| Kaniṣka, Kanishka | |
|---|---|
| Kushan emperor | |
 Gold coin of Kanishka.Greco-Bactrian legend: ϷΑΟΝΑΝΟϷΑΟ ΚΑΝΗϷΚΙ ΚΟϷΑΝΟ Shaonanoshao Kanishki Koshano "King of Kings, Kanishka the Kushan". British Museum. | |
| Reign | 127–150 CE |
| Predecessor | Vima Kadphises |
| Successor | Huvishka |
| Born | PossiblyKhotan, present-dayXinjiang, China (per Chinese chronicles)[1][2][3] orKashmir[3] |
| Dynasty | Kushan |
| Kushan emperors 30 CE–350 CE | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Kanishka I,[a] also known asKanishka the Great,[5] was an emperor of theKushan dynasty, under whose reign (c. 127–150 CE) the empire reached its zenith.[6] He is famous for his military, political, and spiritual achievements. A descendant ofKujula Kadphises, founder of theKushan empire, Kanishka came to rule an empire extending fromCentral Asia andGandhara toPataliputra on theGangetic plain.[7] The main capital of his empire was located atPuruṣapura (Peshawar) in Gandhara, with another major capital atMathura. Coins of Kanishka were found in Tripuri (present-dayJabalpur).[8]
Although he never converted to the religion, his conquests and patronage ofBuddhism played an important role in the development of theSilk Road, and in thetransmission of Mahayana Buddhism from Gandhara across theKarakoram range toChina. Around 127 CE, he replacedGreek withBactrian as the official language of administration in the empire.[9]
Earlier scholars believed that Kanishka ascended the Kushan throne in 78 CE, and that this date was used as the beginning of theSaka 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.[10]
There are two theories about Kanisha's origins, both based on the supposition of a separate Kanishka dynasty.[3] The earlierSten Konow's is that Kanishka came fromKhotan, having been summoned as an ethnic ally at the time of troubles afterVima's reign.[3] Konow supports this theory by citing a Tibetan tradition that a Khotanese expedition to India of about A.D. 120 was commanded by a KingVijayakirti along with a KingKanika and the king ofGuzan.[12][13]
Roman Ghirshman's similar theory is that Kanishka was originally king ofKashmir before becoming suzerain of the dynasty as a whole.[3] He cites the above-mentionedKhalatse epigraph, which may allude to Kushan power reaching the northeast corner of Kashmir, and also theRajatarangini, in which the list of Kushan kings of Kashmir gave Kanishka's name as the third of a sequence, along with the names ofHushka andJushka.[3] 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 foundedPeshawar as his capital to be close to Kashmir.[3]
He was ofYuezhi ethnicity and his native language was probablyTocharian.[14] Kanishka was the successor ofVima Kadphises, as demonstrated by an impressive genealogy of the Kushan kings, known as theRabatak inscription.[15][16] 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 KingKujula Kadphises (his) great grandfather, and for KingVima Taktu (his) grandfather, and for KingVima Kadphises (his) father, and *also for himself, King Kanishka".[17]
Kanishka's empire was certainly vast. It extended from southernUzbekistan andTajikistan, north of the Amu Darya (Oxus) in the north west to Northern India, as far asMathura in the south east (theRabatak inscription even claims he heldPataliputra and Sri Champa), and his territory also includedKashmir, where there was a town Kanishkapur (modern day Kanispora), named after him not far from theBaramulla Pass and which still contains the base of a large stupa.[18][19] The Buddhist textŚrīdharmapiṭakanidānasūtra—known via a Chinese translation made in AD 472—refers to the conquest of Pataliputra by Kanishka.[20]
Knowledge of his hold over Central Asia is less well established. TheHou Hanshu, states that generalBan Chao fought battles nearKhotan with a Kushan army of 70,000 men led by an otherwise unknown Kushan viceroy named Xie (Chinese:謝) in 90 AD. Ban Chao claimed to be victorious, forcing the Kushans to retreat by use of ascorched-earth policy. The territories ofKashgar,Khotan andYarkand were Chinese dependencies in theTarim Basin, modernXinjiang. Several coins of Kanishka have been found in theTarim Basin.[21]
Kanishka possibly fought offan invasion by the Parthian Empire in his reign.[22] The war is attested in a single source, a Chinese translation of a lost Sanskrit original,A History of the Buddha's Successors.[23]
![Kushan territories (full line) and maximum extent of Kushan dominions under Kanishka (dotted line). The conquests in India are according to the Rabatak inscription,[24] the northern expansion into the Tarim Basin is mainly suggested by coin finds and Chinese chronicles.[25][26]](/mt/?noimg=&dark=on&url=https%3a%2f%2fwikipedia.org%2fwiki%2fFile%3aKushanmap.jpg)
![Probable statue of Kanishka, Surkh Kotal, 2nd century CE. Kabul Museum.[27]](/mt/?noimg=&dark=on&url=https%3a%2f%2fwikipedia.org%2fwiki%2fFile%3aProbable_statue_of_Kanishka%2c_Surkh_Kotal._Kabul_Museum_(2nd_century_CE).jpg)
![Samatata coinage of king Vira Jadamarah, in imitation of the Kushan coinage of Kanishka I. Bengal, c. 2nd–3rd century CE.[28]](/mt/?noimg=&dark=on&url=https%3a%2f%2fwikipedia.org%2fwiki%2fFile%3aBengal._Samatata._Coin_of_Vira_Jadamarah_imitative_of_Kushan_coinage_of_Kanishka_I._Circa_2nd-3rd_century_CE.jpg)
Kanishka's coins portray images ofIndian,Greek,Iranian and evenSumero-Elamite divinities, demonstrating thereligious 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 inBactrian, theIranian 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 'Kushan' and 'Kanishka'.
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 half 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.[29]
A few coins at the beginning of his reign have a legend in theGreek language and script:ΒΑΣΙΛΕΥΣ ΒΑΣΙΛΕΩΝ ΚΑΝΗϷΚΟΥ,basileus basileon kaneshkou "[coin] of Kanishka, king of kings."
Greek deities, with Greek names are represented on these early coins:
The inscriptions in Greek are full of spelling and syntactical errors.
Following the transition to the Bactrian language on coins, Iranian and Indic divinities replace the Greek ones:
Only a fewBuddhist divinities were used as well:
Only a fewHindu divinities were used as well:
In Buddhist tradition Kanishka is regarded as of utmost importance. Although he never converted to Buddhism, he encouraged its teachings and provided royal sponsorship.[32]: 201 Notably, he administered the 4th Buddhist Council inKashmir as the head of the council.[33]: 76 It was presided by Vasumitra and Ashwaghosha. Images of theBuddha based on 32 physical signs were made during his time.[clarification needed]
He encouraged both theGandhara school ofGreco-Buddhist Art and theMathura 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, proven by his devotion to Buddhist teachings and prayer styles depicted in various books related to kushan empire.
His greatest contribution to Buddhist architecture was theKanishka stupa at Purushapura, modern dayPeshawar. 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 asXuanzang indicate that its height was 600 to 700 (Chinese) "feet" (= roughly 180–210 metres or 591–689 ft.) and it was covered with jewels.[34]
Kanishka is said to have been particularly close to the Buddhist scholarAshvaghosha, who became his religious advisor in his later years.
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 theShakyamuni Buddha andMaitreya. 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:
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: adinar of about 8 gm, roughly similar to a Romanaureus, and a quarter dinar of about 2 gm. (about the size of anobol).
The Buddha is represented wearing the monastic robe, theantaravasaka, theuttarasanga, and the overcoatsanghati.
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 theusnisha, 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 theChakra mark, and his brow bear theurna. Anaureola, 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.
TheShakyamuni Buddha (with the legend "Sakamano Boudo", i.e. Shakamuni Buddha, another name for the historic BuddhaSiddharta Gautama), 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 theantaravasaka and theuttarasanga. 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 theBimaran casket and suggestive of a scarf-likeuttariya. He has an abundant topknot covering theushnisha, and a simple or doublehalo, sometimes radiating, surrounds his head.
The BodhisattvaMaitreya (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 aBodhisattva (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.[36] Both representations of the Buddha and Shakyamuni have both shoulders covered by their monastic gown, indicating that the statues used as models were from theGandhara school of art, rather thanMathura.
Several Buddhist statues are directly connected to the reign of Kanishka, such as several Bodhisattva statues from theArt of Mathura, while a few other fromGandhara are inscribed with a date in an era which is now thought to be theYavana era, starting in 186 to 175 BCE.[37]
| Dated statuary under Kanishka | |
| |
The "Kanishka casket" or "Kanishka reliquary", dated to the first year of Kanishka's reign in 127 CE, was discovered in a deposit chamber underKanishka 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.[49][50] It is today at the Peshawar Museum, and a copy is in theBritish Museum. It is said to have contained three bone fragments of the Buddha, which are now housed inMandalay, Burma.
The casket is dedicated inKharoshthi. The inscription reads:
The text is signed by the maker, a Greek artist namedAgesilas, who oversaw work at Kanishka'sstupas (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 byBrahma andIndra. 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 bycherubs 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 successorHuvishka.
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:
Additionally, the arrival of Kanishka was reportedly foretold or was predicted by the Buddha, as well as the construction of his stupa:
The same story is repeated in aKhotanese scroll found atDunhuang, 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:
Chinese pilgrims to India, such asXuanzang, who travelled there around 630 CE also relays the story:
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"[54]
Buddhist monks from the region ofGandhara 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. TheKushan monk,Lokaksema (c. 178 CE), became the first translator ofMahayana Buddhist scriptures into Chinese and established a translation bureau at the Chinese capitalLoyang. Central Asian and East Asian Buddhist monks appear to have maintained strong exchanges for the following centuries.
Kanishka was probably succeeded byHuvishka. How and when this came about is still uncertain. The inscription on TheSacred Rock of Hunza also shows the signs of Kanishka.
According to one influential account, he was born in Khotan and came from a family line different from that of Kushan dynasty founder Kujūla Kadphises and his successor, Vīma Kadphises.
According to the Chinese sources, Kanishka came originally from Khotan and belonged to one of the smaller Yueh Chi tribes.
There are two unconfirmed theories about Kanisha's having ruled in the periphery of the Kushan Empire before assuming power as the Shaonanoshao. Both are 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. 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, in which the list of [Kushan] kings of Kashmir gave Kanishka's name as the third of a sequence, suggesting that he had predecessors there (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.
Kanishka conquered Kashmir. Kanishka's vast empire extended over Kabul, over Yarkand and Khotan, over Kashmir and Rajputana, and over the whole of the Panjab, to Gujarat and Sind in the south, and to Agra in the east, and even China had hostages at his court. Kanishka was a zealous Buddhist of the Northern school, and held a council of five hundred monks.
According to one influential account, he was born in Khotan and came from a family line different from that of Kushan dynasty founder Kujūla Kadphises and his successor, Vīma Kadphises.
According to the Chinese sources, Kanishka came originally from Khotan and belonged to one of the smaller Yueh Chi tribes.
Kanishka, known as the Great (....) He is also known through mentions of him in many Indian epic and religious sources, where he is associated with the spread of Buddhism in Central Asia (Bivar 1983: 190f; Staviskij 1986: 201-215). Despite this concentration on his support of Buddhism, however, he appears to have been a ruler more akin to Constantine the Great than Theodosius the Great, in that he did not himself convert to Buddhism, rather rendering his support to the religion (Stavinskij 1986: 215-229; Grenet 2006).
𑁕Maharajasya Kanishkasya Sam 4 "Year 4 of the Great King Kanishka" in"Seated Buddha with Two Attendants".kimbellart.org. Kimbell Art Museum.
Media related toKanishka I at Wikimedia Commons| International | |
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![Kosambi Bodhisattva, inscribed "Year 2 of Kanishka".[38]](/mt/?noimg=&dark=on&url=https%3a%2f%2fwikipedia.org%2fwiki%2fFile%3aStanding_Bodhisattva_Dedicated_by_Buddhamitra_Year_2_of_Kanishka.jpg)
![Bala Bodhisattva, Sarnath, inscribed "Year 3 of Kanishka".[39]](/mt/?noimg=&dark=on&url=https%3a%2f%2fwikipedia.org%2fwiki%2fFile%3aBodhisattva_dedicated_by_Bhikshu_Bala_at_Sarnath_123_CE.jpg)
!["Kimbell seated Buddha", with inscription "year 4 of Kanishka" (131 CE).[40][41] Another similar statue has "Year 32 of Kanishka".[42]](/mt/?noimg=&dark=on&url=https%3a%2f%2fwikipedia.org%2fwiki%2fFile%3aKimbell_seated_Buddha_with_attendants%2c_Mathura.jpg)
![Gandhara Buddhist Triad from Sahr-i-Bahlol, c. 132 CE, similar to the dated Brussels Buddha.[43] Peshawar Museum.[44][45]](/mt/?noimg=&dark=on&url=https%3a%2f%2fwikipedia.org%2fwiki%2fFile%3aBuddhist_Triad_Peshawar_Museum.jpg)
![Image of a Nāga between two Nāgīs, inscribed in "the year 8 of Emperor Kanishka". 135 CE.[46][47][48]](/mt/?noimg=&dark=on&url=https%3a%2f%2fwikipedia.org%2fwiki%2fFile%3aN%25C4%2581ga_between_two_N%25C4%2581g%25C4%25ABs%2c_inscribed_in_the_year_8_of_Emperor_Kanishka_135_CE.jpg)
![Buddha from Loriyan Tangai with inscription mentionning the "year 318", thought to be 143 CE.[37]](/mt/?noimg=&dark=on&url=https%3a%2f%2fwikipedia.org%2fwiki%2fFile%3aLoriya_Tangai_Buddha.jpg)
![A Buddha from Loriyan Tangai from the same period.[37]](/mt/?noimg=&dark=on&url=https%3a%2f%2fwikipedia.org%2fwiki%2fFile%3aLoriya_Tangai_standing_Buddha.jpg)
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