Kanishka I (
Sanskrit
Sanskrit (; attributively , ; nominalization, nominally , , ) is a classical language belonging to the Indo-Aryan languages, Indo-Aryan branch of the Indo-European languages. It arose in South Asia after its predecessor languages had Trans-cul ...
: कनिष्क, ';
Greco-Bactrian: Κανηϸκε ''Kanēške'';
Kharosthi
The Kharoṣṭhī script, also spelled Kharoshthi (Kharosthi: ), was an ancient Indo-Iranian script used by various Aryan peoples in north-western regions of the Indian subcontinent, more precisely around present-day northern Pakistan and ...
: 𐨐𐨞𐨁𐨮𐨿𐨐 ';
Brahmi:
'), or Kanishka, was an emperor of the
Kushan dynasty, under whose reign (c. 127–150 CE) the empire reached its zenith. He is famous for his military, political, and spiritual achievements. A descendant of
Kujula Kadphises, founder of the
Kushan empire
The Kushan Empire ( grc, Βασιλεία Κοσσανῶν; xbc, Κυϸανο, ; sa, कुषाण वंश; Brahmi: , '; BHS: ; xpr, 𐭊𐭅𐭔𐭍 𐭇𐭔𐭕𐭓, ; zh, 貴霜 ) was a syncretic empire, formed by the Yuezhi, i ...
, Kanishka came to rule an empire, extending from
Central Asia and
Gandhara
Gandhāra is the name of an ancient region located in the northwestern region of the Indian subcontinent, more precisely in present-day north-west Pakistan and parts of south-east Afghanistan. The region centered around the Peshawar Vall ...
to
Pataliputra on the
Gangetic plain. The main capital of his empire was located at
''Puruṣapura'' (
Peshawar) in
Gandhara
Gandhāra is the name of an ancient region located in the northwestern region of the Indian subcontinent, more precisely in present-day north-west Pakistan and parts of south-east Afghanistan. The region centered around the Peshawar Vall ...
, with another major capital at
Mathura
Mathura () is a city and the administrative headquarters of Mathura district in the states and union territories of India, Indian state of Uttar Pradesh. It is located approximately north of Agra, and south-east of Delhi; about from the to ...
. Coins of Kanishka were found in Tripuri (present-day
Jabalpur).
His conquests and patronage of
Buddhism
Buddhism ( , ), also known as Buddha Dharma and Dharmavinaya (), is an Indian religion or philosophical tradition based on teachings attributed to the Buddha. It originated in northern India as a -movement in the 5th century BCE, and ...
played an important role in the development of the
Silk Road, and in the
transmission of Mahayana Buddhism from Gandhara across the
Karakoram range to
China. Around 127 CE, he replaced
Greek
Greek may refer to:
Greece
Anything of, from, or related to Greece, a country in Southern Europe:
*Greeks, an ethnic group.
*Greek language, a branch of the Indo-European language family.
**Proto-Greek language, the assumed last common ancestor ...
with
Bactrian as the official language of administration in the empire.
Earlier scholars believed that Kanishka ascended the Kushan throne in 78 CE, and that this date was used as the beginning of the
Saka calendar era. However, historians no longer regard this date as that of Kanishka's accession. Falk estimates that Kanishka came to the throne in 127 CE.
Genealogy
There are two theories about Kanisha's origins, both based on the supposition of a separate Kanishka dynasty.
The earlier
Sten Konow's is that Kanishka came from
Khotan, having been summoned as an ethnic ally at the time of troubles after
Vima's reign.
Konow supports this theory by citing a Tibetan tradition that a Khotanese expedition to India of about A.D. 120 was commanded by a King ''Vijayakirti'' along with a King ''Kanika'' and the king of ''Guzan''.
Roman Ghirshman's similar theory is that Kanishka was originally king of
Kashmir before becoming suzerain of the dynasty as a whole.
He cites the above mentioned
Khalatse epigraph, which may allude to Kushan power reaching the northeast corner of Kashmir, and also the
Rajatarangini
''Rajatarangini'' ("The River of Kings") is a metrical legendary and historical chronicle of the north-western part of India, particularly the kings of Kashmir. It was written in Sanskrit by Kashmiri historian Kalhana in the 12th century CE. Th ...
, in which the list of
Turushka kings of Kashmir gave Kanishka's name as the third of a sequence, along with the names of ''Hushka'' and ''Jushka''.
Finally, testimony of Kanishka's activity in Kashmir in favor of the Buddhist faith suggests that he favored the region above others and that he founded
Peshawar as his capital to be close to Kashmir.
He was of
Yuezhi
The Yuezhi (;) were an ancient people first described in Chinese histories as nomadic pastoralists living in an arid grassland area in the western part of the modern Chinese province of Gansu, during the 1st millennium BC. After a major defeat ...
ethnicity and his native language was probably
Tocharian. Kanishka was the successor of
Vima Kadphises, as demonstrated by an impressive genealogy of the Kushan kings, known as the
Rabatak inscription. The connection of Kanishka with other Kushan rulers is described in the Rabatak inscription as Kanishka makes the list of the kings who ruled up to his time:
Kujula Kadphises as his great-grandfather,
Vima Taktu as his grandfather,
Vima Kadphises as his father, and himself Kanishka: "for King
Kujula Kadphises (his) great grandfather, and for King
Vima Taktu (his) grandfather, and for King
Vima Kadphises (his) father, and *also for himself, King Kanishka".
Conquests in South and Central Asia
Kanishka's empire was certainly vast. It extended from southern
Uzbekistan
Uzbekistan (, ; uz, Ozbekiston, italic=yes / , ; russian: Узбекистан), officially the Republic of Uzbekistan ( uz, Ozbekiston Respublikasi, italic=yes / ; russian: Республика Узбекистан), is a doubly landlocked co ...
and
Tajikistan
Tajikistan (, ; tg, Тоҷикистон, Tojikiston; russian: Таджикистан, Tadzhikistan), officially the Republic of Tajikistan ( tg, Ҷумҳурии Тоҷикистон, Jumhurii Tojikiston), is a landlocked country in Centr ...
, north of the Amu Darya (
Oxus
The Amu Darya, tk, Amyderýa/ uz, Amudaryo// tg, Амударё, Amudaryo ps, , tr, Ceyhun / Amu Derya grc, Ὦξος, Ôxos (also called the Amu, Amo River and historically known by its Latin name or Greek ) is a major river in Central Asi ...
) in the north west to Northern India, as far as
Mathura
Mathura () is a city and the administrative headquarters of Mathura district in the states and union territories of India, Indian state of Uttar Pradesh. It is located approximately north of Agra, and south-east of Delhi; about from the to ...
in the south east (the
Rabatak inscription even claims he held
Pataliputra and Sri Champa), and his territory also included
Kashmir, where there was a town Kanishkapur (modern day Kanispora), named after him not far from the
Baramulla Pass and which still contains the base of a large stupa.
Knowledge of his hold over Central Asia is less well established. The
Book of the Later Han
The ''Book of the Later Han'', also known as the ''History of the Later Han'' and by its Chinese name ''Hou Hanshu'' (), is one of the Twenty-Four Histories and covers the history of the Han dynasty from 6 to 189 CE, a period known as the Lat ...
, ''Hou Hanshu'', states that general
Ban Chao fought battles near
Khotan with a Kushan army of 70,000 men led by an otherwise unknown Kushan viceroy named Xie ( zh, 謝) in 90 AD. Ban Chao claimed to be victorious, forcing the Kushans to retreat by use of a
scorched-earth policy. The territories of
Kashgar,
Khotan and
Yarkand
Yarkant County,, United States National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency also Shache County,, United States National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency also transliterated from Uyghur as Yakan County, is a county in the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomou ...
were Chinese dependencies in the
Tarim Basin
The Tarim Basin is an endorheic basin in Northwest China occupying an area of about and one of the largest basins in Northwest China.Chen, Yaning, et al. "Regional climate change and its effects on river runoff in the Tarim Basin, China." Hyd ...
, modern
Xinjiang
Xinjiang, SASM/GNC: ''Xinjang''; zh, c=, p=Xīnjiāng; formerly romanized as Sinkiang (, ), officially the Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region (XUAR), is an autonomous region of the People's Republic of China (PRC), located in the northwest ...
. Several coins of Kanishka have been found in the
Tarim Basin
The Tarim Basin is an endorheic basin in Northwest China occupying an area of about and one of the largest basins in Northwest China.Chen, Yaning, et al. "Regional climate change and its effects on river runoff in the Tarim Basin, China." Hyd ...
.
Controlling both the land (the
Silk Road) and sea trade routes between South Asia and Rome seems to have been one of Kanishka's chief imperial goals.
File:Map of the Kushan Empire.png, Kushan territories (full line) and maximum extent of Kushan dominions under Kanishka (dotted line), according to the Rabatak inscription.
File:Probable statue of Kanishka, Surkh Kotal. Kabul Museum (2nd century CE).jpg, Probable statue of Kanishka, Surkh Kotal, 2nd century CE. Kabul Museum.
File:Bronze coin of Kanishka found in Khotan.jpg, Bronze coin of Kanishka, found in Khotan, modern China.
File:Bengal. Samatata. Coin of Vira Jadamarah imitative of Kushan coinage of Kanishka I. Circa 2nd-3rd century CE.jpg, Samatata coinage of king Vira Jadamarah, in imitation of the Kushan coinage of Kanishka I. Bengal
Bengal ( ; bn, বাংলা/বঙ্গ, translit=Bānglā/Bôngô, ) is a geopolitical, cultural and historical region in South Asia, specifically in the eastern part of the Indian subcontinent at the apex of the Bay of Bengal, predom ...
, circa 2nd-3rd century CE.
Kanishka's coins
Kanishka's coins portray images of
Indian,
Greek
Greek may refer to:
Greece
Anything of, from, or related to Greece, a country in Southern Europe:
*Greeks, an ethnic group.
*Greek language, a branch of the Indo-European language family.
**Proto-Greek language, the assumed last common ancestor ...
,
Iranian and even
Sumero-
Elamite
Elamite, also known as Hatamtite and formerly as Susian, is an extinct language that was spoken by the ancient Elamites. It was used in what is now southwestern Iran from 2600 BC to 330 BC. Elamite works disappear from the archeological record a ...
divinities, demonstrating the
religious syncretism in his beliefs. Kanishka's coins from the beginning of his reign bear legends in Greek language and script and depict Greek divinities. Later coins bear legends in
Bactrian, the
Iranian language that the Kushans evidently spoke, and Greek divinities were replaced by corresponding Iranian ones. All of Kanishka's coins – even ones with a legend in the Bactrian language – were written in a modified Greek script that had one additional glyph (Ϸ) to represent /š/ (''sh''), as in the word 'Ku''sh''an' and 'Kani''sh''ka'.
On his coins, the king is typically depicted as a bearded man in a long coat and trousers gathered at the ankle, with flames emanating from his shoulders. He wears large rounded boots, and is armed with a long sword as well as a lance. He is frequently seen to be making a sacrifice on a small altar. The lower halfIranian and Indic of a lifesize limestone relief of Kanishka similarly attired, with a stiff embroidered surplice beneath his coat and spurs attached to his boots under the light gathered folds of his trousers, survived in the Kabul Museum until it was destroyed by the Taliban.
Hellenistic phase
A few coins at the beginning of his reign have a legend in the
Greek language
Greek ( el, label= Modern Greek, Ελληνικά, Elliniká, ; grc, Ἑλληνική, Hellēnikḗ) is an independent branch of the Indo-European family of languages, native to Greece, Cyprus, southern Italy (Calabria and Salento), southe ...
and script: , "
oinof Kanishka, king of kings."
Greek deities, with Greek names are represented on these early coins:
* (,
Hēlios), (,
Hephaistos), (,
Selene), (,
Anemos)
The inscriptions in Greek are full of spelling and syntactical errors.
Iranian / Indic phase
Following the transition to the Bactrian language on coins, Iranian and Indic divinities replace the Greek ones:
* ΑΡΔΟΧ''Ϸ''Ο (''ardoxsho'',
Ashi Vanghuhi)
* ΛΡΟΟΑΣΠΟ (''lrooaspo'',
Drvaspa)
* ΑΘ''Ϸ''Ο (''adsho'',
Atar)
* ΦΑΡΡΟ (''pharro'', personified
khwarenah)
* ΜΑΟ (''mao'',
Mah
''Mångha'' (') is the Avestan for "Moon, month", equivalent to Persian ''Māh'' (; Old Persian ).
It is the name of the lunar deity in Zoroastrianism. The Iranian word is masculine. Although Mah is not a prominent deity in the Avestan script ...
)
* ΜΙΘΡΟ, ΜΙΙΡΟ, ΜΙΟΡΟ, ΜΙΥΡΟ (''mithro'', ''miiro'', ''mioro'', ''miuro'', variants of
Mithra
Mithra ( ae, ''Miθra'', peo, 𐎷𐎰𐎼 ''Miça'') commonly known as Mehr, is the Iranian deity of covenant, light, oath, justice and the sun. In addition to being the divinity of contracts, Mithra is also a judicial figure, an all-se ...
)
* ΜΟΖΔΟΟΑΝΟ (''mozdaooano'', "
Mazda
, commonly referred to as simply Mazda, is a Japanese Multinational corporation, multinational Automotive industry, automotive manufacturer headquartered in Fuchū, Hiroshima (town), Fuchū, Hiroshima Prefecture, Hiroshima, Japan.
In 2015, M ...
the victorious?")
* ΝΑΝΑ, ΝΑΝΑΙΑ, ΝΑΝΑ''Ϸ''ΑΟ (variants of pan-Asiatic ''Nana'', Sogdian ''nny'', in a Zoroastrian context
Aredvi Sura Anahita)
* ΜΑΝΑΟΒΑΓΟ (''manaobago'',
Vohu Manah )
* ΟΑΔΟ (''oado'',
Vata)
* ΟΡΑΛΑΓΝΟ (''orlagno'',
Verethragna)
Only a few
Buddhist
Buddhism ( , ), also known as Buddha Dharma and Dharmavinaya (), is an Indian religion or philosophical tradition based on teachings attributed to the Buddha. It originated in northern India as a -movement in the 5th century BCE, and ...
divinities were used as well:
* ΒΟΔΔΟ (''boddo'',
Buddha
Siddhartha Gautama, most commonly referred to as the Buddha, was a wandering ascetic and religious teacher who lived in South Asia during the 6th or 5th century BCE and founded Buddhism.
According to Buddhist tradition, he was born in ...
),
* ''Ϸ''ΑΚΑΜΑΝΟ ΒΟΔΔΟ (''shakamano boddho'',
Shakyamuni Buddha
Siddhartha Gautama, most commonly referred to as the Buddha, was a wandering ascetic and religious teacher who lived in South Asia during the 6th or 5th century BCE and founded Buddhism.
According to Buddhist tradition, he was born in Lu ...
)
* ΜΕΤΡΑΓΟ ΒΟΔΔΟ (''metrago boddo'', the bodhisattava
Maitreya)
Only a few
Hindu divinities were used as well:
* ΟΗ''Ϸ''Ο (''
oesho'',
Shiva
Shiva (; sa, शिव, lit=The Auspicious One, Śiva ), also known as Mahadeva (; ɐɦaːd̪eːʋɐ, or Hara, is one of the principal deities of Hinduism. He is the Supreme Being in Shaivism, one of the major traditions within Hin ...
). A recent study indicate that ''oesho'' may be
Avestan
Avestan (), or historically Zend, is an umbrella term for two Old Iranian languages: Old Avestan (spoken in the 2nd millennium BCE) and Younger Avestan (spoken in the 1st millennium BCE). They are known only from their conjoined use as the scri ...
Vayu conflated with
Shiva
Shiva (; sa, शिव, lit=The Auspicious One, Śiva ), also known as Mahadeva (; ɐɦaːd̪eːʋɐ, or Hara, is one of the principal deities of Hinduism. He is the Supreme Being in Shaivism, one of the major traditions within Hin ...
.
Kanishka and Buddhism
Kanishka's reputation in Buddhist tradition regarded with utmost importance as he not only believed in Buddhism but also encouraged its teachings as well. As a proof of it, he administered the 4th Buddhist Council in
Kashmir as the head of the council. It was presided by Vasumitra and Ashwaghosha. Images of the
Buddha
Siddhartha Gautama, most commonly referred to as the Buddha, was a wandering ascetic and religious teacher who lived in South Asia during the 6th or 5th century BCE and founded Buddhism.
According to Buddhist tradition, he was born in ...
based on 32 physical signs were made during his time.
He encouraged both
Gandhara
Gandhāra is the name of an ancient region located in the northwestern region of the Indian subcontinent, more precisely in present-day north-west Pakistan and parts of south-east Afghanistan. The region centered around the Peshawar Vall ...
school of
Greco-Buddhist Art and the
Mathura
Mathura () is a city and the administrative headquarters of Mathura district in the states and union territories of India, Indian state of Uttar Pradesh. It is located approximately north of Agra, and south-east of Delhi; about from the to ...
school of art (an inescapable religious syncretism pervades Kushana rule). Kanishka personally seems to have embraced both Buddhism and the Persian attributes but he favored Buddhism more as it can be proven by his devotion to the Buddhist teachings and prayer styles depicted in various books related to kushan empire.
His greatest contribution to Buddhist architecture was the
Kanishka stupa at Purushapura, modern day
Peshawar. Archaeologists who rediscovered the base of it in 1908–1909 estimated that this stupa had a diameter of 286 feet (87 metres). Reports of Chinese pilgrims such as
Xuanzang
Xuanzang (, ; 602–664), born Chen Hui / Chen Yi (), also known as Hiuen Tsang, was a 7th-century Chinese Buddhist monk, scholar, traveler, and translator. He is known for the epoch-making contributions to Chinese Buddhism, the travelogue of ...
indicate that its height was 600 to 700 (Chinese) "feet" (= roughly 180–210 metres or 591–689 ft.) and was covered with jewels. Certainly this immense multi-storied building ranks among the wonders of the ancient world.
Kanishka is said to have been particularly close to the Buddhist scholar
Ashvaghosha, who became his religious advisor in his later years.
Buddhist coinage
The Buddhist coins of Kanishka are comparatively rare (well under one percent of all known coins of Kanishka). Several show Kanishka on the obverse and the Buddha standing on the reverse. A few also show the
Shakyamuni Buddha
Siddhartha Gautama, most commonly referred to as the Buddha, was a wandering ascetic and religious teacher who lived in South Asia during the 6th or 5th century BCE and founded Buddhism.
According to Buddhist tradition, he was born in Lu ...
and
Maitreya. Like all coins of Kanishka, the design is rather rough and proportions tend to be imprecise; the image of the Buddha is often slightly overdone, with oversize ears and feet spread apart in the same fashion as the Kushan king.
Three types of Kanishka's Buddhist coins are known:
Standing Buddha
Only six Kushan coins of the Buddha are known in gold (the sixth one is the centerpiece of an ancient piece of jewellery, consisting of a Kanishka Buddha coin decorated with a ring of heart-shaped ruby stones). All these coins were minted in gold under Kanishka I, and are in two different denominations: a
dinar of about 8 gm, roughly similar to a Roman
aureus, and a quarter dinar of about 2 gm. (about the size of an
obol).
The Buddha is represented wearing the monastic robe, the ''
antaravasaka'', the ''
uttarasanga'', and the overcoat ''
sanghati''.
The ears are extremely large and long, a symbolic exaggeration possibly rendered necessary by the small size of the coins, but otherwise visible in some later Gandharan statues of the Buddha typically dated to the 3rd–4th century CE (''illustration, left''). He has an abundant topknot covering the
usnisha
The ushnisha (, IAST: ) is a three-dimensional oval at the top of the head of the Buddha. In Pali scriptures, it is the crown of Lord Buddha, the symbol of his Enlightenment and Enthronement.
Description
The Ushnisha is the thirty-second of th ...
, often highly stylised in a curly or often globular manner, also visible on later Buddha statues of Gandhara.
In general, the representation of the Buddha on these coins is already highly symbolic, and quite distinct from the more naturalistic and Hellenistic images seen in early Gandhara sculptures. On several designs a mustache is apparent. The palm of his right hand bears the
Chakra mark, and his brow bear the
urna. An
aureola, formed by one, two or three lines, surrounds him.
The full gown worn by the Buddha on the coins, covering both shoulders, suggests a Gandharan model rather than a Mathuran one.
"Shakyamuni Buddha"
The
Shakyamuni Buddha
Siddhartha Gautama, most commonly referred to as the Buddha, was a wandering ascetic and religious teacher who lived in South Asia during the 6th or 5th century BCE and founded Buddhism.
According to Buddhist tradition, he was born in Lu ...
(with the legend "Sakamano Boudo", i.e. Shakamuni Buddha, another name for the historic Buddha
Siddharta Gautama
Siddhartha Gautama, most commonly referred to as the Buddha, was a wandering ascetic and religious teacher who lived in South Asia during the 6th or 5th century BCE and founded Buddhism.
According to Buddhist tradition, he was born in L ...
), standing to front, with left hand on hip and forming the abhaya mudra with the right hand. All these coins are in copper only, and usually rather worn.
The gown of the Shakyamuni Buddha is quite light compared to that on the coins in the name of Buddha, clearly showing the outline of the body, in a nearly transparent way. These are probably the first two layers of monastic clothing the ''
antaravasaka'' and the ''
uttarasanga''. Also, his gown is folded over the left arm (rather than being held in the left hand as above), a feature only otherwise known in the
Bimaran casket and suggestive of a scarf-like ''
uttariya''. He has an abundant topknot covering the
ushnisha, and a simple or double
halo
Halo, halos or haloes usually refer to:
* Halo (optical phenomenon)
* Halo (religious iconography), a ring of light around the image of a head
HALO, halo, halos or haloes may also refer to:
Arts and entertainment Video games
* Halo (franchise), ...
, sometimes radiating, surrounds his head.
"Maitreya Buddha"
The Bodhisattva
Maitreya (with the legend "Metrago Boudo") cross-legged on a throne, holding a water pot, and also forming the Abhaya mudra. These coins are only known in copper and are quite worn out .
On the clearest coins, Maitreya seems to be wearing the armbands of an Indian prince, a feature often seen on the statuary of Maitreya. The throne is decorated with small columns, suggesting that the coin representation of Maitreya was directly copied from pre-existing statuary with such well-known features.
The qualification of "Buddha" for Maitreya is inaccurate, as he is instead a
Bodhisattva
In Buddhism, a bodhisattva ( ; sa, 𑀩𑁄𑀥𑀺𑀲𑀢𑁆𑀢𑁆𑀯 (Brahmī), translit=bodhisattva, label=Sanskrit) or bodhisatva is a person who is on the path towards bodhi ('awakening') or Buddhahood.
In the Early Buddhist schoo ...
(he is the Buddha of the future).
The iconography of these three types is very different from that of the other deities depicted in Kanishka's coinage. Whether Kanishka's deities are all shown from the side, the Buddhas only are shown frontally, indicating that they were copied from contemporary frontal representations of the standing and seated Buddhas in statuary. Both representations of the Buddha and Shakyamuni have both shoulders covered by their monastic gown, indicating that the statues used as models were from the
Gandhara
Gandhāra is the name of an ancient region located in the northwestern region of the Indian subcontinent, more precisely in present-day north-west Pakistan and parts of south-east Afghanistan. The region centered around the Peshawar Vall ...
school of art, rather than
Mathura
Mathura () is a city and the administrative headquarters of Mathura district in the states and union territories of India, Indian state of Uttar Pradesh. It is located approximately north of Agra, and south-east of Delhi; about from the to ...
.
Buddhist statuary under Kanishka
Several Buddhist statues are directly connected to the reign of Kanishka, such as several Bodhisattva statues from the
Art of Mathura, while a few other from
Gandhara
Gandhāra is the name of an ancient region located in the northwestern region of the Indian subcontinent, more precisely in present-day north-west Pakistan and parts of south-east Afghanistan. The region centered around the Peshawar Vall ...
are inscribed with a date in an era which is now thought to be the
Yavana era, starting in 186 to 175 BCE.
Kanishka stupa
The "
Kanishka casket" or "Kanishka reliquary", dated to the first year of Kanishka's reign in 127 CE, was discovered in a deposit chamber under
Kanishka stupa, during the archaeological excavations in 1908–1909 in Shah-Ji-Ki-Dheri, just outside the present-day Ganj Gate of the old city of Peshawar. It is today at the Peshawar Museum, and a copy is in the
British Museum
The British Museum is a public museum dedicated to human history, art and culture located in the Bloomsbury area of London. Its permanent collection of eight million works is among the largest and most comprehensive in existence. It docume ...
. It is said to have contained three bone fragments of the Buddha, which are now housed in
Mandalay, Burma.
The casket is dedicated in
Kharoshthi. The inscription reads:
: "(*mahara)jasa kanishkasa kanishka-pure nagare aya gadha-karae deya-dharme sarva-satvana hita-suhartha bhavatu mahasenasa sagharaki dasa agisala nava-karmi ana*kanishkasa vihare mahasenasa sangharame"
The text is signed by the maker, a Greek artist named ''Agesilas'', who oversaw work at Kanishka's
stupas (caitya), confirming the direct involvement of Greeks with Buddhist realisations at such a late date: "The servant Agisalaos, the superintendent of works at the vihara of Kanishka in the monastery of Mahasena" ("dasa agisala nava-karmi ana*kaniskasa vihara mahasenasa sangharame").
The lid of the casket shows the Buddha on a lotus pedestal, and worshipped by
Brahma
Brahma ( sa, ब्रह्मा, Brahmā) is a Hindu god, referred to as "the Creator" within the Trimurti, the trinity of supreme divinity that includes Vishnu, and Shiva.Jan Gonda (1969)The Hindu Trinity Anthropos, Bd 63/64, H 1/2, pp ...
and
Indra. The edge of the lid is decorated by a frieze of flying geese. The body of the casket represents a Kushan monarch, probably Kanishka in person, with the Iranian sun and moon gods on his side. On the sides are two images of a seated Buddha, worshiped by royal figures, can be assumed as Kanishka. A garland, supported by
cherubs goes around the scene in typical Hellenistic style.
The attribution of the casket to Kanishka has been recently disputed, essentially on stylistic ground (for example the ruler shown on the casket is not bearded, to the contrary of Kanishka). Instead, the casket is often attributed to Kanishka's successor
Huvishka.
Kanishka in Buddhist tradition
In Buddhist tradition, Kanishka is often described as an aggressive, hot tempered, rigid, strict, and a bit harsh kind of King before he got converted to Buddhism of which he was very fond, and after his conversion to Buddhism, he became an openhearted, benevolent, and faithful ruler. As in the Sri-dharma-pitaka-nidana sutra:
:"At this time the King of Ngan-si (Pahlava) was very aggressive and of a violent nature....There was a bhikshu (monk) arhat who seeing the harsh deeds done by the king wished to make him repent. So by his supernatural force he caused the king to see the torments of hell. The king was terrified and repented and cried terribly and hence dissolved all his negatives within him and got self realised for the first time in life ." '
Additionally, the arrival of Kanishka was reportedly foretold or was predicted by the Buddha, as well as the construction of his stupa:
:". . . the Buddha, pointing to a small boy making a mud tope....
aidthat on that spot would erect a tope by his name." ''Vinaya sutra''
The same story is repeated in a
Khotanese scroll found at
Dunhuang, which first described how Kanishka would arrive 400 years after the death of the Buddha. The account also describes how Kanishka came to raise his stupa:
:"A desire thus arose in
anishka to build a vast stupa...at that time the four world-regents learnt the mind of the king. So for his sake they took the form of young boys....
ndbegan a stūpa of mud....the boys said to
anishka'We are making the .'....At that time the boys changed their form....
ndsaid to him, 'Great king, by you according to the Buddha's prophecy is a to be built wholly (?) with a large stūpa and hither relics must be invited which the meritorious good beings...will bring."
Chinese pilgrims to India, such as
Xuanzang
Xuanzang (, ; 602–664), born Chen Hui / Chen Yi (), also known as Hiuen Tsang, was a 7th-century Chinese Buddhist monk, scholar, traveler, and translator. He is known for the epoch-making contributions to Chinese Buddhism, the travelogue of ...
, who travelled there around 630 CE also relays the story:
:" became sovereign of all Jambudvīpa (Indian subcontinent) but he did not believe in Karma, but he treated Buddhism with honor and respect as he himself converted to Buddhism intrigued by the teachings and scriptures of it. When he was hunting in the wild country a white hare appeared; the king gave a chase and the hare suddenly disappeared at
he site of the future stupa
He or HE may refer to:
Language
* He (pronoun), an English pronoun
* He (kana), the romanization of the Japanese kana へ
* He (letter), the fifth letter of many Semitic alphabets
* He (Cyrillic), a letter of the Cyrillic script called ''He'' in ...
...
hen the construction of the stūpa was not going as plannedthe king lost his patience and took the matter in his own hands and started resurrecting the plans precisely, thus completing the stupas with utmost perfection and perseverance. These two stupas are still in existence and were resorted to for cures by people afflicted with diseases."
King Kanishka because of his deeds was highly respected, regarded, honored by all the people he ruled and governed and was regarded the greatest king who ever lived because of his kindness, humbleness and sense of equality and self-righteousness among all aspects. Thus such great deeds and character of the king Kanishka made his name immortal and thus he was regarded "THE KING OF KINGS"
Xuanzang
Xuanzang (, ; 602–664), born Chen Hui / Chen Yi (), also known as Hiuen Tsang, was a 7th-century Chinese Buddhist monk, scholar, traveler, and translator. He is known for the epoch-making contributions to Chinese Buddhism, the travelogue of ...
, quoted in: Kumar (1973), p. 93.
Transmission of Buddhism to China
Buddhist monks from the region of
Gandhara
Gandhāra is the name of an ancient region located in the northwestern region of the Indian subcontinent, more precisely in present-day north-west Pakistan and parts of south-east Afghanistan. The region centered around the Peshawar Vall ...
played a key role in the development and the transmission of Buddhist ideas in the direction of northern Asia from the middle of the 2nd century CE. The
Kushan
The Kushan Empire ( grc, Βασιλεία Κοσσανῶν; xbc, Κυϸανο, ; sa, कुषाण वंश; Brahmi: , '; BHS: ; xpr, 𐭊𐭅𐭔𐭍 𐭇𐭔𐭕𐭓, ; zh, 貴霜 ) was a syncretic empire, formed by the Yuezhi, ...
monk,
Lokaksema (c. 178 CE), became the first translator of
Mahayana
''Mahāyāna'' (; "Great Vehicle") is a term for a broad group of Buddhist traditions, texts, philosophies, and practices. Mahāyāna Buddhism developed in India (c. 1st century BCE onwards) and is considered one of the three main existing bra ...
Buddhist scriptures into Chinese and established a translation bureau at the Chinese capital
Loyang. Central Asian and East Asian Buddhist monks appear to have maintained strong exchanges for the following centuries.
Kanishka was probably succeeded by
Huvishka. How and when this came about is still uncertain. It is a fact that there was only one king named Kanishka in the whole Kushan legacy. The inscription on The
Sacred Rock of Hunza also shows the signs of Kanishka.
See also
*
Menander I
*
Greco-Buddhism
Footnotes
References
*
* Chavannes, Édouard. (1906) "Trois Généraux Chinois de la dynastie des Han Orientaux. Pan Tch'ao (32–102 p. C.); – son fils Pan Yong; – Leang K'in (112 p. C.). Chapitre LXXVII du ''Heou Han chou''." ''T'oung pao'' 7, (1906) p. 232 and note 3.
* Dobbins, K. Walton. (1971). ''The Stūpa and Vihāra of Kanishka I''. The Asiatic Society of Bengal Monograph Series, Vol. XVIII. Calcutta.
* Falk, Harry (2001): "The yuga of Sphujiddhvaja and the era of the Kuṣâṇas." In: ''Silk Road Art and Archaeology'' VII, pp. 121–136.
* Falk, Harry (2004): "The Kaniṣka era in Gupta records." In: ''Silk Road Art and Archaeology'' X (2004), pp. 167–176.
* Foucher, M. A. 1901. "Notes sur la geographie ancienne du Gandhâra (commentaire à un chapitre de Hiuen-Tsang)." ''BEFEO'' No. 4, Oct. 1901, pp. 322–369.
*Gnoli, Gherardo (2002). "The "Aryan" Language." ''JSAI'' 26 (2002).
* Hargreaves, H. (1910–11): "Excavations at Shāh-jī-kī Dhērī"; ''Archaeological Survey of India, 1910–11''.
* Hill, John E. (2009) ''Through the Jade Gate to Rome: A Study of the Silk Routes during the Later Han Dynasty, 1st to 2nd centuries CE''. BookSurge, Charleston, South Carolina. .
*
* Kumar, Baldev. 1973. ''The Early ''. New Delhi, Sterling Publishers.
* Sims-Williams, Nicholas and Joe Cribb (1995/6): "A New Bactrian Inscription of Kanishka the Great." ''Silk Road Art and Archaeology'' 4 (1996), pp. 75–142.
* Sims-Williams, Nicholas (1998): "Further notes on the Bactrian inscription of Rabatak, with an Appendix on the names of Kujula Kadphises and Vima Taktu in Chinese." ''Proceedings of the Third European Conference of Iranian Studies Part 1: Old and Middle Iranian Studies''. Edited by Nicholas Sims-Williams. Wiesbaden. 1998, pp. 79–93.
* Sims-Williams, Nicholas.
Accessed: 20/12/2010* Spooner, D. B. (1908–9): "Excavations at Shāh-jī-kī Dhērī."; ''Archaeological Survey of India, 1908-9''.
* Wood, Frances (2003). ''The Silk Road: Two Thousand Years in the Heart of Asia''. University of California Press. Hbk (2003), ; pbk. (2004)
External links
*
A rough guide to Kushana history.Coins of Kanishka
{{Authority control
Kushan emperors
History of Pakistan
2nd-century Indian monarchs
Indian Buddhists
Indian Buddhist monarchs