Arjuna of Paratarajas

Arjuna
Kings of Kings
Paratarajas ruler Arjuna Circa 150-165 CE
Arjunasa Yolamiraputrasa Pāratarājasa translates to "Of the king of the Paratas, Arjuna, son of Yolamira"
3rd ruler of the Paratarajas
Reign150 CE–165 CE[1]
PredecessorBagamira
SuccessorHvaramira
IssueYolatahma
FatherYolamira
ReligionZoroastrianism

Arjuna[2] was the third ruler of Paratarajas. He succeeded his brother Bagamira and ruled areas of modern day Pakistan. He ruled for a significant time period before he was overthrown by his brother Hvaramira.[3]

Coinage

"Paratarajas" coins of Arjuna
Arjuna coin, circa 150–165 CE, derived from the Paratarajas. Vertical Brahmi legends from right to left:
Paratarajas the Pāratarāja[4]
The word "Paratarajas" in Brahmi script Pāratarāja as it appeared on the bottom left corner of Arjuna coins circa 165 CE.[5][6]

Arjuna released coins in a sequence of two or three. The coins created in the first phase were drachms and hemidrachms created using obverse dies from Arjuna's father with a swastika on the reverse turning to the right.[7][8] The coins created in the second phase consist of drachms and hemidrachms produced with new obverse dies and with a reverse swastika turning left. It is possible that during this phase, Arjuna produced didrachms, but no examples are presently known to exist.[9] In a likely third stage, Arjuna had drachms made with the die from stage two, and also a reverse where the swastika was turned right.[10] If this die is not from stage two, then it could have been produced at the beginning of stage two with no third stage.[11][12]

Etymology

He has an Indian name that is associated with the famous character from the Mahabharata, a Pandava prince. It is reasonable to assume this indicates that his mother was also Indian and therefore there was a practice of kings of Pärata having more than one wife.[13][14][15]

References

  1. ↑ Curtis, Vesta Sarkhosh; Alram, Michael; Daryaee, Touraj; Pendleton, Elizabeth (2016-08-30). The Parthian and Early Sasanian Empires: Adaptation and Expansion. Oxbow Books. p. 125. ISBN 978-1-78570-210-5.
  2. ↑ Tandon, Pankaj. "Figure 2 - from Further Light on the Paratarajas: An". Academia.edu. Retrieved 2026-05-23.
  3. ↑ "The COININDIA Coin Galleries: Paratarajas or Parata Rajas". coinindia.com. Retrieved 2026-05-22.
  4. ↑ Tandon 2021, p. 5–7.
  5. ↑ Tandon, Pankaj (2009). "An Important New Copper Coin of Gadahara". Journal of the Oriental Numismatic Society (200): 15.
  6. ↑ Tandon, Pankaj (2012). "The Location and Kings of Pāradān". Studia Iranica. 41 (1): 36. doi:10.2143/SI.41.1.2170700. ISSN 1783-1784.
  7. ↑ "Paratarajas, Arjuna, son of Yolamira, AR drachm (150-165 AD)".
  8. ↑ Tandon, Pankaj (2019). "New evidence on Parataraja chronology". Chronicle: 4.
  9. ↑ Tandon 2021, p. 6.
  10. ↑ Tandon 2021, p. 6–7.
  11. ↑ Paratarajas-Synthesis (PDF). Bosten University. p. 7.
  12. ↑ Tandon, Pankaj (2007-01-01). "The Coins of the Pāratarājas: A Synthesis". Chronicle: 7.
  13. ↑ Tandon 2021, p. 7.
  14. ↑ Mukherjee, B.N (1972). The Paradas: A study in their coinage and history (PDF). Culcutta: Pilgrim Publishers. p. 10.
  15. ↑ Falk, H (2007). The Names of the Pāratarājas Issuing Coins with Kharoṣṭhī Legends.The Numismatic Chronicle Vol. 167. p. 172.

Sources

Further reading

This page is issued from Wikipedia. The text is available under Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 4.0 unless otherwise noted. Additional terms may apply for the media files.