Parkham Yaksha
{{use dmy dates|date=October 2016}}
{{use Indian English|date=October 2016}}
{{Infobox artefact
| name = Parkham Yaksha
| image =
{{multiple image|perrow=2|total_width=350|caption_align=center
| align = center
| direction =horizontal
| image1 = Yaksha_Manibhadra_-_Parkham_Mathura_circa_150_BCE.jpg
| caption1 = Front
| image2 = Parkham Yaksha, Mathura, 150 BCE (back view).jpg
| caption2 = Back
}}
| image_caption = The "Parkam Yaksha" Manibhadra. 150 BCE. Mathura Museum, GMM C.1
| material =
| size = 2.6 meters
| writing = Brahmi
| created = 150 BCE
| discovered = Parkham, Uttar-Pradesh
{{coord|27.287358|N|77.717414|E|display=inline, title}}
| location = Mathura Museum, Mathura
| id =
| registration = GMM C.1
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|lat_deg = 27
|lat_min = 17
|lat_sec = 14
|lat_dir = N
|lon_deg = 77
|lon_min = 43
|lon_sec = 3
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The Parkham Yaksha is a colossal statue of a Yaksha, discovered in the area of Parkham, in the vicinity of Mathura, 22.5 kilometers south of the city. The statue, which is an important artefact of the Art of Mathura, is now visible in the Mathura Museum. It has been identified as the Yaksha deity Manibhadra, a popular deity in ancient India.
Date
The Parkham Yaksha is datable to period 200 BCE โ 50 BCE on paleographic and stylistic grounds.{{cite book |last1=Ayyar |first1=Sulochana |title=Costumes and Ornaments as Depicted in the Sculptures of Gwalior Museum |date=1987 |publisher=Mittal Publications |isbn=978-81-7099-002-4 |page=29 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=G9eHPXL6UE0C |language=en}}{{cite book |last1=Luders |first1=Heinrich |title=Mathura Inscriptions |date=1961 |page=[https://archive.org/details/in.ernet.dli.2015.201093/page/n179 179] |url=https://archive.org/details/in.ernet.dli.2015.201093}} It has also been dated more precisely by Heinrich Lรผders, who gives it a mid-2nd century date, and Sonya Rhie Quintanilla who dates it to circa 150 BCE.Dated 150 BCE in Fig. 15-17, general comments p.26-27 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 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=X7Cb8IkZVSMC&pg=PA26 |language=en}}
Inscription
The statue is 2.6 meters tall, including its base of about 30 centimeters. The badly corroded inscription in early Brahmi script on the top side of the base reads:
{{blockquote|File:Parkham Yaksha Inscription with transliterations.jpg
(๐ซ๐ธ)๐ฆ๐บ๐ช๐ค๐ง๐ผ๐ข๐(๐ณ๐บ) ๐๐ธ(๐ญ๐บ)(๐ข๐ธ) (๐ช)๐ข(๐ฏ)๐ข๐ (๐ง๐ข๐บ๐ซ)
(Mฤ)nibhadapuge[h]i kฤ(r)i(t)ฤ (bha)ga[va]to (patimฤ)
๐
๐(๐ณ๐บ) (๐ช๐ธ๐ข๐ผ)๐ณ๐บ
aแนญha(h)i [bhฤtu]hi
๐๐ผ๐ก๐บ๐๐ข๐๐ฏ๐ธ๐ฒ๐บ๐ฆ๐ธ ๐ข๐๐ซ๐บ๐ข๐๐๐ฆ ๐๐ข๐ธ
Kuแนikatevฤsinฤ Gomitakena katฤ
"The image of the Holy One was caused to be made by eight brothers, members of the Manibhada congregation. It has been made by Gomitaka, the pupil of Kunika.
|Heinrich Lรผders, Mathura inscriptions{{cite book |last1=Lรผders |first1=Heinrich |title=Mathura Inscriptions |date=1961 |url=https://archive.org/details/in.ernet.dli.2015.201093/page/n177}}}}
This inscription thus indicates that the statue represents the Yaksa Manibhadra, and the title "Bhagavat" ("Lord" or "Holy One") suggests that the statue represents a divinity in its own right, which was the subject of worship, independently of Buddhism or Jainism with which it was later associated.{{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 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=H3lUIIYxWkEC&pg=PA365 |language=en}}
Style
The analysis of the statue has suggested that the Parkham Yaksha probably held his left arm akimbo, while holding a bag filled with square coins, as seen in the Manibhadra statue of Pawaya. According to John Boardman, the hem of the dress is derived from Greek art. Describing a similar statue, John Boardman writes: "It has no local antecedents and looks most like a Greek Late Archaic mannerism". Similar folds can be seen in the Bharhut Yavana.{{cite book |last1=Boardman |first1=John |title=The Diffusion of Classical Art in Antiquity |date=1993 |publisher=Princeton University Press |isbn=0691036802 |page=112 |language=en}}
The Parkham Yaksha is one of four known occurrences of the Yaksha Manibhadra in inscriptions: one in Parkham near Mathura, one in Pawaya near Gwalior, one in Masharfa and one in Bhฤซtฤ near Kausambi. It appears Manibhadra was considered as a protector of itinerant merchants, a provider of wealth, and a protector against smallpox.
File:Parkham Yaksha Hellenistic drapery.jpg|Parkham Yaksha, detail of the "Hellenistic" drapery. 150 BCE
File:Mudgarpani_Yaksha,_Mathura,_100_BCE.jpg|A similar statue, but in a much better state of preservation, the Mudgarpani Yaksha
See also
References
{{reflist}}
Sources
- {{cite book|last=Mathew
|first=Ammu|title=ManoramaTell me why No.32|year=2008|publisher=Monorama Press|isbn=978-0-9750-4300-4}}
- {{cite book|last=Hopkins |first=Edward Washburn|author-link=Edward Washburn Hopkins|title=Epic mythology |url=https://archive.org/stream/epicmythology00hopkuoft#page/n147/mode/2up/search/Kubera|year=1915|publisher=Strassburg K.J. Trรผbner|isbn=0-8426-0560-6}}
- {{cite book|last=Sutherland|first=Gail Hinich|title=The disguises of the demon: the development of the Yakแนฃa in Hinduism and Buddhism|year=1991|publisher=SUNY Press|isbn=0-7914-0622-9}}
{{Mathura Museum}}