Sakasthan Numismatics

[Yashwant Malaiya]

Gandasa (actually Gurupdesh S. Pandher) is no historian.
He is an economist.

His theory is that people who live in NW India are racially
and culturally distinct from the rest of India. His imagination
is that there was one a great kingdom of Sakas. He would like
to see the domination of Brahmins (who, in his view, are
Dravidian) and Banias end and the glory of the Saka rule
restored, Jats being the representative of the Sakas.

Among his views are

-Buddha ("Sakyamuni") was a Saka.
-Guptas were Saka.
-Moryas were Saka.

etc. He has saturated several newsgroups with his posts.

Shakas certainly have ruled parts of India, as have numerous
other dynasties, clans and tribes. He terms many of "Saka".

Before he is dismissed as being of no consequence, it should
be kept in mind that similar combination of history and
imagination has played a significant role in Europe. In
China, the "younger brother of Jesus" almost toppled the
Qing dynasty.

He refers to a couple of inscriptions:
"Sarvasa Sakasthanasa Puyae"("For the glory of Sakasthanis")
Capital Lion Inscriptions at Saka Twin Capitals at Mathura &
Peshawar". I don't know if these actually exist. They could
have because domains of tribes/gaNas are frequently mentioned.
other -sthans are certainly his personal imagination.

He certialy does not know Sanskrit, since he has used
spellings like "Bhudda" (Buddha) in the past.

Yashwant


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Samar asked:

Q1: A historian called Gandassa has claimed on Usenet that the term
`Sakasthan' is to be found on Indo-Scythic coins and inscriptions
scattered over Punjab, Rajasthan and Gujarat, although he does not provide
any concrete examples. Would any experts familiar with Saka numismatics know
in which inscription and on which coins is the word `Sakasthan' to be found
? What about the terms `Gangasthan' and `Aryasthan' which Gandassa uses ?
`Aryavarta' is abundantly attested, but what about `Aryasthan' ? Or are
these terms in fact absent in the epigraphic record ?