Short Biography of Kanishka Kadphises

Kadphises II was succeeded by Kanishka in 78 A.D. as the third king of the Kushana dynasty. He was the greatest of the Kushana Emperors of India.

His exact relation with Kadphises II is not known. But his immediate succession to the throne after him proves that he was the next in line to rule over the empire.

With the accession of Kanishka to throne, there began the Saka Era or the Sakabda in Indian history. The Christian year 78 A.D. has been accepted by most historians as the year of the foundation of the Saka Era. For centuries thereafter and till now, this era has continued to dominate the Indian reckoning of the years and time.

It appears paradoxical that though Kanishka was a Kushana Emperor, and not a Saka, yet the era founded by him became famous as the Saka Era. This was for the fact that to the Indian people of that time the Sakas and the Kushanas appeared as the same type of external tribes to pass under a common name as Saka.

Since the Sakas came and settled earlier, and also became Indianised before the Kushanas, their name became more familiar to the Indians. Thus that the Kushanas also passed under that name among the common people, and therefore, the era of Kanishka became famous a the Saka Era. Kanishka was one of the greatest rulers of ancient India. By his conquests, by religious activities and by patronising the Indian culture, he made the Kushana period eminently distinguished.

The conquests of Kanishka:

Kanishka extended the Kushana Empire vastly both outside and inside India. At the time of his accession to the throne, the Kushana Empire included within its boundaries such territories as Afghanistan, a large part of Sindh, the Punjab, portions of Parthia, and Bactria. Kanishka added to this other extensive areas by his conquests and annexations. It is obvious that he fought a series of wars during his reign. The capital of Kanishka was at Purushapura (modern Peshawar).

 

Inside India, Kanishka conquered Kashmir early in his reign. It is understood from Kalhana’s Rajatarangini that Kanishka built many monasteries, chaityas, and other monuments in the Kashmir valley. He founded a city named Kanishkapura in Kashmir which place is still known as Kanispore and is situated near Baramula.

Kanishka conquered deep into the interior of the Gangetic valley and occupied Magadha. It is known from the Buddhist sources that after his capture of Pataliputra, he brought from there the famous Buddhist philosopher Aswaghosha with him to his capital. Kanishka’s rule was established over other areas of the north like Oudh, Benaras, Sravasti, Gorakhpur, and Mathura.

It is also known that Kanishka fought against some of the Saka satraps who were still ruling over western India. He defeated the Saka ruler of Ujjayini, and extended his authority to Malwa. Outside India, Kanishka fought against and defeated the king of the Parthians, and annexed his territories to his empire.

Thereafter, he crossed the Pamirs with his army and invaded Khotan, Yarkand and Kashgar. The rulers of these territories having been subordinate chiefs under the Chinese Emperor, Kanishka’s conflict with the Chinese power became inevitable. According to the descriptions of the Chinese pilgrim Hiuen Tsang who visited India five centuries later, Kanishka kept a Chinese prince as a hostage in his court during his conflict with the Chinese Emperor. Ultimately, Kanishka came out victorious over the Chinese, and established his sovereignty over Khotan, Yarkand, and Kashgar.

The empire of Kanishka thus extended from Persia to Pataliputra and included Kapisa, Gandhara, Kashmir, Punjab, Sindh and Malwa, besides of course the valley of the Ganges upto Patna. The Chinese territories like Khotan and Yarkand also formed a part of the Kushana Empire. It was a unique empire in the sense that the most of Central Asia, a large area of China beyond the Pamir Passes and a great portion of northern and western India formed its component parts. The southern extent of the empire touched the Vindhya Mountains.

The vast empire of Kanishka was governed by his deputies styled as Mahakshatraps and Kshatrapas (Satraps). The names of some of these governors have been preserved in historical sources.

The capital of the empire, Purushapura, was more or less centrally situated. There are evidences to show that Kanishka made it a great city. As a political centre, a military stronghold, and a sacred place of Buddhism, Purushapura attained the status of other notable ancient capitals like Pataliputra. Recent archaeological discoveries show that this famous city of Kanishka was situated near the modern capital of the North-West Frontier Province, Peshawar.

 

Religion of Kanishka: His religious Achievement:

In the history of Buddhism, Kanishka has been given a place only next to Asoka as a patron of that religion. 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 gods. As they had come from outside, they also respected their earlier gods. 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.

Once he embraced Buddhism, Kanishka took up the cause of that religion in great sincerity. 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. Among his many achievements as a Buddhist monarch, the following works were noteworthy and significant;

Firstly, Kanishka imitated the examples of Asoka to take up a mighty construction programme. He built many Buddhist monasteries and repaired many old ones. Buddhist stupas were erected at many places associated with the life of Buddha. They were also constructed at other places to preserve the relics of Buddha for the veneration of the people. At Purushapura, the capital of the Kushana Empire, Kanishka built a stupendous Relic Tower or Chaitya to strike wonder in the mind of men.

The pilgrims and travellers who saw this tower even, long after Kanishka’s time regarded it as a wonder of the world. The structure of the tower was made of wood and iron which rose to a height of 400 feet and contained as many as thirteen storeys. Near the tower was built a huge Buddhist monastery. By erecting Buddhist monuments in good number at different places of his empire, Kanishka attracted the attention and devotion of the people towards Buddhism.

Secondly, Kanishka held the Fourth Buddhist Council with learned Buddhist philosophers, monks and divines numbering about five hundred. Some of the most renowned intellectual luminaries of the age like Asvaghosha, Vasumitra, Nagarjuna and Parsva attended this Council. 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.

According to Buddhist traditions, the Council was summoned by Kanishka in order “to settle the disputed points of the Buddhist religion”. The learned divines thereupon examined the entire Buddhist literature, and prepared voluminous commentaries on them. Their discourses were collected in form of a religious text known as Mahavibhasha. This monumental work is regarded as the greatest book on Buddhist philosophy.

The decisions of the Fourth Buddhist Council were recorded on copper plates and were preserved in a stupa. The Council succeeded in settling the prevailing disputes among the various schools of Buddhism. This achievement gave a vigorous encouragement to the Buddhists to carry on their missionary activities with greater zeal.

Thirdly, 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.

In earlier days, as in the days of Asoka, the Buddhists venerated Buddha by symbols. They did not worship the image of Buddha. This was the old Hinayana form of Buddhism. This system contained the true spirit of Buddhism which did not believe in image or idol worship, but emphasised on good conduct and action of man.

But, the Hinayana form was difficult for the common people to follow. They wanted to express their devotion to a God and worship it in visible form. The vast masses of people in Central Asia, Tibet, China and the Far East were mentally hungry for a religion having an object or image for worship.

In such conditions that the Buddhist divines thought of a new system in which they wanted to worship Buddha in shape of a statue. This system became famous as the Mahayana. Mahayanism also introduced the worship of the Bodhisattvas along with the worship of the Buddha.

Kanishka took up the cause of the Mahayana form of Buddhism to serve his purpose as a missionary. Hundreds of thousands of big and small statues of Buddha were prepared for the propagation of Buddhism. These statues flooded the Indian mainland, and went outside to Central Asia, Tibet and China in countless number. The Mahayana Buddhism adopted a different mode of propagation, having the Buddha’s images to preach Buddhism among the people. This served a timely purpose in the spread of Buddhism in and outside.

Fourthly, like Asoka in the past, Kanishka sent many missionaries to preach Buddhism in and outside countries. He enjoyed a greater advantage in this regard. The Kushana Empire under him contained many races and peoples living in several territories of Central Asia and the borderlands of Tibet and China. To those people he could easily send his missionaries in large number.

Since Kanishka was a Buddhist himself, his subjects outside felt attracted towards the religion of their king. Added to this was the charm of the Mahayanas from of Buddhism which Kanishka preached outside where the people found the images for their worship as they desired. It was from the time of Kanishka that Buddhism started penetrating deeply into Central Asia. Tibet, China, and Japan in a sweeping way.

Finally, 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. Previously, the religious texts of Buddhism were written in Pali. From the time of Kanishka, important religious books on Buddhism were written in Sanskrit. The deeper philosophies of Buddhism came to be appreciated more and more at the higher intellectual level.

For all such achievements in the cause of Buddhism, Kanishka has been honoured by the Buddhists as the second Asoka. In the high tide of Mahayana doctrines, Buddhism surged forward in distant directions to establish its predominance on the Asian humanity.

Kanishka as a Patron of 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.

From the excavations of his famous stupa near Peshawar, a relic casket of bronze has been discovered. 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. This proves the catholicity and liberality of Kanishka towards the Indian beliefs.

 

Kanishka was a unique patron of art and learning. 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 court of Kanishka was proof of his liking for the men of letters.

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. So great was this work that the Buddhists regarded it as an epic of Buddhism, like the Ramayana of Valmiki for the Hindus. Asvaghosha was also the author of another famous work known as Sutralankara.

The court of Kanishka was also adorned by Nagarjuna who was both a philosopher and a scientist. He was the author of the scientific work Madhyamika sutra which dealt with the theory of relativity.

Vasumitra, the eminent Buddhist divine who presided over the Fourth Buddhist Council, was also a celebrity in the court of Kanishka. He compiled the Mahavibhasha Sastra as a remarkable commentary on the Buddhist Tripitakas. This work is regarded as an encyclopaedia of Buddhism.

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 Charaka-Samhita which maintained its hold on the Indian mind over centuries since then and also retains its hold on the Ayurvedic Science of the present time.

The court of Kanishka also contained several other men of eminence like Parsva and Mathura. Representing various sphere of knowledge. These men, as if, made the royal court an academy of learning.

Kanishka was equally a patron of architecture. Besides the numerous stupas and monasteries which he built at many places, he also constructed majestic edifices in some of the famous cities of India like Mathura and Taxila, besides his capital in Purushapura. Some of his architectures survived for centuries to draw the admiration of foreign travellers.

He made the city of Mathura a place of remarkable sculptural activities. His own life size statue, showing him in a standing position in military dress and boots, is still seen in Mathura as a relic of his activities there. Unfortunately the statue lost its head in some future time. Yet, it stands so majestically and is so imposing and impressive that it symbolises the achievement of that age in spheres of art.

Kanishka made a more permanent contribution to the Indian culture by his encouragement of the Gandhara School of Art. The rise of the Mahayana Buddhism called for the preparation of hundreds of thousands of statues of Buddha to be worshipped by the Buddhists in and outside India. The artists and sculptors got engaged in large number at different centres to make the statues. For this purpose, and under the active interest of Kanishka the sculptors and artists from outside joined hands with Indian sculptors to make the images of Buddha, the Bodhisattvas, and to depict the life of Buddha in sculptures.

As the Kushana Empire extended towards the frontiers of the Greek world, and also contained Greek settlements within its territories, the Greek or the Hellenic artistic techniques influenced the Indian art of image making. 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. Under this art, the Indian images and themes were worked out on stone according to the Greek style of figure-making. Around Kanishka’s capital, and in the cities like Taxila, the Gandhara Art began to develop rapidly.

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. The demand for these images grew as Mahayanism spread farther and farther. Places like Sanchi, Rajagriha, Sarnath and Sravasti received the Mathura images in large numbers.

The new wave of art also influenced Jainism and Brahminism. Mathura, which was a centre of Jainism got a strong incentive for Jaina image making. Brahminical gods and goddesses also received the profound attention of the artists.

The time of Kanishka was thus a time of intense literary, philosophical, scientific and artistic activities. The royal patronage covered almost every branch of culture. No monarch of foreign origin did so much to enhance the glory of Indian culture as did Kanishka.