24. Political history: Indo Greeks & Sungas
• Earlier Indo Greeks attacking Sungas.
• Pushyamitra Sunga supressed them.
• Change of tables: Coming of ambassador of Indo Greek King to court of Sunga king.
• Contact between Taxila and Vidisha.
• Calling him Trataras = Protector
• Probably sent his ambassador to seek help against his enemy Apollodotus & Strato.
• Antialkidas lost Taxila to Apollodotous.
• Hepled given or not?

25. Political significance: King Antalikita
• Indo Greek King Antialkidas ruling in Punjab.
• 115-100 BCE.
• Silver tetradrachm of King Antialkidas, c.115–95. Obverse:
ΒΑΣΙΛΕΩΣ ΝΙΚΗΦΟΡΟΥ ΑΝΤΑΛΚΙΔΟΥ in Greek. Reverse: Maharajasa
jayadharasa amtialikidasa in Kharoshti.
• Heliodors was the ambassador of king Antialkidas (here depicted on one of his coins).

26. Religious history
• H.C.Raichaudhary: Most significant amongst all epigraphs of India.
• Popularity of Vaishnavism in Vidisha in 2nd cent CE
• Worship of idol of Vasudeva.
• Construction of temples and Garuda dwaj for Vasudeva.
• Enthusiasm of foreigners towards Vaishnavism.
• Knowledge of Mahabharata among foreigners.

27. Significance:
Architectural
• Construction of Garud dhwaj.
• Monolithic pillar with capital at top.
• Octagonal at base, 16 sided at
middle, 32 sided at top.
• A garland dividing upper & middle
portions.
• Marshall: Persipolian bell type capital