Jain Journal 1999 01

Author(s): Jain Bhawan Publication
Publisher: Jain Bhawan Publication

Page 3

Book Review
The Great Kushana Testament by B.N. Mukherjee, Indian Museum, Calcutta, 1995, price: Rs. 100/-.
One of the greatest contributions to the area of ancient Indian history and culture is the discovery of the Rabatak Bactrian Inscription of the Kushana king Kanishka the First. This Inscription will act as a harbringer of historical studies for many decades of the twenty-first century. Although lots of discoveries were made in the last century, and in the beginning of the present century, there are still many more historical records which are still hidden from the eyes of the scholars in the abyss of edacious Time. It is true indeed that the history of the Kushana empire has been written and rewritten (even by Professor Mukherjee himself) because of the discoveries of new material, this discovery of Rabatak Inscription in the Bactrian language is a landmark in the history of the Kushana empire and also on the Indo-Iranian borderlands. Therefore, the Great Kushana Testament by Professor B.N. Mukherjee is a treasure-house for the history of ancient India. Professor Mukherjee, one of the brilliant outstanding authorities on the history of the Kushana Emperor, has contributed quite a lot to the history of the Kushana Empire by writing books, monographs and articles on this period of history. (The Kushana Genealogy 1967; The Economic Factors in Kushana History, 1970; The Rise and Fall of the Kushana Emperor, 1968). The present treatise is another such addition to this series and has shed many valuable information and food for the historians to interpret the history of the Kushana emperor Kanishka the First.
In March 1993 the Rabatak Inscription was discovered and Professor N. Sims-Williams of the School of Oriental and African Studies, London, made a study of this Inscription, and sent a complimentary copy to Professor Mukherjee for his opinion. Professor Mukherjee, a veteran historian and a polyglot, immediately thought that instead of writing a review of the book, it would be better that a revised version with new interpretation of this Inscription would be rather a welcome idea for the proper understanding and interpretation of these newly discovered historical facts as recorded in this Inscription. To know the basic principles of the Bactrian language and to interpret accordingly became very much imperative and the learned scholar was deeply engrossed in explaining the Inscription both linguistically