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Shri Mahavir Jain Aradhana Kendra
18
www.kobatirth.org
BUDDHISM IN KASHMIR
Acharya Shri Kailassagarsuri Gyanmandir
Like the Greeks, the Sakas also embraced Buddhism, made donations to the Buddhist Sangha, erected stupas on the relics of Sākyamuni, constructed vihāras, and installed images of Buddha in them.
1
The Kushanas
Following the Saka-Yavanas, the Kushanas also adopted Buddhism as their religion and showed their munificence by erecting stūpas, temples and images of Buddha all over N. India. The earlier Kushanas like Kadphises II, as their coins indicate, were Sivaworshippers, but Kanishka and his successors, as their inscriptions and monuments prove, showered their gifts on the Buddhist Sangha, particularly on the Sarvāstivādins and occasionally on the Mahasanghikas.
Since the demise of Aśoka, Buddhism withstood several repercussions and survived in N. W. India by the patronage of the SakaYavanas and the Kushanas. In the reign of Kanishka, it once more came to the forefront of Indian religions and recovered its lost glory. The Buddhist ecclesiastical historians pass silently over the dark period of Buddhism intervening between the reigns of Aśoka and Kanishka, and resume their accounts with the advent of Kanishka.*
Kanishka and his Successors
The region of Kanishka is of outstanding importance for the history of Buddhism in N. India. It is marked by donations from several lay-devotees and monks to the Buddhist Sangha, evidences of which have been unearthed by the archeological department of
I CII., II, i, pp. 29 ff.
3 Ibid., Wardak Vase Inscription, p. 170.
4
Taranatha has referred to the reigns of Visoka, Nanda and Mahapadma and mentions nothing of importance in connection with the history of Buddhism.
2 CII., II, i, pp. 137, 145, 155, 176.
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