MPPSC 2026 Prelims Paper-I · Question 55 of 100

Correct — C, Agathokleis (Agathocles), the Greek king of Bactria/north-west India of the early second century BCE. Silver coins of his, found at Ai-Khanoum in northern Afghanistan, show on one face a deity holding a chakra (discus) and a conch — Vasudeva-Krishna — and on the other a deity with a plough and a club or mace — Samkarshana-Balarama. These are the earliest datable images of the two brothers anywhere, and they make Agathocles the most 'Indianising' of the Indo-Greek kings: he is also the ruler who issued coins with Brahmi legends, at a time when Greek and Kharoshthi were the usual scripts on such issues.

• (a)Menandar — Menander (Milinda) is the most famous Indo-Greek king, but his associations are Buddhist — the Milindapanho dialogue with the monk Nagasena — and his coins carry Athena Alkidemos and, on some issues, a wheel; not Krishna and Balarama.
• (b)Demetrius — Demetrius of Bactria is remembered for pushing Greek rule into north-west India and for the elephant-scalp headdress on his coin portraits; his issues do not carry the two Vrishni deities.
• (d)Eucratides — Eucratides' coins famously show the Dioscuri — the Greek twin horsemen Castor and Pollux — a pair of divine brothers that is easy to mistake for Krishna and Balarama, but they are Greek deities, not Indian ones.

Indo-Greek coins are among the most useful documents of post-Mauryan history: they carry the king's portrait and name, so they yield a king-list no text preserves, and their bilingual legends (Greek with Kharoshthi, and on some Agathocles issues Brahmi) helped scholars read early Indian scripts. They also record religious cross-over in both directions — Agathocles striking Vasudeva-Krishna and Samkarshana-Balarama, Menander associated with Buddhism, and Heliodorus, envoy of the Indo-Greek king Antialkidas, calling himself a Bhagavata on the Garuda pillar he raised at Besnagar near Vidisha in Madhya Pradesh.

The default reflex on any Indo-Greek question is 'Menander', and that reflex is exactly what this question punishes. Sort the kings by what each is famous for: Demetrius — the invasion; Menander — Buddhism and the Milindapanho; Eucratides — the Dioscuri and the huge gold coin; Agathocles — Brahmi legends and the Krishna-Balarama images. Note also that the Greeks' devotion to Vasudeva is attested twice over — once on Agathocles' coins and once, in Madhya Pradesh, on the Heliodorus pillar.

• Agathocles' coins from Ai-Khanoum show Vasudeva-Krishna with chakra and conch, and Samkarshana-Balarama with plough (hala) and club/mace
• They are the earliest known datable depictions of Krishna and Balarama — early second century BCE
• Agathocles is notable for issues with Brahmi legends, where Indo-Greek coins normally used Greek with Kharoshthi
• The Heliodorus (Garuda) pillar at Besnagar near Vidisha, Madhya Pradesh, was set up by Heliodorus, envoy of the Indo-Greek king Antialkidas to the Shunga king Bhagabhadra, who describes himself as a Bhagavata
• The Indo-Greeks were the first rulers in India to issue coins that can be definitely attributed to named kings, carrying the ruler's portrait

• Answering 'Menander' by reflex for every Indo-Greek question — he belongs with Buddhism
• Confusing the Dioscuri twins on Eucratides' coins with Krishna and Balarama
• Assuming Krishna imagery must begin in the Gupta period — the coin and inscriptional evidence is second century BCE

MPPSC asks the direct 'whose coins / which ruler' identification. UPSC prefers pairs and statement sets — ruler matched with religion, or site matched with what it is known for. Lock the trio: Agathocles ↔ Krishna-Balarama coins; Menander ↔ Milindapanho; Antialkidas/Heliodorus ↔ the Besnagar Garuda pillar.

• practice — not a real PYQ

  The Heliodorus pillar at Besnagar (near Vidisha, Madhya Pradesh) was erected in honour of:

  • (a)Vasudeva
  • (b)Shiva
  • (c)the Buddha
  • (d)Mahavira

  Answer(a) Vasudeva — Heliodorus, the Greek envoy of Antialkidas, raised the Garuda pillar and called himself a Bhagavata, making it key evidence for early Vaishnavism.

• practice — not a real PYQ

  Which one of the following statements about the Indo-Greeks is correct?

  • (a)They were the first rulers in India to issue coins that can be definitely attributed to individual kings
  • (b)They ruled the Gangetic plains from Pataliputra
  • (c)They introduced the purest gold coinage seen in ancient India
  • (d)They used only the Brahmi script on their coins

  Answer(a) They were the first rulers in India to issue coins definitely attributable to named kings — earlier punch-marked coins carry no ruler's name; large-scale gold coinage came with the Kushanas and Guptas.