THE GREAT ANCIENT EMPIRESconquered the area around Gwalior and probably also the old provincial
capital, Ujjain. In a parallel move Menander, who was then still a general
of King Demetrios, marched down into the Gangetic basin and reached
Pataliputra. Whether he really conquered this capital and held it for some
time, as Tarn assumes, or not, we know that Pushyamitra Shunga was
finally able to defeat the Greeks.
But even more than Pushyamitra’s resistance it was a revolt in Bactria
which forced the Greeks to withdraw. Eukratides, a Greek adventurer with
the mind of a genius, managed to seize power in Bactria. Thereupon
Demetrios appointed Apollodoros and Menander as viceroys of the Indus
region and of the Panjab and rushed back to Bactria where he was killed in
the civil war. Eukratides then also defeated Apollodoros, but Menander
was able to hold on to his territory further east. In subsequent decades the
kingdom of Eukratides and his successors came under increasing pressure
from the Parthians. Weakened by this constant warfare, this Greek
kingdom finally succumbed to the Shakas, a Central Asian tribe, between
141 and 128 BC. But in northwest India the period of Indo-Greek rule
continued for some time and this was, in fact, a period of great splendour.
The greatest of the Indo-Greek rulers was undoubtedly Menander, who
is called Milinda in Buddhist texts. The dates of his reign are still open to
debate. Tarn suggests 166 to 150 BC, the Indian historian A.K. Narain
prefers 155 to 130 BC. He was the only Indo-Greek ruler commemorated
in Indian literature. The famous text Milindapanho records a dialogue
between Menander and a monk, Nagasena, who introduced him to the
Buddhist doctrine. This dialogue is justly praised for the incisive questions
asked by Menander and it is regarded by the Buddhists as equal in value to
their canonical scriptures. It is not certain whether Menander was actually
converted to Buddhism, but he seems to have taken a deep interest in it.
Some of his coins show a wheel similar to the Buddhist chakra. Plutarch
reports that after Menander’s death his ashes were distributed to all cities
of his kingdom where monuments were then constructed to contain
them—a kind of commemoration which was in tune with Buddhist
practice.
After Menander’s death, his large kingdom broke up into several small
ones which survived for several generations. This survival, far removed
from the Hellenistic polity, is a remarkable historical event. The pillar of
Heliodoros, mentioned above, is an impressive testimony of this Greek
presence right in the heart of India. The political influence of the Indo-
Greek states on the further course of Indian history was negligible, but
they did make an impact on the subsequent foreign invaders who came to
India in quick succession. The most important legacy of the Indo-Greeks
was Gandhara art which embodied a synthesis of Greek, Roman and
Indian features which are reflected in the image of Buddha which then
radiated from India to all other parts of Asia.