Tribes in Ancient India c9.61

c9.61

The epigraphic evidence that in the first century B.C. the region of Mathurā had passed from native Indian to foreign (Śaka) rule is confirmed and amplified by the evidence of coins. A Muttra (i.e. Mathurā) inscription, according to R. Chanda, records the erection of a toraṇa, vedikā and catuḥśāla at the Mahāsthāna of Vāsudeva, in the reign of the Mahākṣatrapa Soḍāsa.⁷ The Mathurā nāga statuette inscription is evidence of serpent worship in Mathurā, which is important in view of the story of Kāliya nāga and his suppression by Kṛṣṇa, recorded in the Purāṇas compiled during the Gupta period.⁸