Table of Contents
KING KANISHKA 1
PART 1
ACHIEVEMENTS
- SECULARISM
- CONQUEROR AND EXPANSION
- DEVELOPMENT OF SILK ROUTE
- TRADING SYSTEM
- MILITARY GENIUS
- DEVOTE BUDDHISTS WHAT WE WILL STUDY?
BACKGROUND
KUSHAN(30 AD – 375 AD)
- From the time of Alexander’s invasion the lands outside the North-West frontiers of India became a political playground of the Greek powers.
- It was in that kind of racial migration and contest for lands that the Kushanas rose to power in Central Asia.
- In the opening year of the first century about 25AD a powerful chief of the kushanas named Kujala Kadphises I established his supremacy over other yuch-chi tribes and became their overlord.
- He ruled over a part of Afghanistan and occupied Hindu Kush extending from Parthia to Indus, the Kushana kingdom under this king rose into prominence rapidly.
KING KANISHKA
- Kanishka was a Kushan of probable Yuezhi ethnicity. The Rabatak inscription uses a Greek script, to write a language described.
- Kanishka’s empire was certainly vast. It extended from southern Uzbekistan and Tajikistan, north west of Pakistan and Northern India, as far as Mathura in the south east (the Rabatak inscription even claims he held Pataliputra and Sri Champa).
KING KANISHKA
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- His territory also included Kashmir, where there was a town Kanishkapur.The exact date of Kaniska’s reign still remains controversial but with the accession to throne there began the Saka Era or the Sakabda in Indian history.
- The year 78AD has been accepted by most historians as the year
of the foundation of the Saka Era. This Era has continued to
dominate the Indian reckoning of the years and time
KING KANISHKA
- Kaniska extended the Kushana empire vastly both outside and inside India. At the time of his accession to the throne the Kushana empire included Afghanistan, a large part of Sindh, the Punjab portions of Parthia and Bactria. Kaniska added many territories to his kingdom by his conquests and annexations.
- It is obvious that he fought a series of battles during his reign and established his capital at Purushapura (Peshawar). Kaniska conquered many interior parts of the Gangetic valley and occupied Magadha.
- He also established his supremacy over other areas of the north like Oudh, Benaras, Sravasti, Gorakhpur, and Mathura.
EXPANSION
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- Kaniska fought against some of the Saka satrapas who were still ruling over Western India. He defeated the Saka ruler of Ujjayini and extended his authority to Malwa.
- Outside India Kaniska fought against and defeated the kings of the Parthians and annexed his territories to his empire.
- Control of his huge empire was maintained by instituting a number of local governments headed by provincial governors (satraps), district officers (meridareks), and military governors (strategoi) appointed by Kanishka.
EXPANSION
- He also led an army across the Pamirs to subdue the petty nomad chiefs of Khotan, Yarkand, and Kashgarh. These tribes in fact were tributaries to China.
- Thus Kaniska ruled a vast empire that included Afganistan, Bactria, Kashgar, Khotan, and Yarkand and Kashmir. Sind, the Punjab United Provinces, and a portion of Malwa were also parts of his territorial possession.
KING KANISHKA 1
PART 2
BUDDHISM
- Like Asoka, Kanishka also became a convert to Buddhism. But when and how he embraced that religion is not known.
- By the time of Kanishka, the Kushanas were already under the influence of Hinduism and were devotees of the Hindu. It is no wonder that the earlier coins of Kanishka contain the figures of Iranian, Greek and Indian gods.
- It is evident that Kanishka adopted Buddhism after he had ruled as a king for some years. The Buddhist sources do not give the reasons for his conversion.
- But it is suggested by some historians that Kanishka came under the influence of the greatest Buddhist philosopher of that time, Asvaghosha, and became a devotee of Buddha and accepted Buddhism.
BUDDHISM
- As the ruler of an empire which covered vast areas of Central Asia and western China, he found a golden opportunity to spread Buddhism with a fresh vigour by his numerous works as a patron of Buddhism.
- Construction programme.
- Fourth Buddhists Council – Kanishka held the Fourth Buddhist Council with learned Buddhist philosophers, monks and divines numbering about five hundred. It was held at a place named Kundalavana either near Srinagar in Kashmir, or in Jalandhar in the Punjab. Vasumitra worked as the president of the Council while Asvaghosha acted as its vice-president
BUDDHISM
- Mahayana – Kanishka took up the cause of the new form and philosophy of Buddhism as a most timely step to spread that religion in other countries. It was the Mahayana form of Buddhism. Kanishka took up the cause of the Mahayana form of Buddhism to serve his purpose as a missionary.
- Missionaries outside the country – Kanishka sent many missionaries to preach Buddhism in and outside countries. He enjoyed a greater advantage in this regard. It was from the time of Kanishka that Buddhism started penetrating deeply into Central Asia. Tibet, China, and Japan in a sweeping way.
- Teachings of Budhism in Sanskrit – Kanishka provided a great incentive to the Buddhist philosophers of his time to carry their wisdom to the learned classes of India in the sacred language of the country, Sanskrit.
CULTURE
- Though of foreign origin, the Kushanas became Indianized all too soon. And, their great monarch Kanishka became one of the greatest patrons of Indian culture.
- Not only that he encouraged culture, but also he became a true representative of the liberal spirit of the Indian culture. That is why, though Kanishka became an ardent Buddhist, he respected other religions as well as the Hindu gods and goddesses.
- Besides the relics of Buddha, the casket contained the figures of the Buddha, Brahma, Indra, and also that of Kanishka himself, shown between the Sun and the Moon.
CULTURE
- It was during his time that Sanskrit received much encouragement. Many famous works of the Sanskrit literature, dealing with both religious and non-religious subjects, were written during his reign.
- The most illustrious figure of his court was Asvaghosha, at once a philosopher, a poet and a play-Wright. Asvaghosha wrote Buddhackarita, which described the life of Buddha, written in Sanskrit in form of poetry. Asvaghosha was also the author of another famous work known as Sutralankara.
CULTURE
- Vasumitra, the eminent Buddhist divine who presided over the Fourth Buddhist Council, was also a celebrity in the court of Kanishka.
- The renowned medical scientist of ancient India, Charaka, also belonged to the Court of Kanishka. He was the author of the most famous work on medicine known as the CharakaSamhita.
CULTURE
- In the north-western region of India, known as Gandhara, a new school of art soon came to be developed, famous as the Gandhara School of art. It also came to be known as the Indo-Greek Art.
- This art also influenced the Mathura School of Art in the interior of India. Mathura was a notable centre of art which functioned like a workshop for the production of countless images of the Buddha and the Bodhisattvas
CULTURE
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- Buddha depicted in the Gandhara Art is shown making four types of hand gestures and this is a remarkable feature in this art.
- Abahayamudra : Don’t fear
- Dhyanamudra : meditation
- Dharmachakramudra: a preaching mudra
- Bhumisparshamudra: Touching the earth
COINS
COINS
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