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Kushana Polity
Kushana Polity
Kushana Polity
The period from c. 200 BCE – 300 CE was historically significant from several points of
view. In north India, several invasions from the north-west led to westward shift in the focus
of political power away from the Magadha region. The Deccan and far south experienced a
transition to a state polity and society. City life spread to new regions of the subcontinent.
Craftsperson produced larger quantities and more varied goods, trade within the subcontinent
and between its regions and other lands flourished, and money was increasingly used as a
medium of exchange. New cultural winds blew into the subcontinent in the wake of the
invasions and expanding trade, and the north-west in particular became a major cultural
crossroads. The devotional worship of images in shrines became a corner stone of religious
life, cutting across cultic and sectarian boundaries. The increasing institutionalisation of
religious activity was reflected in religious texts, permanent religious structures, and
inscriptions, stone sculptures and terracotta art.
Sources – The sources for the history of these centuries are many and diverse. The
Jatakas contain many stories of ordinary people, traders, and travellers. Incidental historical
references occur in other Buddhist works such as the Milindpanha and Lalitvistara. The
Puranas and epics are a rich source of information on the emergence of early Hindu cults and
religious practices. The later Dharmasutras and Smritis such as the Manava Dharmashastra
(c. 200 BCE -200 CE) and Yajnavalkya Smriti (c. 100-300 CE) represent Brahmanical
discourses, through which we can get glimmers of the society of their time.
After more than two centuries of disintegration following the fall of the Maurya empire
the Kushanas restored the partial political unity of northern India and maintained it for about
more than a century. The Kushana empire was formed by one of the five Great Yueh-chi
principalities, Kuei-shang. A Kuei-shang ruler named Miaos seems to have extended his rule
to north of the Oxus and established an independent Kuei-shang principality in the second
half of the 1st century BCE. In the early 1st CE, Kujula Kadphises, amalgamated the five
principalities and laid the foundations of a unified Kushana empire. His coins have been
found south of the Hindu Kush suggesting that Kushana movement into the Indian
subcontinent began in his time. Kujula Kadphises was succeeded by his son Wima
Kadphises. During his reign the Kushanas pressed further east and established their control
over the Indus valley and the Mathura region. The Kushana empire reached its zenith during
the reign of Kanishka. Most scholars accept that his reign began in 78 CE and that his
successors dated their inscriptions in an era beginning from this year.
The feudatory character of the Kushana political system can also be inferred from some
other titles. The title mahishvara adopted by Wema Kadphises II means the great lord. The
title sarvaloka-ishvara means the lord of the whole world, though these titles were not
adopted by the Kanishka group of Kushana rulers. The generally prevalent Kushana titles
such as rajatiraja and shahi were not adopted by indigenous rulers, but the term ishvara
associated with the Kadphises group came to be common with the post-Gupta rulers, who
styled themselves as parmeshvara, the supreme lord.
The military system of the Kushanas is not reflected in their records. The frequent use of
the term dandanayaka in its different forms in their inscriptions suggests the importance of
the military element in their polity. They were skilled horsemen using stirrups. The Mathura
statue of Kanishka clearly shows that boots and trousers formed the essential equipment of
the Kushana horsemen who seem to have been good archers. The kshatrapas exercised their
powers through semi-military officers known as dandanayaka and mahadandanayaka, who
seem to have occupied an important position in the Kushana polity. During the reign of
Kanishka we hear of dandanayaka Lala, who served Kshatrapa Veshpasi as his donation
master. He was scion of the ruling family, for he is described as “the increaser of the Kushana
race.” Kushana inscriptions from Mathura mentions mahadandanayaka Valina and
Hummiyaka Chanayakka. These references suggest they performed non-military functions
also along with their military duties. Thus the names of the Kushana functionaries do not
suggest any territorial associations as in the case of the Maurya officials, but indicate graded
hierarchy of the same type of officers. They probably received salaries in cash, as can be
inferred from cash donations made for feeding the brahmanas and from the use of gold and
copper coins on a large scale in the Kushana dominions.
The sketch of the Kushana polity, though inadequate on account of lack of material,
would show that the Kushanas introduced certain new elements in Indian polity like the dual
governorship in the provinces; the idea of the divinity of the king, which made some
impression on later rulers for Samudragupta is compared to four different gods. Again, the
office of the mahadandanayaka came to function in the eastern, southern and northern
provinces of the Gupta empire. Above all, the main characteristic of the Kushana political
structure, namely the organization of the hierarchical feudatory system, seems to have been
adopted by Samudragupta in his imperial system.