Northern Satraps

File:Coins of Strato and Rajuvula discovered together in a mound in Mathura.jpg ruler Strato (r.{{Circa|25 BCE}} to 10 CE, top) and Indo-Scythian ruler of Mathura Rajuvula (r.{{Circa|10 BCE}} to 10 CE, bottom) discovered together in a mound in Mathura.{{cite book |last3=Cunningham |title=The journal of the Asiatic Society of Bengal. |date=1854 |pages=689–691 Plate XXXV|publisher=Bishop's College Press |url=https://www.biodiversitylibrary.org/item/124458#page/788/mode/1up}}{{cite book |last1=Allan |first1=John |title=Catalogue of the coins of ancient India |date=1936 |pages=cxv |url=https://archive.org/details/in.gov.ignca.47211/page/n117}} The coins of Rajuvula were derived from those of Strato.{{cite book |last1=Rosenfield |first1=John M. |title=The Dynastic Arts of the Kushans |date=1967 |publisher=University of California Press |page=135 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=udnBkQhzHH4C&pg=PA135 |language=en}}]]

In central India, the Indo-Scythians are thought to have conquered the area of Mathura over Indian kings, presumably the Datta dynasty, around 60 BCE. Due to being under the scrutiny of the Kushan Empire, as a satrapy and not wholly independent, they were called the Northern Satraps. Some of their first satraps were Hagamasha and Hagana, they were in turn followed by Rajuvula who gained the title Mahakshatrapa or great satrap. However, according to some authors, Rajuvula may have been first.{{citation needed|date=April 2018}}

File:Indo-Scythian ruler Rajuvula.jpg, from his coinage.]]

Rajuvula is considered as one of the main Northern Satraps. He was a Great Satrap (Mahakshatrapa) who ruled in the area of Mathura in northern India in the years around 10 CE, under the authority of the Indo-Scythian king Azilises.History of Early Stone Sculpture at Mathura: Ca. 150 BCE - 100 CE, Sonya Rhie Quintanilla, BRILL, 2007, p.170 [https://books.google.com/books?id=rtqvCQAAQBAJ&pg=PA170] In Mathura, he sometimes used the term "Basileus" (king) next to his title of Satrap, which implies a higher level of autonomy from the Indo-Scythian center in northwestern India. On the obverse of his coinage, he often uses in the Greek script the title "King of Kings, the Saviour".{{cite book |last1=Sircar |first1=D. C. |title=Studies in Indian Coins |date=2008 |publisher=Motilal Banarsidass Publisher |isbn=9788120829732 |page=373 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=m1JYwP5tVQUC&pg=PA373 |language=en}}

In Mathura, Rajuvula established the famous Mathura lion capital, now in the British Museum, which confirms the presence of Northern Satraps in Mathura, and sheds some light on the relationships between the various satraps of Northern India.The Dynastic Arts of the Kushans, by John M. Rosenfield, University of California Press, 1967 p.135 [https://books.google.com/books?id=udnBkQhzHH4C&pg=PA135] His coins are found near Sankassa along the Ganges and in Eastern Punjab. Their style is derived from the Indo-Greek types of Strato II. Rajuvula conquered the last remaining Indo-Greek kingdom, under Strato II, around 10 CE, and took his capital city, Sagala. Numerous coins of Rajuvula have been found in company with the coins of the Strato group in the Eastern Punjab (to the east of the Jhelum) and also in the Mathura area:Mathurā and Its Society: The ʼSakæ-Pahlava Phase, Bratindra Nath Mukherjee, Firma K.L.M., 1981, p.9 for example, 96 coins of Strato II were found in Mathura in conjunction with coins of Rajuvula, who also imitated the designs of Strato II in the majority of his issues.{{Cite web |url=http://numismatics.org/digitallibrary/ark:/53695/nnan63894/pdf |title=Bibliography of Greek coin hoards, p. 194-195 |access-date=8 December 2016 |archive-date=25 May 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180525113741/http://numismatics.org/digitallibrary/ark:/53695/nnan63894/pdf |url-status=dead }}

The coinage of the period, such as that of Rajuvula, tends to become very crude and barbarized in style. It is also very much debased, the silver content becoming lower and lower, in exchange for a higher proportion of bronze, an alloying technique (billon) suggesting less than wealthy finances.

File:MathuraLionCapital.JPG, a dynastic production, advertising the rule of Rajuvula and his relatives, as well as their sponsorship of Buddhism. 2 BCE-6 CE.Dated 2 BCE-6 CE in Fig.213 in {{cite book |last1=Quintanilla |first1=Sonya Rhie |title=History of Early Stone Sculpture at Mathura: Ca. 150 BCE - 100 CE |date=2007 |publisher=BRILL |isbn=9789004155374 |page=171 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=X7Cb8IkZVSMC&pg=PA171 |language=en}}]]

The Mathura lion capital, an Indo-Scythian sandstone capital in crude style, from Mathura in Central India, and dated to the 1st century CE, describes in kharoshthi the gift of a stupa with a relic of the Buddha, by Queen Nadasi Kasa, the wife of the Indo-Scythian ruler of Mathura, Rajuvula.{{citation needed|date=May 2021}}

The capital describes, among other donations, the gift of a stupa with a relic of the Buddha, by Queen Ayasia, the "chief queen of the Indo-Scythian ruler of Mathura, satrap Rajuvula". She is mentioned as the "daughter of Kharahostes" (See: Mathura Lion Capital inscriptions). The lion capital also mentions the genealogy of several Indo-Scythian satraps of Mathura. It mentions Sodasa, son of Rajuvula, who succeeded him and also made Mathura his capital.{{citation needed|date=May 2021}}

File:Bhadrayasha coin.jpg.
Obv:Greek legend BASILEWS SWTEROS ZLIIoY "Saviour King Zoilos", an imitation of the legend of Zoilos II

Rev:Maharajasa Tratarasa Bhadrayashasa, "Saviour king Bhadayasha"Senior ISCH vol. II, page 129.]]

Sodasa, son of Rajuvula, seems to have replaced his father in Mathura, while Bhadayasa ruled as Basileus in Eastern Punjab.{{cite book|title=A Guide to Taxila|author=Marshall, J.|date=2013|publisher=Cambridge University Press|isbn=9781107615441|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=JEMbH2aDO0UC&pg=PA44|page=44|accessdate=2016-12-05}}{{cite web|url=https://www.cngcoins.com/Coin.aspx?CoinID=231311|publisher=cngcoins.com|title=CNG: Printed Auction CNG 93. INDO-SKYTHIANS, Northern Satraps. Bhadrayasha. After 35 BC. AR Drachm (17mm, 2.10 g, 1h). (CNG Coins notice) |accessdate=2016-12-05}} Bhadayasa has some of the nicest coins of the Northern Satraps, in direct inspiration from the coins of the last Indo-Greek kings.{{citation needed|date=May 2021}}

The coinage of Sodasa is cruder and of local content: it represents a Lakshmi standing between two symbols on the obverse with an inscription around Mahakhatapasa putasa Khatapasa Sodasasa "Satrap Sodassa, son of the Great Satrap". On the reverse is a standing Abhiseka Lakshmi (Lakshmi standing facing a Lotus flower with twin stalks and leaves) anointed by two elephants sprinkling water, as on the coins of Azilises.The Dynastic Arts of the Kushans, John M. Rosenfield, University of California Press, 1 janv. 1967, p.136 [https://books.google.com/books?id=udnBkQhzHH4C&pg=PA136]Foreign Influence on Ancient India, Krishna Chandra Sagar, Northern Book Centre, 1992, p.126 [https://books.google.com/books?id=0UA4rkm9MgkC&pg=PA126]

Sodasa is also known from various inscriptions where he is mentioned as ruler in Mathura, such as the Kankali Tila tablet of Sodasa.

{{further|Sanskrit epigraphy}}

File:Inscription of Sodasha Reign - Circa 1st Century BCE - Mirzapur - ACCN 79-29 - Government Museum - Mathura 2013-02-24 6105.JPG in the reign Sodasa, circa 15 CE, Mirzapur village (in the vicinity of Mathura). Mathura Museum. The inscription refers to the erection of a water tank by Mulavasu and his consort Kausiki, during the reign of Sodasa, assuming the title of "Svami (Lord) Mahakshatrapa (Great Satrap)".Buddhist art of Mathurā, Ramesh Chandra Sharma, Agam, 1984 Page 26]]

File:Bala_Bodhisattva_with_shaft_and_umbrella.jpg and the Kshatrapa ("Satrap") Vanaspara in the year 3 of Kanishka (circa 123 CE) were found on this statue of the Bala Bodhisattva, dedicated by "brother (Bhikshu) Bala".]]

In what has been described as "the great linguistical paradox of India", Sanskrit inscriptions first appeared much later than Prakrit inscriptions, although Prakrit is considered as a descendant of the Sanskrit language.{{sfn|Salomon|1998|pp=86-87}} This is because Prakrit, in its multiple variants, had been favoured since the time of the influential Edicts of Ashoka (circa 250 BCE).{{sfn|Salomon|1998|pp=86-87}}

Besides a few examples from the 1st century BCE, most of the early Sanskrit inscriptions date to the time of the Indo-Scythian rulers, either the Northern Satraps around Mathura for the earliest ones, or, slightly later, the closely related Western Satraps in western and central India.{{sfn|Salomon|1998|pp=87-88}}{{sfn|Salomon|1998|pp=93-94}} It is thought that they became promoters of Sanskrit as a way to show their attachment to Indian culture.{{sfn|Salomon|1998|pp=93-94}} According to Salomon "their motivation in promoting Sanskrit was presumably a desire to establish themselves as legitimate Indian or at least Indianized rulers and to curry the favor of the educated Brahmanical elite".{{sfn|Salomon|1998|p=93}}

The Sanskrit inscriptions in Mathura (Uttar Pradesh) are dated to the 1st and 2nd-century CE.{{sfn|Salomon|1998|pp=87-88}} The earliest of these, states Salomon, are attributed to Sodasa from the early years of 1st-century CE. Of the Mathura inscriptions, the most significant is the Mora Well Inscription.{{sfn|Salomon|1998|pp=87-88}} In a manner similar to the Hathibada inscription, the Mora well inscription is a dedication inscription and is linked to the Vaishnavism tradition of Hinduism. It mentions a stone shrine (temple), pratima (murti, images) and calls the five Vrishnis as bhagavatam.{{sfn|Salomon|1998|pp=87-88}}{{cite book|author=Sonya Rhie Quintanilla|title=History of Early Stone Sculpture at Mathura: Ca. 150 BCE - 100 CE|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=X7Cb8IkZVSMC |year=2007|publisher=BRILL Academic|isbn=978-90-04-15537-4|pages=260–263}} There are many other Mathura Sanskrit inscriptions overlapping the era of Indo-Scythian Northern Satraps and early Kushanas, although they are still dwarfed by the number of contemporary inscriptions in Prakrit.{{sfn|Salomon|1998|pp=87-88}} Other significant 1st-century inscriptions in reasonably good classical Sanskrit include the Vasu Doorjamb Inscription and the Mountain Temple inscription.{{cite book|author=Sonya Rhie Quintanilla|title=History of Early Stone Sculpture at Mathura: Ca. 150 BCE - 100 CE|url= https://books.google.com/books?id=X7Cb8IkZVSMC |year=2007|publisher=BRILL Academic|isbn=978-90-04-15537-4|page=260}} The early ones are related to the Brahmanical and possibly Jain traditions, as in the case of an inscription from Kankali Tila,Inscription No21 in {{cite book |last1=Janert |first1=l |title=Mathura Inscriptions |date=1961 |url=https://archive.org/details/in.ernet.dli.2015.201093}}{{sfn|Salomon|1998|p=88}} and none are Buddhist.

The development of Sanskrit epigraphy in western India under the Western Satrap, is also thought to have been the result of the influence of the Northern Satraps on their western relatives.{{sfn|Salomon|1998|pp=86-93}}

Several successors are known to have ruled as vassals to the Kushans, such as the Mahakshatrapa ("Great Satrap") Kharapallana and the Kshatrapa ("Satrap") Vanaspara, who are known from an inscription discovered in Sarnath, and dated to the 3rd year of Kanishka (c. 130 CE), in which Kanishka mentions they are the governors of the eastern parts of his Empire, while a "General Lala" and Satraps Vespasi and Liaka are put in charge of the north.Ancient Indian History and Civilization, Sailendra Nath Sen

New Age International, 1999, p.198 [https://books.google.com/books?id=Wk4_ICH_g1EC&pg=PA198]Foreign Influence on Ancient India, Krishna Chandra Sagar, Northern Book Centre, 1992 p.167 [https://books.google.com/books?id=0UA4rkm9MgkC&pg=PA167]Source: "A Catalogue of the Indian Coins in the British Museum. Andhras etc..." Rapson, p ciii The inscription was discovered on an early statue of a Boddhisattva, the Sarnath Bala Boddhisattva, now in the Sarnath Museum .Papers on the Date of Kaniṣka, Arthur Llewellyn Basham, Brill Archive, 1969, p.271 [https://books.google.com/books?id=ks4UAAAAIAAJ&pg=PA271]

{{main|Art of Mathura}}

From around 70 BCE, the region of Mathura fell to the Indo-Scythian Northern Satraps under Hagamasha, Hagana and then Rajuvula.{{cite book |last1=Quintanilla |first1=Sonya Rhie |title=History of Early Stone Sculpture at Mathura: Ca. 150 BCE - 100 CE |date=2007 |publisher=BRILL |isbn=9789004155374 |pages=9–10 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=X7Cb8IkZVSMC&pg=PA9 |language=en}} During this time, Mathura is described as "a great center of Śaka culture in India".{{cite journal |last1=Paul |first1=Pran Gopal |last2=Paul |first2=Debjani |title=Brahmanical Imagery in the Kuṣāṇa Art of Mathurā: Tradition and Innovations |journal=East and West |volume=39 |issue=1/4 |date=1989 |pages=130 |jstor=29756891 }} Little is known precisely from that period on terms of artistic creation. The Indo-Scythian Rajuvula, ruler of Mathura, created coins which were copies of the contemporary Indo-Greek ruler Strato II, with effigy of the king and representation of Athena on the obverse. Indo-Scythians are known to have sponsored Buddhism, but also other religions, as visible from their inscriptions and archaeological remains in northwestern and western India, as well as from their contributions to pre-Kushana sculpture in Mathura.{{cite book |last1=Neelis |first1=Jason |title=Early Buddhist Transmission and Trade Networks - PDF |date=2011 |publisher=Brill |location=Boston |page=110 |url=https://docplayer.net/54757333-Early-buddhist-transmission-and-trade-networks.html#show_full_text}} Mathura became part of the Kushan Empire from the reign of Vima Kadphises (90-100 CE) and then became the southern capital of the Kushan Empire.

{{See also|Mathura lion capital}}

Some works of art dated to the end of the 1st century BCE show very delicate workmanship, such as the sculptures of Yakshis.Dated 20 BCE in Fig.200 in {{cite book |last1=Quintanilla |first1=Sonya Rhie |title=History of Early Stone Sculpture at Mathura: Ca. 150 BCE - 100 CE |date=2007 |publisher=BRILL |isbn=9789004155374 |page=171 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=X7Cb8IkZVSMC&pg=PA171 |language=en}} A the very end of this period the Indo-Scythian ruler Rajuvula is also known for the famous Mathura lion capital which records events of the Indo-Scythian dynasty as well as their support of Buddhism. It is also an interesting example of the state of artistic attainment in the city of Mathura at the turn of our era. The capital portrays two lions reminiscent of the lions of the Pillars of Ashoka, but in a much cruder style. It also displays at its center a Buddhist triratana symbol, further confirming the involvement of Indo-Scythian rulers with Buddhism. The triratna is contained in a flame palmette, an element of Hellenistic iconography, and an example of Hellenistic influence on Indian art.

The fact that the Mathura lion capital is inscribed in Kharoshthi, a script used in the far northwest around the area of Gandhara, attests to the presence of northwestern artists at that time in Mathura.{{cite book |last1=Bracey |first1=Robert |title=Problems of Chronology in Gandhāran Art: Proceedings of the First International Workshop of the Gandhāra Connections Project, University of Oxford, 23rd-24th March, 2017 |date=2018 |publisher=The Classical Art Research Centre. Archaeopress. University of Oxford |page=143 |url=https://archive.org/details/ProblemsOfChronologyInGandharanArt/page/n149}}

File:Railing Pillar with Woman and Onlookers LACMA M.85.2.2 (1 of 7).jpg|Yashi with onlookers, dated 20 BCE.Dated 20 BCE in Fig.200 in {{cite book|last1=Quintanilla|first1=Sonya Rhie|title=History of Early Stone Sculpture at Mathura: Ca. 150 BCE - 100 CE|date=2007|publisher=BRILL|isbn=9789004155374|page=Fig.200|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=X7Cb8IkZVSMC&pg=PA171|language=en}}

File:Railing Pillar with Woman and Onlookers LACMA M.85.2.2 (2 of 7).jpg|Yashi with onlookers (detail), dated 20 BCE.

File:Railing Pillar with Woman and Onlookers LACMA M.85.2.2 (3 of 7).jpg|Yashi with onlookers (detail), dated 20 BCE.

File:Railing Pillar with Woman and Onlookers LACMA M.85.2.2 (6 of 7).jpg|Yashi with onlookers (detail), dated 20 BCE.

The abundance of dedicatory inscriptions in the name of Sodasa, the Indo-Scythian ruler of Mathura, and son of Rajuvula (eight such inscriptions are known, often on sculptural works),{{cite book |last1=Śrivastava |first1=Vijai Shankar |title=Cultural Contours of India: Dr. Satya Prakash Felicitation Volume |date=1981 |publisher=Abhinav Publications |isbn=9780391023581 |page=95 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=nKJiBUFrmfoC&pg=RA1-PA95 |language=en}} and the fact that Sodasa is known through his coinage as well as through his relations with other Indo-Scythian rulers whose dates are known, means that Sodasa functions as a historic marker to ascertain the sculptural styles at Mathura during his rule, in the first half of the 1st century CE.{{cite book |last1=Quintanilla |first1=Sonya Rhie |title=History of Early Stone Sculpture at Mathura: Ca. 150 BCE - 100 CE |date=2007 |publisher=BRILL |isbn=9789004155374 |pages=168–179 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=X7Cb8IkZVSMC&pg=PA168 |language=en}}{{cite journal |last1=Kumar |first1=Ajit |title=Bharhut Sculptures and their untenable Sunga Association |journal=Heritage: Journal of Multidisciplinary Studies in Archaeology |date=2014 |volume=2 |pages=223–241 |url=https://www.academia.edu/10237709 |language=en}} These inscriptions also correspond to some of the first known epigraphical inscriptions in Sanskrit.{{sfn|Salomon|1998|pp=86–87}}{{cite book |last1=Damsteegt |first1=Th |title=Epigraphical Hybrid Sanskrit: Its Rise, Spread, Characteristics and Relationship to Buddhist Hybrid Sanskrit |date=1978 |publisher=BRILL |isbn=9789004057258 |page=209 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=L9QUAAAAIAAJ&pg=PA209 |language=en}} The next historical marker corresponds to the reign of Kanishka under the Kushans, whose reign began circa 127 CE. The sculptural styles at Mathura during the reign of Sodasa are quite distinctive, and significantly different from the style of the previous period circa 50 BCE, or the styles of the later period of the Kushan Empire in the 2nd century CE.

{{multiple image|perrow=2|total_width=330|caption_align=center

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| image1 = Mora Vrishni Mathura circa 15 CE.jpg

| image2 = Mora carved doorjamb, circa 15 CE, Mathura.jpg

| footer=The Mora well inscription of Great Satrap Sodasa (15 CE) is associated with three statue remains and a decorated doorjamb, all thought to be related to a temple built for the Vrishni heroes.{{cite book |last1=Singh |first1=Upinder |title=A History of Ancient and Early Medieval India: From the Stone Age to the 12th Century |date=2008 |publisher=Pearson Education India |isbn=978-81-317-1120-0 |page=437 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=H3lUIIYxWkEC&pg=PA437 |language=en}} Left: torso said to be probably a figure of one of the five Vrishni heroes, Mora, circa 15 CE, Mathura Museum.{{cite book |last1=Quintanilla |first1=Sonya Rhie |title=History of Early Stone Sculpture at Mathura: Ca. 150 BCE - 100 CE |date=2007 |publisher=BRILL |isbn=978-90-04-15537-4 |pages=211–213 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=X7Cb8IkZVSMC&pg=PA212 |language=en}}"We have actually discovered in the excavations at the Mora shrine stone torsos representing the Vrishni Heroes (...) Their style closely follows that of the free-standing Yakshas in that they are carved in the round. They are dressed in a dhoti and uttaraya and some types of ornaments as found on the Yaksha figures, their right hand is held in ahbayamudra..." in "{{cite book |last1=Agrawala |first1=Vasudeva Sharana |title=Indian Art: A history of Indian art from the earliest times up to the third century A.D |date=1965 |publisher=Prithivi Prakashan |page=253 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=nJo0AQAAIAAJ |language=en}}This statue appears in Fig.51 as one of the statues excavated in the Mora mound, in {{cite book |last1=Rosenfield |first1=John M. |title=The Dynastic Arts of the Kushans |date=1967 |publisher=University of California Press |pages=151–152 and Fig.51 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=udnBkQhzHH4C&pg=PA151 |language=en}}{{cite book |last1=Lüders |first1=H. |title=Epigraphia Indica Vol.24 |date=1937 |pages=199–200 |url=https://archive.org/details/in.ernet.dli.2015.56526/page/n237}} Right: Mora carved doorjamb with grapevine design, also circa 15 CE.{{cite book |last1=Quintanilla |first1=Sonya Rhie |title=History of Early Stone Sculpture at Mathura: Ca. 150 BCE - 100 CE |date=2007 |publisher=BRILL |isbn=9789004155374 |page=171 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=X7Cb8IkZVSMC&pg=PA171 |language=en}}

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Several examples of in-the-round statuary have been found from the period of Sodasa, such as the torsos of "Vrishni heroes", discovered in Mora, about 7 kilometers west of Mathura.Dated 15 CE in {{cite book |last1=Quintanilla |first1=Sonya Rhie |title=History of Early Stone Sculpture at Mathura: Ca. 150 BCE - 100 CE |date=2007 |publisher=BRILL |isbn=978-90-04-15537-4 |pages=211–214 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=X7Cb8IkZVSMC&pg=PA212 |language=en}} These statues are mentioned in the Mora Well Inscription nearby, made in the name of the Northern Satrap Sodasa circa 15 CE, in which they are called Bhagavatam.{{cite book|author=Doris Srinivasan|title=Many Heads, Arms, and Eyes: Origin, Meaning, and Form of Multiplicity in Indian Art|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=vZheP9dIX9wC&pg=PA211 |year=1997|publisher=BRILL Academic|isbn=90-04-10758-4|pages=211–214, 308–311 with footnotes}}{{cite book|author=Sonya Rhie Quintanilla|title=History of Early Stone Sculpture at Mathura: Ca. 150 BCE - 100 CE|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=X7Cb8IkZVSMC |year=2007|publisher=BRILL Academic|isbn=978-90-04-15537-4|page=260}}{{cite book|author=Lavanya Vemsani |title=Krishna in History, Thought, and Culture |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=4fw2DAAAQBAJ&pg=PA202 |year=2016|publisher=ABC-CLIO|isbn=978-1-61069-211-3|pages=202–203}} The statue fragments are thought to represent some of the five Vrishni heroes, possibly ancient kings of Mathura later assimilated to Vishnu and his avatars,{{cite book |last1=Rosenfield |first1=John M. |title=The Dynastic Arts of the Kushans |date=1967 |publisher=University of California Press |pages=151–152 and Fig.51 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=udnBkQhzHH4C&pg=PA151 |language=en}} or, equally possible, the five Jain heroes led by Akrūra, which are well attested in Jain texts. In fact, the cult of the Vrishnis may have been cross-sectarian, much like the cult of the Yakshas.

The two uninscribed male torsos that were discovered are both of high craftsmanship and in Indian style and costume. They are bare-chested but wear a thick necklace, as well as heavy hearrings. The two torsos that were found are similar with minor variations, suggesting they may have been part of a series, which is coherent with the Vrishni interpretation.{{cite book |last1=Lüders |first1=H. |title=Epigraphia Indica Vol.24 |date=1937 |pages=199–200 |url=https://archive.org/details/in.ernet.dli.2015.56526/page/n237}} They share some sculptural characteristics with the Yaksha statues found in Mathura and dating to the 2nd and 1st century BCE, such as the sculpting in the round, or the clothing style, but the actual details of style and workmanship clearly belong to the time of Sodasa. The Vrishni statues also are not of the colossal type, as they would only have stood about 1.22 meters complete. The Mora Vrishnis function as an artistic benchmark for in-the-round statues of the period.

File:1st Jaina Tirthankara Rishabhanatha Torso - Circa 1st Century CE - ACCN 00-B-36 - Government Museum - Mathura 2013-02-23 4958.JPG|1st Jaina Tirthankara Rishabhanatha torso - Circa 1st Century

File:Four Fold Jain Image with Suparshvanath and Three Other Tirthankaras - Circa 1st Century CE - ACCN 00-B-67 - Government Museum - Mathura 2013-02-24 6023.JPG|Four-fold Jain image with Suparshvanath and three other Tirthankaras - Circa 1st Century CE

File:Goat-headed Jain Mother Goddess - Circa 1st Century CE - ACCN 00-E-2 - Government Museum - Mathura 2013-02-24 5991.JPG|Goat-headed Jain Mother Goddess, circa 1st Century CE

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| image1 = Amohini relief, Mathura, circa 15 CE.jpg

| caption1 = Jain Kankali Tila tablet of Sodasa or "Amohini relief", inscribed "in the reign of Sodasa", circa 15 CE. State Museum Lucknow, SML J.1{{cite book |last1=Quintanilla |first1=Sonya Rhie |title=History of Early Stone Sculpture at Mathura: Ca. 150 BCE - 100 CE |date=2007 |publisher=BRILL |isbn=9789004155374 |page=171 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=X7Cb8IkZVSMC&pg=PA171 |language=en}}

| image2 = Mahakshatrapasa Sodasa.jpg

| caption2 = Brahmi inscription in the tablet:
15px15px15px_12px13px16px 20px12px16px
Mahakṣatrapasa Śodāsa
"Great Satrap Sodasa"

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Many of the sculptures from this period are related to the Jain religion, with numerous relief showing devotional scenes, such as the Kankali Tila tablet of Sodasa in the name of Sodasa. Most of these are votive tablets, called ayagapata.The Jain stûpa and other antiquities of Mathurâ by Smith, Vincent Arthur [https://archive.org/details/cu31924012251140 Plate XIV]

Jain votive plates, called "Ayagapatas", are numerous, and some of the earliest ones have been dated to circa 50-20 BCE.{{cite book |last1=Quintanilla |first1=Sonya Rhie |title=History of Early Stone Sculpture at Mathura: Ca. 150 BCE - 100 CE |date=2007 |publisher=BRILL |isbn=9789004155374 |page=403, Fig. 146 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=X7Cb8IkZVSMC&pg=PA403 |language=en}} They were probably prototypes for the first known Mathura images of the Buddha. Many of them were found around the Kankali Tila Jain stupa in Mathura.

Notable among the design motifs in the ayagapatas are the pillar capitals displaying "Persian-Achaemenian" style, with side volutes, flame palmettes, and recumbent lions or winged sphinxes.The Jain stûpa and other antiquities of Mathurâ by Smith, Vincent Arthur [https://archive.org/details/cu31924012251140 Plate VII]"The Ayagapata which had been set up by Simhanddika, anterior to the reign of Kanishka, and which is assignable to a period not later than 1 A.D., is worth notice because of the typical pillars in the Persian-Achaemenian style" in {{cite book |title=Bulletin of the Baroda Museum and Picture Gallery |date=1949 |publisher=The Museum |page=18 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=G-moE4Cjv50C |language=en}}

File:Parsvanatha ayagapata, Mathura circa 15 CE.jpg|The Jina Parsvanatha ayagapata, Mathura circa 15 CE, Lucknow Museum.{{cite book|last1=Quintanilla|first1=Sonya Rhie|title=History of Early Stone Sculpture at Mathura: Ca. 150 BCE - 100 CE|date=2007|publisher=BRILL|isbn=9789004155374|pages=200–201|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=X7Cb8IkZVSMC&pg=PA201|language=en}}

File:"Sihanamdika ayagapata", Jain votive plate, Kankali Tila, Mathura dated 25-50 CE.jpg|"Sihanāṃdikā ayagapata", Jain votive plate, dated 25-50 CE.{{cite book|last1=Quintanilla|first1=Sonya Rhie|title=History of Early Stone Sculpture at Mathura: Ca. 150 BCE - 100 CE|date=2007|publisher=BRILL|isbn=9789004155374|page=410, Fig. 156|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=X7Cb8IkZVSMC&pg=PA410|language=en}}{{cite journal|last1=Quintanilla|first1=Sonya Rhie|title=Āyāgapaṭas: Characteristics, Symbolism, and Chronology|journal=Artibus Asiae|date=2000|volume=60|issue=1|pages=79–137 Fig.21|doi=10.2307/3249941|issn=0004-3648|jstor=3249941 }}

File:Holi relief, Mathura, c1st century CE.jpg|Jain votive plaque with Jain stupa, the "Vasu Śilāpaṭa" ayagapata, 1st century CE, excavated from Kankali Tila, Mathura.{{cite journal|last1=Quintanilla|first1=Sonya Rhie|title=Āyāgapaṭas: Characteristics, Symbolism, and Chronology|journal=Artibus Asiae|date=2000|volume=60|issue=1|pages=79–137 Fig.26|doi=10.2307/3249941|issn=0004-3648|jstor=3249941 }}

File:Jain Narrative Relief Panel, mid 2nd century BCE.-1st century CE (18.4 x 61.6 cm) Brooklyn Museum 87.188.5.jpg|upright=1.5|Jain relief showing monks of the ardhaphalaka sect. Early 1st century CE.{{cite book|last1=Quintanilla|first1=Sonya Rhie|title=History of Early Stone Sculpture at Mathura: Ca. 150 BCE - 100 CE|date=2007|publisher=BRILL|isbn=9789004155374|pages=174–176|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=X7Cb8IkZVSMC&pg=PA174|language=en}}

File:Jain decorated tympanum from Kankali Tila, Mathura, 15 CE.jpg|Jain decorated tympanum from Kankali Tila, Mathura, 15 CE.Dated 15 CE in Fig.222 in {{cite book|last1=Quintanilla|first1=Sonya Rhie|title=History of Early Stone Sculpture at Mathura: Ca. 150 BCE - 100 CE|date=2007|publisher=BRILL|isbn=9789004155374|page=Fig.222|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=X7Cb8IkZVSMC&pg=PA201|language=en}}

File:Persian Achaemenian style capitals in Mathura 15-50 CE.jpg|"Persian Achaemenian" style capitals appearing in ayagapatas, Mathura, 15-50 CE."the massive pillars in the Persian Achaemenian style" in {{cite book|last1=Shah|first1=Chimanlal Jaichand|title=Jainism in north India, 800 B.C.-A.D. 526|date=1932|publisher=Longmans, Green and co.|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=InkrAAAAIAAJ|language=en}}"The Ayagapata which had been set up by Simhanddika, anterior to the reign of Kanishka, and which is assignable to a period not later than 1 A.D., is worth notice because of the typical pillars in the Persian-Achaemenian style" in {{cite book|title=Bulletin of the Baroda Museum and Picture Gallery|date=1949|publisher=Baroda Museum|page=18|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=G-moE4Cjv50C|language=en}}{{cite journal|last1=Kumar|first1=Ajit|title=Bharhut Sculptures and their untenable Sunga Association|journal=Heritage: Journal of Multidisciplinary Studies in Archaeology|date=2014|volume=2|pages=223–241|url=https://www.academia.edu/10237709|language=en}}

File:Jina Parsvanatha ayagapata, Mathura circa 15 CE.jpg|The Jina Parsvanatha (detail of an ayagapata), highly similar to the Isapur Buddha, Mathura circa 15 CE, Lucknow Museum.

File:Sculpture panel showing a Jain stupa and torana, Mathura 75-100 CE.jpg|Sivayasa Ayagapata, with Jain stupa fragment, Kankali Tila, 75-100 CE.

A decorated doorjamb, the Vasu doorjamb, dedicated to deity Vāsudeva, also mentions the rule of Sodasa, and has similar carving to the Mora doorjamb, found in relation with the Mora well inscription in a similar chronological and religious context. The decoration of these and many similar doorjambs from Mathura consists in scrolls of grapevines. They are all dated to the reign of Sodasa, circa 15 CE and constitute a secure dated artistic reference for the evaluation of datation of other Mathura sculptures. It has been suggested that the grapevine design had been introduced from the Gandhara area in the northwest, and maybe associated with the northern taste of the Satrap rulers.{{cite book |last1=Bracey |first1=Robert |title=Problems of Chronology in Gandhāran Art: Proceedings of the First International Workshop of the Gandhāra Connections Project, University of Oxford, 23rd-24th March, 2017 |date=2018 |publisher=The Classical Art Research Centre. Archaeopress. University of Oxford |pages=142–143 |url=https://archive.org/details/ProblemsOfChronologyInGandharanArt/page/n149}} These designs may also be the result of the work of northern artists in Mathura. The grapevine designs of Gandhara are generally considered as originating from Hellenistic art."Honeysuckle, grapevine, triton and acanthus mouldings are some of the Hellenistic features." in {{cite book |last1=Sharma |first1=Ramesh Chandra |last2=Ghosal |first2=Pranati |title=Buddhism and Gandhāra Art |date=2004 |publisher=Indian Institute of Advanced Study |isbn=978-81-7305-264-4 |page=148 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=CMufAAAAMAAJ |language=en}}

File:Vasu doorjamb horizontal.jpg|The Vasu doorjamb, dedicated to Vāsudeva "in the reign of Sodasa", Mathura, circa 15 CE. Mathura Museum, GMM 13.367

File:Mora doorjamb designs Mathura, 1st century CE.jpg|Reliefs of the Mora doorjamb with grapevine design, Mora, near Mathura, circa 15 CE. State Museum Lucknow, SML J.526. Similar scroll designs are known from Gandhara, from Pataliputra, and from Greco-Roman art.

File:Garland bearers and Romaka Jataka 25-50 CE Mathura Museum.jpg|Garland bearers and Buddhist "Romaka" Jataka, in which the Buddha in a previous life was a pigeon.{{cite book|last1=Quintanilla|first1=Sonya Rhie|title=History of Early Stone Sculpture at Mathura, ca. 150 BCE - 100 CE|date=2007|publisher=BRILL|isbn=978-90-474-1930-3|page=226|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=rtqvCQAAQBAJ&pg=PA226|language=en}} 25-50 CE.Dated 25-50 CE in {{cite book|last1=Quintanilla|first1=Sonya Rhie|title=History of Early Stone Sculpture at Mathura: Ca. 150 BCE - 100 CE|date=2007|publisher=BRILL|isbn=9789004155374|page=Fig. 288|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=X7Cb8IkZVSMC&pg=PA199|language=en}} Similar garland-bearer designs are known from Gandhara, from Amaravati and from Greco-Roman art.

File:Svamisya Mahakshatrapasya Sudasasya (cleaned).jpg, in the vicinity of Mathura, circa 15 CE.
16px12px_22px15px15px15px_12px13px_22px 18px12px16px_22px
Svāmisya Mahakṣatrapasya Śudasasya
"Of the Lord and Great Satrap Śudāsa"{{cite book |last1=Sharma |first1=Ramesh Chandra |title=Buddhist art of Mathurā |date=1984 |publisher=Agam |page=26 |isbn=9780391031401 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=5OvVAAAAMAAJ |language=en}}The former calligraphic style would have been: 𑀲𑁆𑀯𑀸𑀫𑀺𑀲𑁆𑀬 𑀫𑀳𑀓𑁆𑀰𑀢𑁆𑀭𑀧𑀲𑁆𑀬 𑀰𑀼𑀤𑀸𑀲𑀲𑁆𑀬}}]]

The calligraphy of the Brahmi script had remained virtually unchanged from the time of the Maurya Empire to the end of the 1st century BCE.{{cite book |last1=Verma |first1=Thakur Prasad |title=The Palaeography Of Brahmi Script |date=1971 |pages=82–85 |url=https://archive.org/details/in.ernet.dli.2015.130329/page/n91}} The Indo-Scythians, following their establishment in northern India introduced "revolutionary changes" in the way Brahmi was written. In the 1st century BCE, the shape of Brahmi characters became more angular, and the vertical segments of letters were equalized, a phenomenon which is clearly visible in coin legends and made the script visually more similarly to Greek. In this new typeface, the letter were "neat and well-formed". The probable introduction of ink and pen writing, with the characteristic thickenned start of each stroke generated by the usage of ink, was reproduced in the calligraphy of stone inscriptions by the creation of a triangle-shaped form at the beginning of each stroke.{{cite book |last1=Salomon |first1=Richard |title=Indian Epigraphy: A Guide to the Study of Inscriptions in Sanskrit, Prakrit, and the other Indo-Aryan Languages |date=1998 |publisher=Oxford University Press |isbn=978-0-19-535666-3 |page=34 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=XYrG07qQDxkC&pg=PA34 |language=en}} This new writing style is particularly visible in the numerous dedicatory inscriptions made in Mathura, in association with devotional works of art. This new calligraphy of the Brahmi script was adopted in the rest of the subcontinent of the next half century. The "new-pen-style" initiated a rapid evolution of the script from the 1st century CE, with regional variations starting to emerge.

File:Isapur Buddha.jpg statue at the Butkara Stupa, Swat), on a railing post, dated to circa 15 CE.{{cite book |last1=Quintanilla |first1=Sonya Rhie |title=History of Early Stone Sculpture at Mathura: Ca. 150 BCE - 100 CE |date=2007 |publisher=BRILL |isbn=9789004155374 |pages=199–206, 204 for the exact date |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=X7Cb8IkZVSMC&pg=PA199 |language=en}}]]

From around the 2nd-1st century BCE at Bharhut and Sanchi, scenes of the life of the Buddha, or sometimes of his previous lives, had been illustrated without showing the Buddha himself, except for some of his symbols such as the empty throne, or the Chankrama pathway."This aniconic tradition was shortly to disappear and the iconic types of the Buddha made their sudden appearance apparently simultaneously in the so-called Hellenic school of Gandhara and the Indian school of Mathura." {{cite book |last1=Bhattacharyya |first1=Narendra Nath |title=Buddhism in the History of Indian Thoughts |date=1993 |publisher=Manohar Publishers & Distributors |isbn=978-81-7304-017-7 |page=266 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=0PMGAAAAYAAJ |language=en}} This artistic device ended with the sudden appearance of the Buddha, probably rather simultaneously in Gandhara and Mathura, at the turn of the millennium.

Possibly the first known representation of the Buddha (the Bimaran casket and the Tillya Tepe Buddhist coin are other candidates), the "Isapur Buddha" is also dated on stylistic grounds to the reign of Sodasa, circa 15 CE; he is shown on a relief in a canonical scene known as "Lokapalas offer Alms Bowls to the Buddha Sakyamuni".{{cite book |last1=Quintanilla |first1=Sonya Rhie |title=History of Early Stone Sculpture at Mathura: Ca. 150 BCE - 100 CE |date=2007 |publisher=BRILL |isbn=9789004155374 |pages=199–206 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=X7Cb8IkZVSMC&pg=PA199 |language=en}} The symbolism of this early statue is still tentative, drawing heavily on the earlier, especially Jain, pictural traditions of Mathura, still far from the exuberant standardized designs of the Kushan Empire. It is rather unassuming and not yet monumental compared to the Buddha sculptures of the following century, and may represent one of the first attempts to create a human icon, marking an evolution from the splendid aniconic tradition of Buddhist art in respect to the person of the Buddha, which can be seen in the art of Sanchi and Bharhut. This depiction of the Buddha is highly similar to Jain images of the period, such as the relief of Jina Parsvanatha on an ayagapata, also dated to circa 15 CE.{{cite book |last1=Quintanilla |first1=Sonya Rhie |title=History of Early Stone Sculpture at Mathura: Ca. 150 BCE - 100 CE |date=2007 |publisher=BRILL |isbn=9789004155374 |page=201 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=X7Cb8IkZVSMC&pg=PA201 |language=en}}{{cite book |last1=Quintanilla |first1=Sonya Rhie |title=History of Early Stone Sculpture at Mathura: Ca. 150 BCE - 100 CE |date=2007 |publisher=BRILL |isbn=9789004155374 |page=406, photograph and date |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=X7Cb8IkZVSMC&pg=PA406 |language=en}}

It is thought that the images of Jain saints, which can be seen in Mathura from the 1st century BCE, were prototypes for the first Mathura images of the Buddha, since the attitudes are very similar, and the almost transparent very thin garment of the Buddha not much different visually from the nakedness of the Jinas. Here the Buddha is not wearing the monastic robe which would become characteristic of many of the later Buddha images. The cross-legged sitting posture may have derived from earlier reliefs of cross-legged ascetics or teachers at Bharhut, Sanchi and Bodh Gaya. It has also been suggested that the cross-legged Buddhas may have derived from the depictions of seated Scythian kings from the northwest, as visible in the coinage of Maues (90-80 BCE) or Azes (57-10 BC)."It has also been suggested that the early seated Buddha images owe something to the first-century BC representations of seated kings, as seen on coins of the northwest (nos 27 and 28)." Maues sitting cross-legged and Azes sitting cross-legged in {{cite book |last1=Errington |first1=Elizabeth |last2=Trust |first2=Ancient India and Iran |last3=Museum |first3=Fitzwilliam |title=The Crossroads of Asia: transformation in image and symbol in the art of ancient Afghanistan and Pakistan |date=1992 |publisher=Ancient India and Iran Trust |isbn=978-0-9518399-1-1 |page=47 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=pfLpAAAAMAAJ |language=en}}

There has been a recurring debate about the exact identity of these Mathura statues, some claiming that they are only statues of Bodhisattavas, which is indeed the exact term used in most of the inscriptions of the statues found in Mathura. Only one or two statues of the Mathura type are known to mention the Buddha himself.{{cite journal |last1=Rhi |first1=Ju-Hyung |title=From Bodhisattva to Buddha: The Beginning of Iconic Representation in Buddhist Art |journal=Artibus Asiae |volume=54 |issue=3/4 |date=1994 |pages=207–225 |jstor=3250056 |doi=10.2307/3250056 }} This could be in conformity with an ancient Buddhist prohibition against showing the Buddha himself in human form, otherwise known as aniconism in Buddhism, expressed in the Sarvastivada vinaya (rules of the early Buddhist school of the Sarvastivada): ""Since it is not permitted to make an image of the Buddha's body, I pray that the Buddha will grant that I can make an image of the attendant Bodhisattva. Is that acceptable?" The Buddha answered: "You may make an image of the Bodhisattava"".{{cite journal |last1=Rhi |first1=Ju-Hyung |title=From Bodhisattva to Buddha: The Beginning of Iconic Representation in Buddhist Art |journal=Artibus Asiae |volume=54 |issue=3/4 |date=1994 |pages=220–221 |doi=10.2307/3250056 |jstor=3250056 }} However the scenes in the Isapur Buddha and the later Indrasala Buddha (dated 50-100 CE), refer to events which are considered to have happened after the Buddha's enlightenment, and therefore probably represent the Buddha rather than his younger self as a Bodhisattava, or a simple attendant Bodhisattva.{{cite book |last1=Quintanilla |first1=Sonya Rhie |title=History of Early Stone Sculpture at Mathura: Ca. 150 BCE - 100 CE |date=2007 |publisher=BRILL |isbn=9789004155374 |page=237, text and note 30 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=X7Cb8IkZVSMC&pg=PA237 |language=en}}

File:The Buddha attended by Indra at Indrasala Cave, Mathura 50-100 CE.jpg, attended by the Vedic deity Indra. 50-100 CE.]]

The Buddhist "Indrasala architrave", dated 50-100 CE, with a scene of the Buddha at the Indrasala Cave being attended by Indra, and a scene of devotion to the Bodhi Tree on the other side, is another example of the still hesitant handling of the human icon of the Buddha in the Buddhist art of Mathura. The Buddhist character of this architrave is clearly demonstrated by the depiction of the Bodhi Tree inside its specially built temple at Bodh Gaya, a regular scene of Buddhist since the reliefs of Bharhut and Sanchi. The depiction of the Buddha in meditation in the Indrasala Cave is also characteristically Buddhist. The Buddha already has the attributes, if not the style, of the later "Kapardin" statues, except for the absence of a halo.

File:Indrasala architrave, Mathura Museum.jpg in the center of each side, dated 50-100 CE, before the Kushan period.{{cite book |last1=Quintanilla |first1=Sonya Rhie |title=History of Early Stone Sculpture at Mathura: Ca. 150 BCE - 100 CE |date=2007 |publisher=BRILL |isbn=9789004155374 |pages=237–239 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=X7Cb8IkZVSMC&pg=PA237 |language=en}}{{cite book |title=Mathura Museum Catalogue |date=1910 |page=163 |url=https://archive.org/details/MathuraMuseumCatalogue/page/n233}} The Buddha is attended by Vedic deity Indra on the side of the Indrasala Cave.]]

Besides the hero cult of the Vrishni heroes or the cross-sectarian cult of the Yakshas, Hindu art only started to develop fully from the 1st to the 2nd century CE, and there are only very few examples of artistic representation before that time.{{cite journal |last1=Paul |first1=Pran Gopal |last2=Paul |first2=Debjani |title=Brahmanical Imagery in the Kuṣāṇa Art of Mathurā: Tradition and Innovations |journal=East and West |date=1989 |volume=39 |issue=1/4 |page=125 |issn=0012-8376|jstor=29756891 }} The three Vedic gods Indra, Brahma and Surya were actually first depicted in Buddhist sculpture, as attendants in scenes commemorating the life of the Buddha, even when the Buddha himself was not yet shown in human form but only through his symbols, such as the scenes of his Birth, his Descent from the Trāyastriṃśa Heaven, or his retreat in the Indrasala Cave. These Vedic deities appear in Buddhist reliefs at Mathura from around the 1st century CE, such as Indra attending the Buddha at Indrasala Cave, where Indra is shown with a mitre-like crown, and joining hands.

{{multiple image|perrow=2|total_width=350|caption_align=center

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| image1 = Mathura Katra fragment A-66.jpg

| caption1 = Katra fragment of a Buddha stele in the name of a "Kshatrapa lady" named Naṃda (70px Naṃdaye Kshatrapa).For a modern image see Figure 9 in {{cite journal |last1=Myer |first1=Prudence R. |title=Bodhisattvas and Buddhas: Early Buddhist Images from Mathurā |journal=Artibus Asiae |date=1986 |volume=47 |issue=2 |pages=121–123 |doi=10.2307/3249969 |issn=0004-3648|jstor=3249969 }}{{cite book |last1=Lüders |first1=Heinrich |title=Mathura Inscriptions |date=1960 |pages=31–32 |url=https://archive.org/details/in.ernet.dli.2015.108369/page/n37}}

| image2 = Amohaasi_Bodhisattva,_Mathura.jpg

| caption2 = "Katra Bodhisattava stele" with inscription, dated to the Northern Satraps period.

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The earliest types of "Kapardin" statuary (named after the "kapardin", the characteristic tuft of coiled hair of the Buddha) showing the Buddha with attendants are thought to be pre-Kushan, dating to the time of the "Kshatrapas" or

Northern Satraps. Various broken bases of Buddha statues with inscriptions have been attributed to the Kshatrapas. A fragment of such a stele was found with the mention of the name of the donor as a "Kshatrapa lady" named Naṃda who dedicated the Bodhisattva image "for the welfare and happiness of all sentient beings for the acceptance of the Sarvastivadas", and it is considered as contemporary with the famous "Katra stele".{{cite journal |last1=Myer |first1=Prudence R. |title=Bodhisattvas and Buddhas: Early Buddhist Images from Mathurā |journal=Artibus Asiae |date=1986 |volume=47 |issue=2 |pages=111–113 |doi=10.2307/3249969 |issn=0004-3648|jstor=3249969 }}{{cite book |last1=Lüders |first1=Heinrich |title=Mathura Inscriptions |date=1960 |pages=31–32 |url=https://archive.org/details/in.ernet.dli.2015.108369/page/n37}}

One of these early examples shows the Buddha being worshipped by the Gods Brahma and Indra.

The famous "Katra Bodhisattava stele" is the only fully intact image of a "Kapardin" Bodhisattva remaining from the Kshatrapa period, and is considered as the foundation type of the "Kapardin" Buddha imagery, and is the "classical statement of the type".

In conclusion, the canonical type of the seated Bodhisattva with attendants commonly known as the "Kapardin" type, seems to have developed during the time the Indo-Scythian Northern Satraps were still ruling in Mathura, before the arrival of the Kushans.{{cite journal |last1=Myer |first1=Prudence R. |title=Bodhisattvas and Buddhas: Early Buddhist Images from Mathurā |journal=Artibus Asiae |date=1986 |volume=47 |issue=2 |page=114 |doi=10.2307/3249969 |issn=0004-3648|jstor=3249969 }} This type continued during the Kushan period, down to the time of Huvishka, before being overtaken by fully-dressed types of Buddha statuary depicting the Buddha wearing the monastic coat "Samghati".

File:Hagamasha.jpg|Coin of satrap Hagamasha. Obv. Horse to the left. Rev. Standing figure with symbols, legend Khatapasa Hagāmashasa. 1st century BCE.

File:Hagana and Hagamasha.jpg|Joint coin of Hagana and Hagamasha. Obv.: Horse to left. Rev. Thunderbolt, legend Khatapāna Hagānasa Hagāmashasa. 1st century BCE.

File:Rajuvula_coin_with_Greek_legend.jpg|Coin of Rajuvula, c. 10 CE

File:Bhadrayasha_coin.jpg|Coin of Bhadrayasha, early 1st century CE

File:Sodasa_coin_from_Mathura.jpg|Coin of Sodasa, early 1st century CE

• Indo-Scythians
• Western Satraps
• List of Indo-Scythian dynasties and rulers

{{reflist}}

{{Indo-Scythians}}

Category:Indo-Scythian peoples

Category:Satraps