Kushanas

Also called: Kushana dynasty, Kushans · Topic: Post-Mauryan India: Shungas to Kushanas · NCERT: Class 7, Ch 6 "The Age of Reorganisation"; Class 7, Ch 7 "The Gupta Era: An Age of Tireless Creativity"; Class 12, Ch 2 "Kings, Farmers and Towns"; Class 12, Ch 4 "Thinkers, Beliefs and Buildings"

Meaning

The Kushanas were a dynasty from Central Asia. At their peak, their empire ran from Central Asia into large parts of north India. Their dates are uncertain: Class 12 NCERT places them c. 1st century BCE to 1st century CE, while Class 7 NCERT says they entered India "probably in the 2nd century CE". They called their kings devaputra ("son of god"), set up huge royal statues in shrines at Mat near Mathura and in Afghanistan, and issued the first gold coins in India.

They matter because they changed the idea of kingship in India: a king now claimed to be close to god, not only powerful. Their control of the Silk Route also linked India to China, Central Asia and the Roman world through trade, coins and art.

Explanation

Who they were and how big their empire was

• The Kushanas came from Central Asia.
• They ruled northern India, Afghanistan, and possibly Central Asian land north of the Kashmir region [3].
• Their dates are not settled. Even the NCERTs differ:
• Class 12 places them c. 1st century BCE – 1st century CE. It gives Kanishka's accession (the year he became king) as c. 78 CE, and marks this date as uncertain.
• Class 7 says they entered India "probably in the 2nd century CE".
• Treat every Kushana date as approximate.

A new idea of kingship: the king close to god

• Colossal (very large) statues of Kushana kings were placed in shrines:
• one shrine at Mat, near Mathura (Uttar Pradesh),

• another shrine in Afghanistan.

• A shrine is normally the place for a god. Some historians therefore think the Kushanas saw themselves as godlike.

• A group of royal portrait sculptures was found at the village of Mat near Mathura [2].
• Many Kushana rulers took the title devaputra, which means "son of god".

• This was possibly copied from Chinese emperors, who called themselves "sons of heaven".

• The headless Kanishka statue is the best-known piece from Mat:

• It is about 1.85 metres tall. It was made in Mathura around the late 1st century CE and is now in the Archaeological Museum, Mathura [2].
• The king wears heavy boots, a tunic and a long coat, and leans on a mace (a heavy club-like weapon) [2].
• The dress is Central Asian, not Indian. The king shows off his foreign origin instead of hiding it.
• Royal portraits from the Mathura workshops are stiff and face strictly forward, with a belted tunic, high boots and a conical (cone-shaped) cap [2].
• Its Brahmi inscription (Brahmi = the script used in most early Indian inscriptions) reads maharaja rajadhiraja devaputra Kanishka, meaning "great king, king of kings, son of god".

Coins as a message

• The Kushanas used coins to send political messages, the way advertisements do today.
• One Kanishka coin shows:
• on one side, the king holding a spear, with the title "King of Kings",

• on the other side, the Buddha, labelled BOΔΔO in Greek script.

• Another coin type shows Shiva with his bull Nandi.

• Kanishka's coins honoured Zoroastrian, Greek and Brahmanical gods as well as the Buddha [3].
• The message: a strong king who supports more than one faith.
• The first gold coins in India:
• The Kushanas issued them from about the 1st century CE. They come from the largest hoards of this period (hoard = a lot of coins buried and found together).
• Their weight is almost the same as the Roman aureus (the Roman gold coin) and Parthian coins.
• Why the weight mattered:
  • Traders could accept the coins in long-distance trade without weighing them again.
  • This shows India was part of a wider money system.
• They are found across north India and Central Asia.
• Kushana gold follows a Roman weight standard. On these coins the rulers appear alongside many Near Eastern and South Asian gods [3].

Results: trade and art

• The Kushanas controlled large parts of the Silk Route, the land trade roads linking China, Central Asia, India and the West.
• Under Kanishka, contact with the Roman Empire along the Silk Road greatly increased both trade and the exchange of ideas [3].
• Gandhara had direct access to the land silk routes and links to ports on the Arabian Sea [3].
• Kanishka patronised art and culture (supported artists with money and favour). The clearest example is the Gandhara school of art, where Greek and Roman styles appear in images of the Buddha [3].

Time, place and evidence

• Period: c. 1st century BCE – 1st century CE according to Class 12 NCERT. Class 7 NCERT says they "probably" entered India in the 2nd century CE. Treat these dates as approximate.
• Key ruler: Kanishka. His accession is placed at c. 78 CE, but this date is debated.
• Region: Central Asia, Afghanistan and north India, with possibly Central Asian land north of Kashmir [3]. The main art centres were Mathura and Gandhara.
• How we know:
• Sculptures: royal statues from the shrine at Mat near Mathura, including the headless Kanishka statue in the Archaeological Museum, Mathura [2]. A second royal shrine was in Afghanistan.
• Inscriptions: the Brahmi legend maharaja rajadhiraja devaputra Kanishka on the Kanishka statue.

• Coins: gold coins from large hoards across north India and Central Asia, showing the king with the Buddha (BOΔΔO), Shiva with Nandi, and Zoroastrian and Greek gods [3].

• A date gap to note: Britannica dates the Great Kushan gold coins to the 2nd and early 3rd centuries CE [3]. NCERT places the first gold coins at c. 1st century CE. Use the NCERT date in the exam.

Don't confuse with

• Devanampiya (Ashoka): means "beloved of the gods". The Kushana title devaputra means "son of god", which is a stronger claim to divine status.
• Guptas: they issued many famous gold coins later. But the first gold coins in India were Kushana.
• Mathura vs Gandhara style: Mathura royal portraits such as Kanishka's are stiff, face forward and show Central Asian dress [2]. Gandhara Buddha images show Greek and Roman styles [3].
• Roman aureus: this was the Roman gold coin. Kushana gold coins only matched its weight. They were Kushana coins, not Roman ones.

Prelims Hooks

• Devaputra = "son of god". It was a Kushana royal title, possibly inspired by Chinese emperors called "sons of heaven".
• The Kanishka statue's inscription reads maharaja rajadhiraja devaputra Kanishka, in Brahmi script.
• Kushana royal statue shrines: Mat (near Mathura, Uttar Pradesh) and one in Afghanistan.
• Headless Kanishka statue: about 1.85 m tall, late 1st century CE, now in the Archaeological Museum, Mathura. It shows boots, a tunic and a coat, with the king leaning on a mace [2].
• On a Kanishka coin the Buddha is labelled BOΔΔO in Greek script. Another coin type shows Shiva with Nandi.
• The Kushanas issued the first gold coins in India. Their weight is nearly equal to the Roman aureus and Parthian coins. Kanishka's accession is c. 78 CE (uncertain).

Mains Points

• Kingship became divine, not only powerful.
• Ashoka called himself devanampiya, "beloved of the gods". The Kushanas went further, with devaputra and royal statues placed inside shrines.

• A foreign dynasty ruling a new land used a religious claim to make its rule accepted.

• The titles and coins show many traditions mixing.

• Maharaja is Indian, rajadhiraja is Iranian/Central Asian, and devaputra may echo Chinese practice.
• The coins honour the Buddha, Shiva, and Zoroastrian and Greek gods [3].

• Conclusion: a king ruling many peoples supported all their gods instead of one state religion. India was part of a connected Eurasia.

• Trade paid for the ideology and shaped the art.

• Control of the Silk Route paid for gold coins on a Roman weight standard.
• The same roads carried Greek and Roman art styles into Gandhara Buddha images [3].
• Link economy, art and kingship in one chain of cause and effect.

Related concepts

• Kujula Kadphises
• Vima Kadphises
• Kanishka
• Huvishka
• Divine kingship
• Devaputra
• Kanishka's coins
• Rabatak inscription
• Kanishka casket

Read more

• The Kushanas and divine kingship