Sopara

Sopara was an ancient place situated in the Thane district of Maharashtra state, which was present near the suburb of Nalasopara. Nalasopara is one of the most western Western suburbs of Mumbai. Nowadays, the last stop from the Sopara Dadar station, about 48 kilometers away from the western suburban railway, falls before 'Virar'. In ancient times, it was the largest city on the west coast of India, from which trade was traded in Mesopotamia, Egypt, Kochi, Arabia and East Africa. Its ancient name is Thuparacak.

There is also a stupa built in the third century BC by Emperor Ashoka in Sopara village. This stupa is preserved by the Indian Archaeological Survey. Nalas and Sopara were two different villages. There is 'Nala' on the east side of the railway line and 'Sopara' is the village in the west. At present it has become a big city. There are greenery and many trees all around the old Sopara village. Buddha in Sapora Stupa and also a statue of another Buddhist monk was also there. Statues, inscriptions etc. are displayed here in the Museum of Aurangabad. Excavations done years ago in the area show that in Sopara there was a plurality of Buddhist, Jain and Hindu religion sites which have now disappeared due to natural and human causes. Late Dr. Bhagwan Lal Indra informed about the ruins of several Hindu temples in addition to Buddhist stupas in Sopara in 1898, to the Royal Asiatic Society of Mumbai.

Chaturdash inscriptions of Priyadshakshi Ashok, Sopara, Shahbhaghari (District Peshawar), Mansehra (District Hazara), Girnar (near Kathiawar), Kalsi (District Dehradun), Dhauli (District Puri, Orissa), Jogarh (District Ganjam) and Ilgurda (District Kurnool, Tamilnadu). These articles have been found engraved on mountain slabs.

In addition to the records of Shahbazar and Mansehra, Sopara's records are in the Indian Brahmi script. The present Devanagari script has been developed from this Brahmi. It was written from left to right. The records of Shahbahgadhi and Manshedra are not in Brahmi but in Sarashtithi.

Sopara's record is also very helpful in the demarcation of Ashoka's empire. It is proven from the inscriptions of Sopara and Girnar that the western border of Ashoka's empire was in the west.

Ashoka's records have a direct impact on the heart. Ashoka had understood this fact as well that the commentators make the original preaching neutralize. So he tried to reach his subjects. In his words, in the Emperor's words, these articles convey his teachings to the masses through simple linguistics in simple and natural style. This is the feature of these records and that is their success.

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