Sopara
Encyclopedia
Sopara or Soparaka (by some identified with the Ophir
mentioned in the Hebrew texts) was an ancient port town and the capital of the ancient Aparanta
. The site of this ancient town is located near the present day Nala Sopara
town in the Thane district
of the state Maharashtra
, India
.Nala Sopara
is one of the busiest western suburbs of Mumbai city. In ancient times, it was the largest township on India's west coast, trading with Mesopotamia
, Egypt
, Cochin
, Arabia and Eastern Africa.
and the Puranas state that the was reclaimed from the sea for the dwelling place of Parashurama
and it became a tirtha
for this reason. The finding of the relics in a stupa and the rock edicts (the fragments of the 8th and 9th major rock edicts) of Ashoka
in 1882 prove the importance of this port town from the 3rd century BCE to the 9th century CE. The Buddhist text Mahavamsa
(VI, 46,47) states that the first king of Sri Lanka
, Vijaya sailed from Supparaka (Sopara) to Sri Lanka. Ptolemy
mentioned this town as Soupara, and it was a major commercial centre during his time According to the Jaina writers, Shripala, a mythical king married Tilakasundari, daughter of king Mahasena of Soparaka. Jinaprabhasuri (14th century) in his Vividhatirthakalpa mentioned Soparaka as one of 84 Jaina
tirtha
s (sacred places). He also mentioned about an image of Rishabhadeva located in this city till his time.
. The ruins of a Buddhist Stupa was found. From the center of the stupa (inside a brick built chamber) a large stone coffer was excavated which contained eight bronze images of Maitreya Buddha which belong to the c. 8th-9th century CE. This coffer also enclosed relic caskets of copper
, silver
, stone
, crystal
and gold
, along with numerous gold flowers and fragments of a begging bowl. A silver coin of Gautamiputra Satakarni (Satvahans
) was also found from the mound. The Bombay Provincial Government presented the Sopara relics to the Asiatic Society of Bombay. The coins and the artifacts found during the excavations at the site of this ancient town can still be viewed in the The Asiatic Society, Mumbai
museum. In an old Muslim graveyard near Ramkund, the fragments of VIIth and IXth major rock edicts were found. These rock edicts can be viewed in the Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Vastu Sangrahalaya, Mumbai. In 1956, a fragment of XIth major rock edict was found from a coastal village, Bhuigaon. During 1993 excavation, a ring well, fragments of Roman
amphorae red polished ware and glass (all belong to the early centuries of the Common Era) were found.
Ophir
Ophir is a port or region mentioned in the Bible, famous for its wealth. King Solomon is supposed to have received a cargo of gold, silver, sandalwood, precious stones, ivory, apes and peacocks from Ophir, every three years.- Citations :...
mentioned in the Hebrew texts) was an ancient port town and the capital of the ancient Aparanta
Aparanta
Aparanta, or Aparantaka was a geographical region of ancient India, variously corresponding to the northern Konkan, northern Gujarat, Kathiawar, Kachch and Sindh....
. The site of this ancient town is located near the present day Nala Sopara
Nala Sopara
Nala Sopara is one of the suburbs of Mumbai city. It is a town within the Mumbai Conurbation. The town lies in Thane district of Maharashtra state in India. The population of the city is 184,664 . It is also the name of a railway station on the Mumbai suburban railway on the Western Railway ...
town in the Thane district
Thane District
Thane is a district in northern Maharashtra state in western India. As of 2011 it is the most populated district in the nation. The headquarters of the district is the city of Thane. Other major cities in the district are Navi Mumbai , Kalyan-Dombivli, Mira-Bhayander, Bhiwandi, Ulhasnagar,...
of the state Maharashtra
Maharashtra
Maharashtra is a state located in India. It is the second most populous after Uttar Pradesh and third largest state by area in India...
, India
India
India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...
.Nala Sopara
Nala Sopara
Nala Sopara is one of the suburbs of Mumbai city. It is a town within the Mumbai Conurbation. The town lies in Thane district of Maharashtra state in India. The population of the city is 184,664 . It is also the name of a railway station on the Mumbai suburban railway on the Western Railway ...
is one of the busiest western suburbs of Mumbai city. In ancient times, it was the largest township on India's west coast, trading with Mesopotamia
Mesopotamia
Mesopotamia is a toponym for the area of the Tigris–Euphrates river system, largely corresponding to modern-day Iraq, northeastern Syria, southeastern Turkey and southwestern Iran.Widely considered to be the cradle of civilization, Bronze Age Mesopotamia included Sumer and the...
, Egypt
Egypt
Egypt , officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, Arabic: , is a country mainly in North Africa, with the Sinai Peninsula forming a land bridge in Southwest Asia. Egypt is thus a transcontinental country, and a major power in Africa, the Mediterranean Basin, the Middle East and the Muslim world...
, Cochin
Kingdom of Cochin
Kingdom of Cochin was a late medieval Hindu kingdom and later Princely State on the Malabar Coast, South India...
, Arabia and Eastern Africa.
History
The MahabharataMahabharata
The Mahabharata is one of the two major Sanskrit epics of ancient India and Nepal, the other being the Ramayana. The epic is part of itihasa....
and the Puranas state that the was reclaimed from the sea for the dwelling place of Parashurama
Parashurama
Parashurama , is the sixth avatar of Vishnu and belongs to the treta yuga, and is the son of a Brahmin father Jamadagni and mother Renuka. He is considered one of the seven immortal human. He received an axe after undertaking a terrible penance to please Shiva, from whom he learned the methods of...
and it became a tirtha
Tirtha
In Jainism, a tīrtha |ford]], a shallow part of a body of water that may be easily crossed") is used to refer both to pilgrimage sites as well as to the four sections of the sangha...
for this reason. The finding of the relics in a stupa and the rock edicts (the fragments of the 8th and 9th major rock edicts) of Ashoka
Ashoka
Ashok Maurya or Ashoka , popularly known as Ashoka the Great, was an Indian emperor of the Maurya Dynasty who ruled almost all of the Indian subcontinent from ca. 269 BC to 232 BC. One of India's greatest emperors, Ashoka reigned over most of present-day India after a number of military conquests...
in 1882 prove the importance of this port town from the 3rd century BCE to the 9th century CE. The Buddhist text Mahavamsa
Mahavamsa
The Mahavamsa is a historical poem written in the Pali language, of the kings of Sri Lanka...
(VI, 46,47) states that the first king of Sri Lanka
Sri Lanka
Sri Lanka, officially the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka is a country off the southern coast of the Indian subcontinent. Known until 1972 as Ceylon , Sri Lanka is an island surrounded by the Indian Ocean, the Gulf of Mannar and the Palk Strait, and lies in the vicinity of India and the...
, Vijaya sailed from Supparaka (Sopara) to Sri Lanka. Ptolemy
Ptolemy
Claudius Ptolemy , was a Roman citizen of Egypt who wrote in Greek. He was a mathematician, astronomer, geographer, astrologer, and poet of a single epigram in the Greek Anthology. He lived in Egypt under Roman rule, and is believed to have been born in the town of Ptolemais Hermiou in the...
mentioned this town as Soupara, and it was a major commercial centre during his time According to the Jaina writers, Shripala, a mythical king married Tilakasundari, daughter of king Mahasena of Soparaka. Jinaprabhasuri (14th century) in his Vividhatirthakalpa mentioned Soparaka as one of 84 Jaina
Jainism
Jainism is an Indian religion that prescribes a path of non-violence towards all living beings. Its philosophy and practice emphasize the necessity of self-effort to move the soul towards divine consciousness and liberation. Any soul that has conquered its own inner enemies and achieved the state...
tirtha
Tirtha
In Jainism, a tīrtha |ford]], a shallow part of a body of water that may be easily crossed") is used to refer both to pilgrimage sites as well as to the four sections of the sangha...
s (sacred places). He also mentioned about an image of Rishabhadeva located in this city till his time.
Excavations at Sopara
In April 1882, Bhagvanlal Indraji, a noted archaeologist, numismatist and epigraphist excavated at the Burud Rajache Kot mound in NirmalNirmal
Nirmal is a town, mandal headquarters and a municipality in Adilabad district in the Indian state of Andhra Pradesh.It is the political headquarters of the district having a history of 400years.The name "NIRMAL" has been derived from one of its famous rulers NIMMA NAIDU way back in 17th century.He...
. The ruins of a Buddhist Stupa was found. From the center of the stupa (inside a brick built chamber) a large stone coffer was excavated which contained eight bronze images of Maitreya Buddha which belong to the c. 8th-9th century CE. This coffer also enclosed relic caskets of copper
Copper
Copper is a chemical element with the symbol Cu and atomic number 29. It is a ductile metal with very high thermal and electrical conductivity. Pure copper is soft and malleable; an exposed surface has a reddish-orange tarnish...
, silver
Silver
Silver is a metallic chemical element with the chemical symbol Ag and atomic number 47. A soft, white, lustrous transition metal, it has the highest electrical conductivity of any element and the highest thermal conductivity of any metal...
, stone
Rock (geology)
In geology, rock or stone is a naturally occurring solid aggregate of minerals and/or mineraloids.The Earth's outer solid layer, the lithosphere, is made of rock. In general rocks are of three types, namely, igneous, sedimentary, and metamorphic...
, crystal
Crystal
A crystal or crystalline solid is a solid material whose constituent atoms, molecules, or ions are arranged in an orderly repeating pattern extending in all three spatial dimensions. The scientific study of crystals and crystal formation is known as crystallography...
and gold
Gold
Gold is a chemical element with the symbol Au and an atomic number of 79. Gold is a dense, soft, shiny, malleable and ductile metal. Pure gold has a bright yellow color and luster traditionally considered attractive, which it maintains without oxidizing in air or water. Chemically, gold is a...
, along with numerous gold flowers and fragments of a begging bowl. A silver coin of Gautamiputra Satakarni (Satvahans
Satavahana
The Sātavāhana Empire or Andhra Empire, was a royal Indian dynasty based from Dharanikota and Amaravati in Andhra Pradesh as well as Junnar and Prathisthan in Maharashtra. The territory of the empire covered much of India from 230 BCE onward...
) was also found from the mound. The Bombay Provincial Government presented the Sopara relics to the Asiatic Society of Bombay. The coins and the artifacts found during the excavations at the site of this ancient town can still be viewed in the The Asiatic Society, Mumbai
Asiatic Society of Bombay
The Asiatic Society of Mumbai, a learned society in the field of Asian studies, is based in Mumbai, India. It can trace its origin to the Literary Society of Bombay which first met in Mumbai on November 26, 1804, and was founded by Sir James Mackintosh. It was formed with the intention of...
museum. In an old Muslim graveyard near Ramkund, the fragments of VIIth and IXth major rock edicts were found. These rock edicts can be viewed in the Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Vastu Sangrahalaya, Mumbai. In 1956, a fragment of XIth major rock edict was found from a coastal village, Bhuigaon. During 1993 excavation, a ring well, fragments of Roman
Ancient Rome
Ancient Rome was a thriving civilization that grew on the Italian Peninsula as early as the 8th century BC. Located along the Mediterranean Sea and centered on the city of Rome, it expanded to one of the largest empires in the ancient world....
amphorae red polished ware and glass (all belong to the early centuries of the Common Era) were found.