The post-Mauryan era is known for meaningdul contacts between central
Asia and India. North-western India came under the rule of a number of
dynasties hailing from Central Asia.
The first were the Indo-Greeks who earlier ruled over Bactria situated
to the South of Oxus river in the area covered by north of Afghanistan.
(For details see Indo-Greeks.)
The Indo-Greeks were followed by the Sakas. One of their branches
settled in India with Taxila as their capital. Another branch ruled over
western India. The latter came into conflict with the Satavahanas.
There is nothing conspicuous regarding this contact. The only famous
ruler was Rudradaman (130 to 150 A.D.) who undertook repairs to improve
Sudarshana lake in Kathiawar, this lake was used for a very long time.
Also, he was a patron of Sanskrit. It was the who first issued a long
inscription in chaste Sanskrit.
After the Sakas, the Central Asians who influenced India were the
Kushans. They originally came from the steppes of north Central Asia and
lived in the neighbourhood of China. (Refer to the topic on the Kushans
for further details).
In general the central Asia contactsled to certain developments.
Building activity was very brisk. Burnt brick was used for flooring and
tiles were used forboth flooring and roofing. Also, brick wells wre
constructed. The typical pottery of the Saka-Kushan period was the red
ware, both plain and polished. Some pots have spouted channels. Such
like objects have been found in Soviet Central Asia also.
More important is the fact that the Sakas and the Kushans settled in
India for good. They adopted the scripts, languages and religious of
India. Thus they became integral parts of Indian society and this fusion
of the Sakas and the Kushans with Indian society left its own imprint.
They introduced better cavalry and use of riding hourses on a large
scale. Use of reins and Saddles became common as shown in the Buddhist
sculptures of the second and the third centuries A.D. Numerous equestian
terracotta figures of the Kushan period have been found. Horsemen were
heavily armed and fought with spears and lances. More important are the
changes introduced by them in the ordinary pattern of life - turbans,
tunics, truousers and heavy long coat. The first one is worn by the
Afghans and Punjabis till today and probably the Sherwani of today is
the successor of the long coat.
The close contacts between Central Asia and India also led to the import
of gold from the Altai mountains in Central Asia. Also, as the Kushans
controlled the silk Route they derived large revenues. This made the
Kushans issue gold coins for the first time on a wide scale in India.
Furthermore, the rule of central Asian conquerors strengthened the
feudal tendencies of society. The very fact that the Kushans called
themselves 'King of kings' shows that they exercised suzerainty over
small princes. Along with this new dimension in polity, the Sakas and
Kushans introduced the concept of Divieright of kingship. The Kushan
kings called themselves sons of god. Possibly this has made manu state
that the king should be obeyed because he is a great god ruling in the
form of human beings.
In matters relating to society, the Greeks, the Sakas, the parthians and
the Kushans came to be absorbed as the Kshatriya community. These were
known as the falled kshatriyas.
In matters of religion, a good number of foreign rulers believed in
Vaishanavism. The greek ambassador Heliodorus got a pillar constructed
in honour of Vishnu near Vidisa in Madhya Pradesh. A few took to
Buddhism like the Greek ruler. Menander. The exchange of views between
the Buddhist teacher Nagasena of nagarjuna and Menander constitutes a
good source for the cultural history of this period. Finaly, some Kushan
rulers took to worship of Shiva and the Buddha.
These contects with foreigners led to some changes in Indian religions.
The old form of Buddhism was too puritanical and too abstract for
foreigners. They were in no position to apprecie the philosophy of
Buddhism as emphasized by the existing Buddhist schools. To satisfy
these foreigners, the Mahayana or the Great Vehicle came into existence
in which the Buddha is worshipped in the form of images. Those who
followed the older version of Buddhism or lesser Vehicle were known as
Hinayanists. Kanishaka was a great patron of Mahayana. He convened a
council in Kashmir and he had set up many stupas in memory of the
Buddha.
Also, these foreign rulers became patrons of Indian ort and literature.
Masons and artisans trained in different schools of thought were
employed by the Kushans particularly in north-western India Indian
artisans came into contact with their Greek and roman counterparts. Such
was the beginning of the Gandhara art in which images of the Buddha
were made in Graeco-Roman style. This from of art gradually spread to
Mathura is borne out by the famous headless statue of Kanishaka. This
particular school of art was also instrumental for a good number of
stone images of Mahavir.
It was this impetus that activated the artistic impulse of India. In
several places south of the Vindhyas beautiful Buddhist caves were
carved out of rocks, the famous ones in Maharashtra. In Andhra Pradesh,
nagarjunkunda and Amravati were the centers of Buddhist art. The stories
related to the Buddha have been portrayed in numerous panels.
The foreign rulers were also instrumental for providing a stimulus to
literature and learning. The inscription of Rudradaman in Kathawar
reveals the Kavya style in Sanskrit. More and more inscriptions came to
be composed in chaste Sanskrit. It is also held that Asvaghosa was
probably patronized by the Kushans. He wrote Buddha Charita, a biography
of the Buddha. He also wrote Saundarananda which is a fine example of
Sanskrit Kavya. In matters relating to theeatre also, the contact with
central Asian rulers led to some changes. The feature of curtain in
dramatic performances was borrowed from the Greeks.
Finally, in the field of science and technology contacts with central
Asian foreigners led to certain developments. The presence of a great
number of Greek terms in Sanskrit shows that Indian astronomy and
astrology benefited from their contact with the Greeks. It is said that
the term Horasastra' meaning astrology in Sanskrit was adapted from the
Greek term horoscope. In technology, Indian gained from its contacts
with the Central Asians. Kanishaka is represented as wearing trousers
and long boots. It is conjectured that the practice of making leather
shoes began in this period. Also, the copper and gold coins of the
Kushans were imitations of the Roman coins. There was exchange of
embassises between India and the Roman experors. These contactw might
have led to new practices in technology. For certain, working in glass
during this period was influenced by foreign ideas and practices.
