Heliodorus pillar
E491314
The Heliodorus pillar is an ancient stone column near Vidisha in central India, famous as one of the earliest known inscriptions recording a foreign Greek ambassador’s devotion to the Hindu god Vishnu.
Statements (47)
| Predicate | Object |
|---|---|
| instanceOf |
ancient stone column
ⓘ
inscribed pillar ⓘ religious monument ⓘ |
| administeredBy | Archaeological Survey of India NERFINISHED ⓘ |
| approximateDate | c. 113 BCE ⓘ |
| associatedDeity | Vishnu NERFINISHED ⓘ |
| associatedRuler | Indo-Greek king Antialkidas NERFINISHED ⓘ |
| associatedWith |
Greco-Indian cultural contacts
NERFINISHED
ⓘ
Indo-Greek relations ⓘ |
| builtBy | Heliodorus NERFINISHED ⓘ |
| category |
Indo-Greek archaeology
ⓘ
ancient Indian inscriptions ⓘ |
| country | India ⓘ |
| culturalSignificance |
evidence of Greek adoption of Indian religious practices
ⓘ
important source for early history of Vaishnavism ⓘ |
| currentCondition | partially preserved ⓘ |
| date | 2nd century BCE ⓘ |
| dedicatedTo | Vishnu NERFINISHED ⓘ |
| discoveredIn | 19th century ⓘ |
| erectedBy | Heliodorus NERFINISHED ⓘ |
| function | votive column ⓘ |
| hasAmbassador | Heliodorus NERFINISHED ⓘ |
| hasInscriptionAbout | devotion of Heliodorus to Vishnu ⓘ |
| hasInscriptionType | donative inscription ⓘ |
| hasTitleInInscription | Garuda-dhvaja NERFINISHED ⓘ |
| height | approximately 6 meters ⓘ |
| heritageStatus | protected monument of India ⓘ |
| historicalPeriod | Shunga period NERFINISHED ⓘ |
| inscriptionLanguage | Prakrit ⓘ |
| inscriptionMentions |
Heliodorus son of Dion
NERFINISHED
ⓘ
King Antialkidas NERFINISHED ⓘ Takshashila NERFINISHED ⓘ |
| inscriptionScript | Brahmi script NERFINISHED ⓘ |
| locatedIn |
India
ⓘ
Madhya Pradesh ⓘ Vidisha NERFINISHED ⓘ |
| material | stone ⓘ |
| namedAfter | Heliodorus NERFINISHED ⓘ |
| near | Sanchi NERFINISHED ⓘ |
| notableFor |
early evidence of Vaishnavism
ⓘ
inscription of a Greek ambassador as a devotee of Vishnu ⓘ one of the earliest known Vaishnava inscriptions ⓘ |
| originalTopDecoration | Garuda capital ⓘ |
| religion | Hinduism ⓘ |
| symbol | Garuda standard ⓘ |
| underRuleOf |
King Bhagabhadra
NERFINISHED
ⓘ
Shunga dynasty NERFINISHED ⓘ |
Referenced by (1)
Full triples — surface form annotated when it differs from this entity's canonical label.