Kushan Inscription At Ladakh (India)
~2000 yrs ago, Ladakh was ruled by शिवपूजक Kushan king Vima Kadphises (Father of Kanishka) as per his Inscription. • Place – Khaltse Village • Language – Sanskrit (?) • Script – Kharoshthi.
Inscription is of two lines only but contains name of the king as Uvima and year 184 or 187 (100+20+20+20+20+4+3?). With this info, king is identified as Kushan King Vima who was a devotee of Shiva. His devotion to Shiva is clear from his many coins.
Shiva On Kushan Coins
In fact, Vima Kadphises was exclusively Hindu and Shaivite. He inscribed Shiva on all of his coins. No other deity was represented on his coins. Shiva is available on many coins (26%) of Kanishka, too.
Four armed Shiva holding Trishula, Damaru and the Deer are depicted in coins of Kanishka. Kushans worshiped Shiva, identifying him with their native Iranic deity Oesho. Shiva featured in the majority of Kanishka’s coins. Buddha was not minted by Vima Kadphises. Buddha is the least common of Indian deities to appear on Kanishka’s coins (1%).
Buddha was COMPLETELY ignored on the coins of Kanishka’s successors Huvishka, Vasudeva and others. The later Kushans succeeding Vasudeva ignored the Iranic deities as well. They depicted only Shiva and Ardoksho (Lakshmi) on their coins. The transformation into Shaivism was complete.
References –
- Khaltse Inscription
- Shiva on Kushan Coins Info : https://twitter.com/BharadwajSpeaks/status/1467378969171218435
- Images – Internet
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