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{{Infobox artifact
|image = Reh inscription of Menander.jpg
|name = Reh inscription
|image_caption = The Brahmi script Reh inscription
|material =
|size =
|writing = Prakrita, Brahmi script
|created = 2nd Century BCE - 2nd century CE
|period =
|place = [[Reh (archaeological site)|Reh]], [[Fatehpur district]], [[India]]
|discovered_coords =
|location = [[Reh (archaeological site)|Reh]], [[Fatehpur district]], [[India]]
| map =
{{Location map+
|South Asia
|caption = Location of the Reh Linga with inscription
|nodiv = 1
|mini = 1
|relief = yes
|places =
{{location map~ |South Asia |lat=27.5|N |long=77.66|E |label=[[Mathura]] |position=left }}
{{location map~ |South Asia|lat=26.78|N |long=82.19|E |label=[[Ayodhya]] |position=right }}
{{location map~ |South Asia|lat=25.33|N |long=81.39|E |label=[[Kausambi]]|position=bottom}}
{{location map~ |South Asia|lat=25.19|N |long=83.01|E |label=[[Varanasi|Kashi]]|position=right}}
{{location map~ |South Asia|lat=28.05|N |long=81.66|E |label=Nepal Ganj |position=right }}
{{location map~ |South Asia|lat=25.93|N |long=80.8|E |label=Reh |position=left|mark=City locator 11.svg|marksize=15 }}
}}
|id =
|registration =
}}
{{Saivism}}
The '''Reh Inscription''' was discovered in 1979 near the Reh archaeological site along [[Yamuna River]] about {{convert|350|km}} east of [[Mathura]] in [[India]]. It is a Prakrit inscription in [[Brahmi script]] near the bottom of a [[Shiva linga]]. The inscription is dated to between the 2nd century BCE and 2nd century CE based on the script style.<ref name=bivarreh>A. D. H. Bivar (1985), [https://www.jstor.org/stable/25211796 Review: Reh Inscription of Menander and the Indo-Greek Invasion of the Gaṅgā Valley by G. R. Sharma], The Journal of the Royal Asiatic Society of Great Britain and Ireland, No. 1 (1985), Cambridge University Press, pages 94-96</ref>

The fragmentary inscription was published by the historian [[G. R. Sharma]] in 1980, who proposed that it mentions the [[Indo-Greek]] king [[Menander I]]. This theory has been discredited by other scholars such as B.N. Mukherjee and Richard Salomon, though the Reh inscription is acknowledged as an important new discovery.<ref name="Salomon1998p141">{{cite book|author=Richard Salomon|title=Indian Epigraphy: A Guide to the Study of Inscriptions in Sanskrit, Prakrit, and the Other Indo-Aryan Languages|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=t-4RDAAAQBAJ |year=1998|publisher=Oxford University Press, USA|isbn=978-0-19-509984-3|page=141}}</ref> The Reh inscription is significant in establishing the existence of aniconic representation of Shiva and [[Shaivism]] ideas in ancient north India.

==Location==
The Reh inscription is found on a Shiva linga pillar in a Hindu temple. It was discovered by an Indian research student of Allahabad University named D.P. Sharma who was visiting [[Reh (archaeological site)|Reh]], [[Fatehpur district]], [[Uttar Pradesh]], in the [[Ganges|Ganges valley]]. The site is about {{convert|96|km}} west of [[Kausambi]] and {{convert|350|km}} south-east of [[Mathura]], on the left bank of the [[Yamuna river]].<ref name="Sharmafull">G.R. Sharma (1980), [https://archive.org/details/in.ernet.dli.2015.119433 Reh Inscription Of Menander And The Indo-greek Invastion Of The Ganga Valley], Abinash Prakashan, Allahabad University</ref><ref name=bivarreh/>

==Inscription==
The fragmentary Brahmi script inscription is on the bottom of a polished [[Shiva]] linga shaft made from sandstone that was at some point cut out from its original location.<ref name="Sharmafull"/> Three of its lines are well preserved, the fourth is at the edge of where the linga was cut off and is damaged. Other lines if any below the fourth line are lost.<ref name="Sharmafull"/><ref name=bivarreh/> The Shiva linga, at the time of the inscriptions discovery, was consecrated in Hindu temple's sanctum. This, states Bivar, suggests that the local Hindus may have unearthed the Shiva linga with its inscription quite some time ago.<ref name=bivarreh/> The cascade of interest and the antiquity of the Shiva linga led the temple authorities to formally embed and consecrate the linga in its sanctum. The inscription is no longer viewable. Only photographs taken at the time of its discovery are the current source of scholarship on Reh inscription.<ref name="Sharmafull"/><ref name=bivarreh/>

The Shiva linga on which the Reh inscription is found is referred in scholarly literature as the "Reh Linga".<ref name="Srinivasan1997p221"/> It is in three parts, states Doris Srinivasan, with a dome of {{convert|68|cm}}, shaft of {{convert|77|cm}} and rest being the base that was presumably part of the foundation where the linga was installed.<ref name="Srinivasan1997p221">{{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=PA221 |year=1997|publisher=BRILL Academic |isbn=90-04-10758-4|pages=221–222}}</ref>{{refn|group=note|Sharma estimated that the total length of the linga before it was broken may have been about {{convert|251|cm}}.<ref name="Sharmafull"/>}}

===Dating===
G.R. Sharma proposed that the Reh inscription is from the 2nd-century BCE and is related to the Indo-Greek king Menander, which if true would make the linga the oldest known Shaivism artifact as well as support Sharma's theory that Greek heritage king and his army "invaded Ganges valley and were responsible for widespread devastation and pillaging of ancient India", a "holocast" [sic],<ref>Reh Inscription Of Menander And The Indo-greek Invastion Of The Ganga Valley, Sharma, G.R., 1980 [https://archive.org/details/in.ernet.dli.2015.119433 p. 10-11]</ref> destruction of Buddhist sites and historic change in India's economic, social and religious landscape.<ref name="Sharmafull"/> Later scholars do not agree with this dating or Sharma's interpretation.<ref name="Srinivasan1997p221"/> According to other scholars, Sharma's identification with Menander is based on interpolation and in flawed synthesis.<ref name=bivarreh/><ref name="Mukherjee1981p245"/> Setting aside Sharma's interpretation and analysis, the epigraphical evidence confirms that the Reh Linga and inscription was created sometime between the 2nd century BCE and 2nd century CE.<ref name="Salomon1998p141"/><ref name=bivarreh/><ref name="Mukherjee1981p245">{{cite book|author=Bratindra Nath Mukherjee|title= Mathurā and Its Society: The Sakæ-Pahlava Phase|url =https://books.google.com/books?id=udAcAAAAMAAJ|year=1981|publisher=Firma K.L.M.|pages=245–263|oclc= 9393750}}</ref> Doris Srinivasan states that the evidence suggests this can be further narrowed down to 1st-century BCE and 1st century CE.<ref name="Srinivasan1997p221"/><ref>{{cite book|author=I K Sarma|title=The Development of Early Śaiva Art and Architecture: With Special Reference to Āndhradēśa|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=NhrqAAAAMAAJ|year=2004| publisher=Sundeep|isbn=978-8175740310|page=60}}</ref>

===Text===
The inscription reads:
{{quote|
<poem>
mahārājasa rājarājasa
mahāṁtasa trātārasa dhāṁmī
kasa Jayaṁtasa ca Apra
</poem>
– Reh Inscription, 1st-century BCE to 1st-century CE<ref name="Sharmafull"/><ref name=plgupta/>}}

===Sharma's inscription extrapolation and proposal===
Sharma has extrapolated the badly damaged fourth line of the inscription, to suggest that the Reh inscription may originally have been:
{{quote|
<poem>
mahārājasa rājarājasa
mahāṁtasa trātārasa dhāṁmī
kasa Jayaṁtasa ca Apra
[jitasa] Minānada[de?]rasa....
</poem>
– Extrapolated Reh Inscription<ref name="Sharma7">Reh Inscription Of Menander And The Indo-greek Invastion Of The Ganga Valley, Sharma, G.R., 1980 [https://archive.org/details/in.ernet.dli.2015.119433 p.7 ff]</ref>}}

{| class="wikitable centre"
|+ Reh inscription (Extrapolation by Sharma)<ref name="Sharma7"/><ref name="Holt1999p177"/>
|-
! scope="col" align=left| Translation (English)!!Transliteration (original [[Brahmi script]])!!Inscription ([[Prakrit]] in the [[Brahmi script]])
|-
|align=center width="30%"|
<poem>Of the king of kings, 
Great Savior, Just, 
Victorious, and Invincible, 
[Menander].</poem>

| align=left |
{{quote|
<poem>
<big>{{Script|Brah|𑀫𑀳𑀸𑀭𑀸𑀚𑀲 𑀭𑀸𑀚𑀭𑀸𑀚𑀲}}</big>
mahārājasa rājarājasa
<big>{{Script|Brah|𑀫𑀳𑀸𑀁𑀢𑀲 𑀢𑀸𑀾𑀢𑀸𑀭𑀲 𑀥𑀸𑀁𑀫𑀻}}</big>
mahāṁtasa trātārasa dhāṁmī
<big>{{Script|Brah|𑀓𑀲 𑀚𑀬𑀁𑀢𑀲 𑀘 𑀅𑀧𑁆𑀭}}</big>
kasa Jayaṁtasa ca Apra
<big>{{Script|Brah|(𑀚𑀺𑀢𑀲) 𑀫𑀺𑀦𑀸𑀦𑀤(𑀤𑁂)𑀭𑀲}}</big>
[jitasa] Minānada[de?]rasa
</poem>}}

|align=center width="10%"|
[[File:Reh_inscription_of_Menander.jpg|thumb|center|250px|Reh inscription]] 
|}

===Translation===
Assuming Sharma's reading of "Menander" is correct, states Frank Holt, the Brahmi script inscription translates to
{{quote|
<poem>
Of the king of kings, Great Savior, Just, Victorious, and Invincible, [Menander]<ref name="Holt1999p177"/>
</poem>
}}

Holt states that Sharma's reading of Menander's name is questionable.<ref name="Holt1999p177"/> Bivar agrees.<ref name=bivarreh/>

===Sharma's analysis===
According to G.R. Sharma, the inscription is an exact and word-for-word translation of a Greek title:
{{quote|
"BASILEOS BASILEON 
MEGALOU SOTEROS 
DIKAIOU NIKETOROU KAI ANIKETOU 
MENANDROU"<ref name="Sharma7"/>}}

Sharma thereafter combines his interpretation and synthesis into a book that reconstructs the history of Yamuna region and Menander.<ref name="Sharmafull"/> He cites "invasion layers", "conflagration layers" and "double tanged arrows" to present the theory that the Greeks led by Menander devastated the region. Bivar, in his review of "Reh inscription"-triggered Sharma's book, states that the book's thesis is "[Menander] caused merciless burning of towns, complete destruction of buildings, the consequent exodus of the surviving, wanton slaughter of men, women and children, plundering of towns and villages, destruction of industry, (...)."<ref name=bivarreh/>

===Counterproposals and revised analysis===
[[File:WimaKadphisesCoin.jpg|thumb|A coin of [[Vima Kadphises]] with legend in corrupt Greek script: ΒΑϹΙΛΕΥϹ BACIΛEWN CWTHP MEΓAC ΟΟΗΜΟ ΚΑΔΦΙϹΗϹ ("Basileus Basileuon Soter Megas Ooemo Kadphises"): "King of Kings Vima Kadphises the Great Saviour". [[British Museum]].]]
Other authors however have pointed that the reading of Menander is questionable and that Sharma did not provide any photo, evidence or justification for interpreting the fourth line to be Menander.<ref name="Holt1999p177">{{cite book|author=Frank Lee Holt|title=Thundering Zeus: The Making of Hellenistic Bactria|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=RZGi_RRZ6EIC|year=1999|publisher=University of California Press|isbn=978-0-520-92009-5|pages=177 Translation #12 with footnote 14}}</ref>

According to Parmeshwari Lal Gupta, the Sharma's discovery is important but his analysis is flawed on many levels.<ref name=plgupta/> First, the damaged fourth line does not state "[jitasa] Minānada[de?]rasa...." at all, by "any flight of imagination", and it is Sharma's construction to support his hypothesis of "valiantly wicked Yavanas marching along Mathura to Pataliputra".<ref name=plgupta/> Second, state Gupta and other scholars, Sharma's argument of the inscription being a Prakrit translation of a phrase found in Greek is interesting, but this phrase was never used by Menander or any Indo-Greek king on any coin or any artifact. Actually the Greco-Bactrians or the Indo-Greeks never used the expression "King of Kings" which was characteristic of [[Parthian Empire|Parthian]] rulers; it was first used in India by an [[Indo-Scythian]] ruler named [[Maues]] (85–60 BCE).<ref>{{cite book |last1=Srinivasan |first1=Doris |title=On the Cusp of an Era: Art in the Pre-Kuṣāṇa World |date=2007 |publisher=BRILL |isbn=9004154515 |page=250 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=dCz8NczNbcMC&pg=PA250 |language=en}}</ref> The phrase in the Reh inscription is found only in an inscription found in Kamra in [[Afghanistan]] for a Kushana ruler. The earliest king that this inscription can be dated with is [[Wima Kadphises]] (90–100 CE) and the inscription on a Shiva linga may have nothing to do with any invasion, massacre or destruction.<ref name="Mukherjee1981p245"/><ref name=plgupta>P.L. Gupta, ''Kushanas in the Yamuno-Gangetic Region: Chronology and Date'', Annali dell’Istituto Universitario Orientale di Napoli, vol. 45, 1985, p. 200-201</ref> Bivar, in contrast, states that the elaborate title may be more appropriate and expected from [[Apollodotus II]] or [[Hippostratus]].<ref name=bivarreh/>

==Shiva linga==
The Reh Linga attests to a Shiva-related tradition in north India. The stone linga is polished and similar to the two plain lingas found in Mathura archaeological site, one at the [[Kankali Tila]] site and the other from Bhutesvara. Both are dated to the 1st-century BCE.<ref name="Srinivasan1997p221"/> Given the distance of {{convert|350|km}} between Mathura and Reh, the discovery suggests that the Shaiva influence was pan-Ganges valley. The Reh linga adds to the extensive Brahmanical imagery that has been discovered and attributed to the ancient Mathura school.<ref name="Srinivasan1997p221"/><ref>PG Paul and D Paul (1989), [https://www.jstor.org/stable/29756891 Brahmanical Imagery in the Kuṣāṇa Art of Mathurā: Tradition and Innovations], East and West, Vol. 39, No. 1/4 (December 1989), Istituto Italiano per l'Africa e l'Oriente, pages 111-143</ref>

==Notes==
{{reflist|group=note}}

==References==
{{reflist}}

===Sources===
* [https://archive.org/details/in.ernet.dli.2015.119433 ''Reh Inscription of Menander and the Indo Greek Invasion of the Ganga Valley''], (Studies in history, culture and archaeology / University of Allahabad, Dept. of Ancient History, Culture and Archaeology) Abinash Prakashan (1980)

{{Hindu inscriptions and arts|state=autocollapse}}

[[Category:2nd-century BC inscriptions]]
[[Category:1st-century BC inscriptions]]
[[Category:1st-century inscriptions]]
[[Category:2nd-century inscriptions]]
[[Category:1979 archaeological discoveries]]
[[Category:Indian inscriptions]]
[[Category:Indo-Greeks]]
[[Category:Prakrit inscriptions]]

Reh Inscription - Revision history

Abhinavsinghshiva: Made some stub first draft!