The Story of the Indo-Greek King Who Embraced Buddhism

The Story of the Indo-Greek King who embraced Buddhism. King Milinda asks questions. Credit: Hutchinson’s Story of the Nations, Archive.org, Public Domain.

The archetypal Milindapañha or The Questions of Milinda (100 BC and 200 AD), present lost, was astir apt written successful Sanskrit oregon Prakrit successful Northern India. It was preserved successful Ceylon and aboriginal translated into Pāli.

The substance recounts the Socratic-like dialog betwixt a Yona (Greek) king, Milinda (Menander), and a Buddhist monk from Gandhāra, Nāgasena, who himself whitethorn person been of Indo-Greek origin.

According to the source, Milinda was educated successful the nineteen arts and sciences. Some of these are Indian philosophies, specified arsenic “Sankhya, Yoga, Nyaya, and Vaisesika.” Similarly, the substance portrays Milinda arsenic an adept successful rhetoric, a constituent of a Greek paideia (education).

One afternoon, aft his kingly duties were completed, Milinda commanded his advisors to find him pandits (Indian sages) to reply his philosophical questions.

However, Melinda’s rhetorical accomplishment was a lucifer for these sages, and helium petulantly clapped his hands aft his opponents’ defeat, declaring:

“India is so an bare thing, arsenic bare arsenic chaff; determination is nary sraman oregon brahman (Indian philosophers) who tin confer with maine to dispel my doubts….”

That is until Nāgasena enters the scene. After respective days of responding to the king’s ongoing inquiries astir the soul, attachments, and memory, among different topics, the substance describes that Milinda ceased having immoderate doubts.

The communicative ends with the king removing his pridefulness “like a cobra taking disconnected her fangs” and handing his kingdom to his son. Later, the Indo-Greek opted to go a wanderer, yet achieving arahantship (enlightenment).

Could an Indo-Greek king truly person been a Buddhist monarch?

Who was Milinda?

According to coins, Milinda was apt Menander I oregon II of the Indo-Greek Kingdom (c.155–130 BC and 90 BC–10 AD). The Menanders held overmuch of modern-day Pakistan and bluish India, including the cities populated by Greeks.

The inclusion of Buddhist and Hindu imagery connected coins points to the anticipation that the Indo-Greek kings followed the policies of their predecessors successful endorsing Indic cults, specified arsenic Buddhism.

For example, the coins of the Menanders incorporate aggregate depictions of what has been interpreted arsenic the dharma chakra (the instrumentality of dharma).

Plutarch’s notation of Menander

Even much remarkably, a Greco-Roman root seemingly verifies Menander’s conversion.

The past historiographer Plutarch independently reports that Menander was buried successful a mode resembling that of a Buddhist monarch (cakkavattin), corroborating Menander’s translation depicted successful the Milindapañha.

Although Macedonian burial practices impact cremation and the placement of remains successful a burial chamber, the contented of dividing the ruler’s ashes is not observed among Macedonians.

This practice, instead, resembles the part of the remains of an idiosyncratic who has reached arahantship (sainthood), intended for organisation for worship purposes.

Given that Plutarch’s relationship is credible arsenic good arsenic the beardown spiritual inclinations of the Greeks, it is improbable that Menander, arsenic a non-Buddhist, would person consented to beryllium buried pursuing a overseas tradition.

However, the conversion of Menander to Buddhism is simply a debated topic, chiefly due to the fact that the archetypal manuscript arsenic been lost. Rather than an outright conversion, scholars similar Halkias (2014) suggest that the Menanders, arsenic Indo-Greek rulers of assorted spiritual groups, mightiness person portrayed themselves arsenic Buddhist kings to amended integrate with their divers subjects, akin to rulers earlier them.

Alternatively, the Milindapañha mightiness symbolize the gradual adoption of Buddhism by the Indo-Greeks. This narrative could bespeak the semipermanent process of Greek conversion to Buddhism and the consequent incorporation of Greek civilization into Buddhism.

Ashoka rebrands Buddhism for the Greek-speaking world

Predating Menander, Ashoka the Great (c.268-232 BC) of the Mauryan Kingdom was a king adjacent to the Greek-speaking world, some successful the Mediterranean and successful his domain.

During his reign, Ashoka erected galore pillars passim his empire, inscribing them with his Buddhist principles. These inscriptions were written successful the empire’s authoritative languages, Brāhmī and Kharosthī, arsenic good arsenic Greek and Aramaic, indicating Ashoka’s intent successful communicating his beliefs to a divers populace.

The Mauryan king hoped that his subjects, inspired by these messages, would clasp Buddhism arsenic helium had. One notable pillar, inscribed successful Greek, was erected successful Kandahar, Afghanistan, which, according to Greek sources, is perchance the past metropolis of Alexandria successful Arachosia.

In his 2007 work, Final Frontier, Seldeslachts contends that important missionary activities occurred pursuing the Third Buddhist Council during the reign of Ashoka the Great, who oversaw the assembly successful 250 BC.

References of Greeks successful Buddhist texts

An epoch agelong forgotten successful Western circles but remembered successful Eastern traditions highlights Buddhism’s Greek chapter. This representation is vividly recalled successful the regular prayers of the Theravāda followers successful Sri Lanka, preserving this humanities connection.

“I bow my caput to the footprints of the soundless saint (Buddha) which are dispersed connected the sandy slope of the Narmada River, connected the Mountain Saccabhadda, connected the Mountain Sumana, and successful the metropolis of the Yonakas (Greeks).”

Buddhist texts specified arsenic the Mahavamsa bespeak that Yona Buddhists were dispatched arsenic missionaries to their ain regions of influence. Remarkably, they besides occupied prestigious roles wrong the Buddhist spiritual hierarchy.

One specified notation includes Yonakaloka (the state of the Greeks), which received the monk Maharakkhita, who reportedly converted “170,000 surviving beings.”

The substance continues, “…to Aparantaka (was sent) the Yona named Dhammarakkhita,” wherever the Greek monk converted 37,000 surviving beings.

Additionally, the Mahavamsa mentions a thera (elder) Yona named Maha Dhammarakkhita. According to the text, helium came from “Alasanda, the metropolis of the Yonas,” apt referring to Alexandria successful the Caucasus.

Maha Dhammarakkhita traveled with 30,000 followers to enactment successful the instauration ceremonial of the Great Stupa astatine Anuradhapura, Sri Lanka.

The Indo-Greek monks’ names, similar Maha Dhammarakkhita, connote that they had afloat embraced their caller Indian religion, arsenic the word “dharma” often appears successful the names of Yonaka Buddhists.

Maha Dhammarakkhita astir apt migrated to the Greco-Bactrian and Indo-Greek kingdoms aft the autumn of the Mauryan Empire.

Although the fig of converts mightiness beryllium exaggerated, these references item the Yonas’ consciousness of Buddhism and enthusiasm for their caller religion.

The recurring usage of the connection “dharma” successful the names of Yonaka Buddhists suggests that they had afloat integrated into their caller Indian religion.

The communicative of the Indo-Greek king who embraced Buddhism

The regular prayers of the Theravāda followers of Sri Lanka, Ashoka’s Greek Edicts, and the Milindapañha are intriguing examples of a little-known humanities transportation betwixt Indian and Greek cultures. 

In today’s progressively hostile governmental landscape, it’s heartening to flight to a shared past that connects geographically distant parts of the world. This reminder of a communal past serves arsenic a almighty awesome of interconnectedness.