HELIODORUS PILLAR ~ VIDISHA~ INDIA

The pillar was erected around 113 BCE in central India  in Vidisha near modern Besnagar, by Heliodorus, an Indo-Greek ambassador of the Indo-Greek king Antialcidas in Taxila, to the court of the Shunga king Bhagabhadra. Historically, it is one of the earliest known inscriptions related to the Vaishnavism in India. 
The site is located about 60 kilometres northeast from Bhopal and 11 kilometres  from the Buddhist stupa of Sanchi.

The pillar was surmounted by a sculpture of Garuda and was dedicated by Heliodorus to the god Vāsudeva in front of the temple of Vāsudeva. According to Rawlinson, the colonial British era historian, locals called it the Khamba Baba or Khambaba.

The dedication on the pillar was made by Heliodorus, ambassador of the Indo-Greek king Antialcidas .