Jain Stupa and Other Antiquities of Mathura

Author(s): Vincent A Smith
Publisher: Vincent A Smith

Page 22

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The exact date of the earlier sculptures must remain uncertain until the era used by the great Kushin kings, Kanishka, Huvishka, and Vasudeva has been determined. That era may, perhaps, prove to be the same which is used in the Kharoshtht inscriptions from the neighbourhood of Peshawar, and has been supposed to be either identical, or nearly coincident, with the era B. C. 57, known as the Malava or Vikramaditya cra. The theory of Fergusson and Oldenberg that Kanishka founded the Saka era of A. D. 78 is not now generally accepted, although M. Specht still supports it. M. Sylvain Lévi places the accession of Kanishka at about the Christian era. I am satisfied, having regard to the numismatic evidence that that event cannot be placed carlier than A. D. 30. Everyone is agreed that the Kushân era, which undoubtedly dates from the accession of Kanishka, cannot have begun later than A. D. 78, nor earlier than B. C. 57.1
The Mathura inscriptions, dated in the undetermined era range certainly from the year 5 to the year 98. The years 5 and 98, therefore, lie respectively between the limits of B. C. 52 and A. D. 83, and A. D. 41 and A. D. 176.3 The latest inscription found is dated in V. S. 1134, or A. D. 1067. The documents may, consequently, be assumed to cover a period of nearly eleven centuries, from the beginning of the Christian era to the middle of the eleventh century A. D.
The undated inscriptions in Plates VII and X may be referred to as examples of carly records dating probably from about a century before the beginning of the Christian era. Their linguistic and paleographical peculiarities have been commented on by Buhler.
The document reproduced in Plate XIV is dated in the year 42, which may be assumed as approximately equivalent to B. C. 15. It is of special interest as mentioning the great Satrap (Mahakshatrapa) Sodasa, and determining his date as soon as the era used by him shall have been determined. That era is probably distinct from the era used by the Kushân kings.
The artistic merit of many of the sculptures is apparent, although in some cases the drawings fail to do full justice to the originals. The deep undercutting of much of the ornament is specially noticeable. The existence of Hellenistic works of art at Mathura has been long known, the most conspicuous examples being the so-called Silenus groups, and the Herakles strangling the Nemean lion. In the plates of this work Hellenistic influence may, I think, be traced. It was probably the result of intercourse with the Alexandrian school, which delighted in marine monsters and fantastic decoration. The general design of decoration in panels like that reproduced in Plate VIII seems to me to be decidedly Hellenistic. Attention is also invited to the description of Plate XIX.
The vine shown on the left border of Plate X is certainly Hellenistic The sculpture is probably too early in date to be Græco-Roman.
The harpies and centaurs of Plates XV and XVI obviously resemble to some extent those familiar in Greek art, although it is possible that they were borrowed directly from Assyria or Babylonia. The winged lions of the capitals in Plates XLIII to XLVI seem to be certainly of Assyrian or Babylonian origin. Other features of the capitals are Persian. The sculptures taken as a whole, though thoroughly Indian in subject, and for the most part in treatment, undoubtedly show a considerable amount of adaptation of foreign ideas.
An excellent and well-reasoned article by M. A. M. Boyer, "L' Époque de Kaniska" (Journal Asiatique, Mal-Juin, 1900, page 526) has been published during the passage of this work through the press. M. Boyer's opinion (page 578) is thus expressed;" Je crois done raisonnable I'admettre avce l'opinion générale, tout en le [Kanishka] rejetant comme fondateur del'ère Saka, qu'il commença de regner vers la fin du premier siècle après J. C." I am disposed to agree, and to place the accession of Kanishka about A. D. 60 or 65.
Inscriptions dated 135 and 299 are also said to exist.
See note, p. 46, post.