Fwd: Kanishka: The Kushan King of Gandhara

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gandhara , Yashwant K <yashwant0k wrote:

 

The Kushan Period100 - 200 AD

 

 

The Kushanas

The label Kushan is used for the cultural group which came to dominate the

region of Pakistan, Afghanistan and north-west India from the first century of

this era onwards. Kushan is the name which appears upon the coins of the

dynasty. It is often associated with the Kueh-Shan section of the great Yu-Chi

horde. This is the group Chinese sources tell us came to dominate the horde and

who conquered India; however, some scholars have argued on the basis of

etymologies, that the Kueh-Shan was a group already present in Bactria

(Afghanistan) before the arrival of the Ta Yu-chi.

 

 

Regal Gandharan BodhisattvaGandhara

Gandhara was a central region of Kushan influence. It was located in northern

India south of the Hindu Kush, at the convergence of the rivers that form the

Indus. The area is now part of modern Pakistan and Afghanistan. Gandhara was

also the site of several Greek kingdoms before falling under Parthian and Kushan

domination in the first century AD. The region quickly became an important

center for new artistic trends during the rise of the Kushans. This new artwork

produced some of the first stone images of the Buddha, which were strongly

influenced by classical Greek and Roman sculpture (as can be seen in the picture

above).

Theological Changes

Although Buddhist monks had been a common sight in India and Bactria for several

centuries before the arrival of the Kushan invaders from Central Asia, Buddhist

theology changed considerably. The Kushans began the division of practicioners

into monks and laity, with monastic meditation strongly emphasized for monks.

Desire for total enlightenment coupled with an abiding belief in reincarnation

ushered in a new era of piety. This brave new path to salvation appears to have

been highly favoured by the fourth Kushan king, Kanishka the Great, though some

historians argue to this day that he never fully converted to Buddhism. Buddhism

would slowly decline as a religion in India by the end of the Kushan period in

the third century AD. Bactria reverted back to the Persians, and Hinduism

reasserted itself in the land of Gautama Buddha. The rest, as they say, is

history.

Kanishka the Great

Kanishka was the most famous of the Kushan kings. It is not known how he became

the king, but he ascended the throne in AD 120. When he inherited the kingdom,

his empire consisted of Bactria (Afghanistan), Sind, Punjab and portions of the

former Parithan and Bactrian kingdoms. He extended his empire from the

north-west into Kashmir and over most of the Gangetic valley. Kanishka also

annexed three provinces of the Chinese empire, and was the only Indian king to

ever rule over these territories. He had two capitals, one at Purushpura

(Peshawar now in Pakistan), and another at Mathura in west Uttar Pradesh, India.

At Purushapura he eventually built a famous towering monument to house relics of

Buddha. You would think that relics of Buddha would have been hard to come by

after Ashoka built thousands of stupas centuries earlier.

 

Dharma of Buddha

 

Kanishka embraced Buddhism towards the middle of his reign. He is said to have

been Zoroastrian before he became a Buddhist. He spent his royal resources in

spreading the dharma far and wide. Mahayana was the new form of Buddhism that

was practiced during this historical period where the Buddha was literally

worshipped as God. Old monastries were repaired, and many new ones were built to

accomodate the growing flock. Buddhism had not seen such a comeback since the

reign of Emperor Ashoka in the thrid century before Christ.

 

Gandharan Grace

A Patron of Art and Commerce

Kanishka was a great patron of art and commerce. A new form of Buddhist art,

Gandhara Art, was developed. Beautiful stone images of Buddha were fashioned in

a Greek-Roman style. These images were carved in a realistic way, with graceful

bodies and curly hair. Kanishka also developed the Bamiyan area of Bactria

(Afghanistan) into a major religious and commercial centre (Silk Road). The

smaller of the two Buddha statues of Bamiyan, recently destroyed by the Taliban,

was built during Kanishka's reign. The much larger statue, sadly no more, was

built two centuries later. Pilgrims from all over the ancient Buddhist world

poured into Bamiyan to admire its spectacular artifacts and sacred sites.

Bamiyan eventually fell to the Islamic scourge in the 9th Century, with the

Taliban finishing the job in our brave new millennium. Such is the cult of

hatred and ignorance that still prevails in a mystical world that has seen great

men and buddhas come and go.

Ardour in the Court

Kanishka's royal court was adorned by many scholars like Ashvaghosha, Vasumitra,

Nagarjuna and Charak. Ashvaghosha was a great poet and a master of music. He

wrote Buddhacharita, a biography of the Buddha. Charak was a great physician and

he wrote a book, Charak Samhita, which is based on the Ayurvedic system of

medicine. Great men are generally surrounded by great men who come to share in

the greatness of the times. Kanishka's reign is believed to have lasted 23

years. Through inheritance and conquest, he spread and fostered the noble

teachings and spectacular new iconography of the Prince of Peace. Kanishka was a

tolerant king, and his coins show that he honoured the Zoroastrian, Greek, and

Brahmanic deities as well as the Buddha. During his reign, friendly and

productive contacts with the Roman Empire led to a significant increase in trade

along with an open exchange of ideas. The Gandhara school of art would not have

risen to the heights that it did without his wise rule. No

wonder many scholars have stated that the Kushan period was the most important

period in the history of Buddhism and its iconography.

Carrying the Torch

Kanishka historically played the part of a second Ashoka to the Indian people,

and as a result, the Buddhist arts once again evolved and flourished in brave

new places like Gandhara and Mathura. Buddhism rapidly spread to Central Asia

and China under Kanishka's auspicies, and he is historically noted for having

convened the fourth great Buddhist council in Kashmir that marked the beginnings

of Mahayana Buddhism. Those statues were part of the civilized world's cultural

heritage, and harkened back to a time when rulers of true religious vision like

Kanishka, and Ashoka before him, perceived the inherent greatness of the Saviour

of the World, Lord Buddha.

 

http://members.porchlight.ca/blackdog/kanishka.htm

 

 

 

 

 

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--- End forwarded message ---

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From MMK (

Arya-Manjusri-M. ulakalpa,

http://ia331335.us.archive.org/3/items/imperialhistoryo035289mbp/imperialhistoryo035289mbp.pdf)

 

 

The description of the Turushka king is undoubtedly the description

of Kanishka. The centre of his kingdom according to our

text was Bashkala which was connected with Udyana-cum-Kapisa and

Kashmir. The tract thus indicated by the word Bashkala is Balkh with

a transposition in the second syllable Ikh. According to the text, Turushka

(Kanishka) was primarily a king of Afghanistan (Kavisa),

Suwat, and Kashmir on this side of the Himadri (in its wider significance)

, and up to Balkh which was considered as one of the northern

provinces of Bharatavarsha (LA., 1933, p. 130).

Turushka is credited with having established in the North the

Prajnaparamita. It should be noted that he is not credited with the

holding of any Buddhist Council. Nor is Kanishka described under any

other name in our history.

All Indian authorities our text, Alberuni's sources, Kalhana, etc.

unanimously call Kanishka a Turushka, probably on account of his

24 IMPERIAL HISTORY OF INDIA

original country being Central Asia. The Text calls the next king a

mahayaksha (see below). His immediate successor is named

Maha-Turushka, whose succession was approved by his relatives.

Does this denote a friction between Vaseshka and H u v i s h k a?

The extensive Buddhist foundations would identify the 'Maha-Turushka'

with Huvishka.

The unity of the family with