Kanishka: Facts about the most famous Kushana emperor

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Sculpture of Kanishka at Mathura Government Museum / Image Source

  • Kanishka was the founder of the Shaka Era (A.D. 78), one of the most widely spread Indian systems of dating.

  • It was during the time of Kanishka that Buddhism began to spread to Central Asia and the Far East.

  • According to a tradition preserved in China, the Fourth Buddhist Council was held under the patronage of Kanishka in Srinagar. In this fourth council the Sarvastivadin doctrines were codified in a summary, the Mahavibhasa.

  • The convening of the Fourth Council led to the division into two broad sects, namely the Mahayana (great Vehicle ) and the Hinayana (lesser Vehicle). 

  • Kanishka’s greatest contribution to Buddhist architecture was the Kanishka Stupa at Peshawar (now in Pakistan). He was a patron of Buddhist art of Gandhara.




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