The Kushans, who came to dominate ancient India after the fall of the Mauryas, made radical contributions to the Indian cultural scene. He has led to extraordinary growth in the fields of religion, literature, art and architecture. His cultural contributions can be seen below.

Buddhism flourished and flourished during the Kushan dynasty. Kanishka was a devout Buddhist and worked hard for the development of Chaudhadharma. Because of this, Kanishka is called the 2nd Buddha. The steps taken by Kanishka for the development of Buddhism were immense and unforgettable.

He repaired the old sangharams for the betterment of religion and gave great encouragement to the construction of many new sangharams. He sent missionaries to foreign countries like Madhyamvishya, Tibet, Burma, Japan, Korea and China.

He convened the 4th Buddhist Conference at Kundalavan near Srinagar in Kashmir for the enlightenment of Buddhism. This conference was held in AD 100. Vasumitra presided over this conference. Ashwaghosa was the vice-president. Buddhist scholars like Nagarjuna and Parsvara had arrived.

This conference made significant achievements. They are:

1. Compiled the Buddha’s teachings.

2. Eliminated differences among Buddhist followers.

3. Buddhist literature was re-examined and the Mahabashya was composed on the Tripitakas. It is like an encyclopedia of Buddhism and is named as ‘Maha Vibhasha’.

During the reign of Kanishka, there were major changes in Buddhism, some followers of the Buddhist sect, who were already influenced by Hindu religious principles, deified Buddha and started idolatry. He was named as Mahayana Buddhist. Buddhists who did not worship the Buddha called themselves the Hinayana sect, Kanishka relied heavily on the Mahayana Buddhist sect and gave great encouragement to it. Thus the Mahayana sect was highly developed. Mahayana Buddhism grew into a powerful religious sect in India, Central Asia, Tibet, China and Japan. Kanishka strove immensely for the prosperity of Buddhism which led the religion to attain a state of eminence.

Literature also flourished during the Kushan period. The Kushan rulers were lovers of literature and gave a lot of encouragement to the development of literature. This led to the creation of several important works. The important literary and religious works of the Kushan period and their historical value can be reviewed.

‘Ashwaghosa’ in Kanishka’s court was famous as a poet, philosopher, dramatist and musician. His major works are:

Describes the life history of Buddha.

Analyzes the important events of Buddha’s life.

Condemns the contemporary caste system.

It is in the form of drama and gives details about the conversion of Sariputra and Moggalla. As the French scholar ‘Selvanvy’ opines ‘the richness and variety of Ashwaghosa’s literature reminds us of Milton, Gayet, Kant, Walware’. Some scholars believe that Ashwaghosa was influenced by Kalidasa and Bhasakavi.

His Works:

1. Satasahasika Prajnaparimitha

2. Madhyamika Sutra

3. Sahrulekha

Nagarjuna was another famous poet of Kanishka’s court. Nagarjuna, the proponent of the Mahayana sect, advocated the theory of relativity in the Madhyamika Sutra. Prajnaparimita is a work of Vedanta.

The work ‘Sahrilekha’ analyzes the Four Noble Truths and Ashtanga Siddhamargas. The essence of this work is that no distinction should be made between friends and enemies. Nagarjuna has been called India’s Martin Luther and India’s Einstein. Chinese pilgrim Hiuen Tsang, who observed Nagarjuna’s erudition, says that ‘Nagarjuna is also one of the four lights of the world’.

Charaka of the Kushana era was a great scholar of Ayurvedic medicine. He was a famous physician in Kanishka’s court. He composed a medical work called ‘Charakasamhita’. It was translated into Persian in the 7th century AD and Arabic in the 5th century AD. During Kanishka’s time there were scholars named Vasumitra and Parsva. Vasumitra served as the President of the Fourth Buddhist Mahasamela. Noting the literary activities of the Kushan period, Dr. H.G. Rallison opined that ‘the Kushan period is an excellent prelude to the Gupta era’.

Art wealth was created by the Kushans who patronized the arts more. Elegance, artistry, Kusuri’s carving saw the emergence of splendor in art. The development of the Kushan period ushered in a new era in Indian art. It is called ‘Gandhara Art’ because the Kushans developed art with Gandhara as their center. This art is also named ‘Greco-Buddhist Art’ as it has features of Greek and Indian art. Also called ‘Greco-Roman art’ as it combines features of the Hellenistic art of Asia Minor and the Roman Empire.

Present day Afghanistan was formerly known as Gandhara country. The Greek sculptors who came here gave birth to a new art style. It is called ‘Gandhara style of sculpture’. Its major art centers are:

Jalalabad,

the boat

Bamiyan,

Swat Valley and Peshawar District.

Gandhara sculpture is the result of India’s cultural and commercial contact with the kingdoms of Greece and Rome. As the Mahayana sect grew, Gandhara sculpture was introduced to China, Tibet and Japan, but further Gandhara art lost its importance and disappeared after the Kushans. In sculpture, reliefs are given priority. The Mahayana sect elevated Buddha to the level of divinity, which inspired the carving of idols. Stone, plaster and clay were used in the creation of idols. In this art, various forms of Buddha were created. The birth of the Buddha, as a prince, as a monk, and how Siddhartha became the Buddha are depicted. Details are available from the childhood of the Buddha to the time of his enlightenment. VA Smith opines that ‘the sculptor seems to have used all the elements appropriately without neglecting any mundane taste’.

Buddha idols were not carved before the Kushans. And did not worship. Instead they worshiped only symbols of Buddha. They are:-

1. Buddha’s Foot Mark,

2. Umbrella,

3. Vacancy,

4. Remains of Buddha’s ossuary,

But at first he started carving Buddha idols in Gandhara style. These were in standing, seated or reclining statuettes of mannequins.

Greek sculptors did not forget their earlier Greek technique, method and form even when carving Indian Buddha. Instead, he saw it in the statue of Buddha. As a result Gandhara Buddha images resembled the Greek god ‘Apollo’.

Greco-Roman theological motifs are intermingled in the carved Buddha from Greek sculptures. Mainly attention is given to hairstyle. Hair goes up like stairs. The head is decorated with jewels. A long moustache, beard carved in accordance with the Greek tradition. Yakshas, ​​Garudas, Nagas, sages and priests, including the Indian Buddha, are left with beards and mustaches. These sculptures look like the Greek Atlantis, Bacchants, Nues, Heraxis, Eros, Hermes.

At first the Greek sculptors listened to the biography of Siddhartha. He imagined a king who was supposed to be in a blissful slumber, leaving his kingdom, palace, wife and children and drifting away. He imagined in his mind what it would be like to be a person without food, always inquisitive, thinking about removing the world’s misery. The story of Siddhartha, the Buddha, was planted in his mind as such an enlightened person. Thus the Greek sculptors began to carve realistically. The result was a stone Buddha with a sunken forehead, sunken eyes and protruding muscles.

Greek sculptors showed their talent in depicting the garb worn by Buddha. The Buddha’s garment is pleated and is at the base of the fold. The body structure is visible from the top of the clothes and is transparent. The dress is modeled after the Greek toga.

The Greeks settled in what is now Afghanistan (Gandhara) chose the Indian Lord Buddha as the subject matter for their sculptures. Indian sages, garudas and yakshas also appeared in his carvings. Lord Buddha’s sitting posture was a model of yoga, the sculptor was a Greek sculptor of foreign background whose subject matter was Indian and the subject matter was significant. So Dr. According to RC Majumdar, ‘The Gandhara sculptor had a Greek hand and only an Indian heart’.

As recently as 2001, the fanatical Taliban government of Afghanistan destroyed the precious Gandhara idols. The idol was vandalized using cannons, tanks and medicine bullets and was destroyed. It has destroyed a precious culture of its country. Chief among these are:

1. Bamiyan rock-cut Buddha image. It was 175 feet tall and was the tallest in the world. Hiuen Tsang claims to have hunted here and seen this idol.

2. Another famous idol destroyed by the Taliban is Sadri Bahlool Buddha. It was 86 feet tall. 3. The Taliban government systematically dismembered thousands of idols in the National Museum in Kabul.

3. Despite the appeal of the whole world, the Taliban government did not listen and continued its work of idolatry. In the history of culture and civilization they advertised to the world that they had no culture and civilization. This is the story of the Taliban’s ritualistic idol destruction.

Mathura art style is known as the art developed with Mathura as its center. Mathura sculptures include Jain Tirthankaras, Buddha, Bodhisattvas and Sundaryas, Lavanyavatis, Brahma, Vishnu, Shiva, Surya, Mahishasura Mardini etc. Some of the sculptures of young women are very graceful. The scene of the young woman singing with the birds, the bird trying to suck the water while a young woman is taking a bath and squeezing her hair, the Amohini sculpture, the sculpture of Kanishka are the best sculptures. Rawlinn has described it as ‘Deshy Art Style’ due to the presence of Indian elements in the Mathura art style. Prof. Romila Thapar opined that the credit for Indianizing the Buddha image goes to the Mathura Kala Panth.

The Sarnath style of art contained desi elements similar to the Mathura style. It was freed from foreign influence. “Bikshubala” carved the Bodhisattva idol at Sarnath during the reign of Kanishka.

During the Kushana period, architecture, like sculpture, was highly developed. Kanishka patronized a Greek architect named “Agesilon”. A large number of buildings were constructed in areas like Peshawar, Kanishkapur, Takshashile, Mathura etc. Such include stupas, viharas and sangharams. Such precious monuments are in dilapidated condition. Kanishka built many towers. He built a city called Kanishkapura in Kashmir. He laid the foundation stone of Sirsur city of Taxila. As Kanishka developed Purushura (Peshawar), ‘Huvishka’ beautified Mathura with monuments and sculptures. Huvishka built a city called Huvishkapura in Kashmir.