Kanishka casket
Also called: Shah-ji-ki-Dheri casket · Topic: Post-Mauryan India: Shungas to Kushanas · NCERT: Beyond NCERT
Meaning
The Kanishka casket is a small metal relic box made in Kanishka's time. A relic box held sacred remains of the Buddha. It was found in a large stupa at Shah-ji-ki-Dheri, near Peshawar in present-day Pakistan. The stupa is linked to Kanishka. The casket matters because it joins a Kushana king's image with Buddhist worship in one object.
Example
The casket was dug up in 1908–09. It shows a figure of Kanishka on its side and a seated Buddha on its lid. It also carries Kharosthi inscriptions that name Kanishka. The casket is now in the Peshawar Museum.
Don't confuse with
- Bimaran casket: this is a gold relic box from Afghanistan, also showing the Buddha. It is not linked to Kanishka's stupa.
- Kanishka's coins: these are a different kind of evidence. They show the Buddha as BOΔΔO on currency, not on a relic box.
Related concepts
- Kushanas
- Kujula Kadphises
- Vima Kadphises
- Kanishka
- Huvishka
- Divine kingship
- Devaputra
- Kanishka's coins
- Rabatak inscription