The Heliodoros Pillar
The conversion of Heliodoros to Vaiṣṇavism
This painting by Asit Kumar Haldar is the carefully detailed rendition of a historical scene from the 2nd century BC. As indicated by the title, it depicts the ceremony of the religious conversion of Heliodoros, an Indo-Greek ambassador, to Vaiṣṇavism. Sent to the central Indian city of Vidisha in Madhya Pradesh by Antialcidas, the King of Taxilā, it is believed that Heliodoros, like others before and after him, was enamored by India; “from the epigraphic records in the Karle, Nasik and Junnar caves and also from various inscriptions, it is known that .. the Greeks, Sakas, Pahlvas “succumbed to the charm of Hindu culture and religion.” (Dr Radha Kumud Mookerji, Indian Culture at a Glance, Lucknow: The Department of Education, Government of Uttar Pradesh, 1960).
Heliodoros adopted the title “Bhāgavata,” and erected a magnificent pillar in Vidisha with an inscription commemorating his visit and devotion, which is likely one of the earliest known inscriptions on Vaiṣṇavism in India. In Haldar’s painting, the Greco-Roman costumes of the subjects, and the deity and pillar in the background, show the process and nuances of this conversion. The inscriptions on the pillar also lead to the important inference that Heliodoros was influenced by Vedic principles, and was considered to be a Vaiṣṇava, disputing the common belief that India’s orthodox tradition at the time did not accept converts. When Al-beruni, visited Bhārat in 1017 AD, he noted that the Hindu orthodoxy did not admit foreigners, and suggested that the practice only developed after the Islamic incursion into India, sometime after 674 AD. Its likely that the antagonism between the Muslims and Hindus is the main cause for the disallowance of conversion. For many centuries prior to Islamic presence, however, there had been no bar to conversion into the orthodox fold, as attested by the Heliodorus column.
Cunningham discovered this monolithic pillar erected by Heliodoros in the year 1877. The pillar has characteristics of Aśokan pillars and its importance was revealed only after deciphering its inscriptions. The inscription records the erection of a Garuḍadhvaja (a column surmounted by Garuḍa) in honor of the God Vāsudeva. In this inscription he is called a worshiper of Vāsudeva and a citizen of Taxilā.
The site on which the pillar stands was excavated, and besides the Garuḍadhvaja, the site yielded evidence of other pillars as well as three capitals: two fan-palm sculptures or palm leaf capitals and a rail capital. The Garuḍadhvaja was erected before a most celebrated temple of Vāsudeva, surmounted by the rail-capital described above. Excavations from 1963 to 1965 detected the remains of an elliptical temple building around the pillar which dated from the 4th century. The Heliodora pillar, like Heliodoros’ altar, existed as part of a wider temple complex in the region.
The quartz sandstone pillar, of a pinkish brown color, is about 6.5 metres high, erected in c. 113 BC still stands in Besnagar, Madhya Pradesh. Its inscription, written in the Prakrit using the Brahmi script, dates to the late 2nd century. The pillar is locally known as ‘Khāmbābā’, or the ‘pillar God’, and bears a Brahmi inscription stating that it was set up as a Garuḍa pillar in honor or Vāsudeva (Viṣṇu) — ‘khamba’ is the Hindi for ‘pillar’ — and is still worshipped by locals today.
Heliodoros, son of Dion, had come to the court of Shunga King Bhāgabhadra of Vidisha as an ambassador from the Indo-Bactrian king of Takṣaśila, Antialcidas (second half of the 2nd century BC). Since Taxilā also carries evidence of Hindu deities, it is also possible that Heliodoros was already a worshipper of Vasudeva prior to his visit to Vidisha.
sources:
- Archaeology of Vidiśā (Daśārṇa) Region, K. K. Tripathi
2. Wallace, Shane. “Greek Culture in Afghanistan and India: Old Evidence and New Discoveries.” (2016)
images of the inscription: Kevin Standage https://kevinstandagephotography.wordpress.com/2018/03/11/heliodorus-pillar-column-vidisha/
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