Kanishka Casket

The Kanishka casket or Kanishka reliquary, is a Buddhist reliquary made in gilded copper, and dated to the first year of the reign of the Kushan emperor Kanishka, in 127 CE. It is now in the Peshawar Museum in the historic city of Peshawar, Pakistan. It was discovered in a deposit chamber under the monumental Kanishka stupa (described by Chinese pilgrims in the 7th century as the tallest stupa in all India), during the archeological excavations in 1908-1909 in Shah-ji-Dheri on the outskirts of Peshawar. It is said to have contained three bone fragments of the Buddha, which were forwarded to Burma by the British following the excavation, where they still remain. The casket is today at the Peshawar Museum, and a copy is in the British Museum. The casket is dedicated in Kharoshthi. The inscription reads: Originally it was believed, that the text is signed by the maker, a Greek artist named Agesilas, who oversaw work at Kanishka's stupas (caitya), confirming the direct involvement of Greeks with Buddhist realizations at such a late date: "The servant (dasa) Agisalaos, the superintendent of works at the vihara of Kanishka in the monastery of Mahasena" ("dasa agisala nava-karmi ana*kaniskasa vihara mahasenasa sangharame"). However, a recent cleaning of the casket had shown that the old reading was not accurate. Instead, the name is to be read agnisala, which is the refectory of the monastery. The lid of the casket shows the Buddha on lotus pedestal, and worshipped by Indra and Brahma. The edge of the lid is decorated by a frieze of flying geese, or hamsa, symbolizing the travel of departing souls and the removal from samsara. Some of the geese have a wreath of victory in their beak. The body of the casket represents a Kushan monarch, probably Kanishka in person, with the Iranian Sun god and Moon god at his side. On the sides are two images of a seated Buddha, worshiped a royal figures, possibly a bodhisattava. A garland, supported by cherubs goes around the scene in typical Hellenistic style.

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Concepts associés (6)

Bimaran casket

The Bimaran casket or Bimaran reliquary is a small gold reliquary for Buddhist relics that was removed from inside the stupa no.2 at Bimaran, near Jalalabad in eastern Afghanistan. When it was found by the archaeologist Charles Masson during his work in Afghanistan between 1833 and 1838, the casket contained coins of the Indo-Scythian king Azes II, though recent research by Robert Senior indicates Azes II never existed and finds attributed to his reign probably should be reassigned to Azes I.

Kanishka

Kanishka , ou Kaniška, est le souverain le plus connu de l'Empire kouchan au début de notre ère. Il a régné environ deux décennies et les dates de son règne sont incertaines donc discutées. Fils de Vima Kadphisès, c'est un grand conquérant et un sage administrateur. Sous son règne, l'empire s'étend de l'Asie centrale à l'État de Bénarès, sur ce qui est aujourd'hui l'ouest du Xinjiang, le Tadjikistan, l'Afghanistan, le Pakistan et Inde du nord-ouest.

Bouddhisme

vignette|Statue en pied de Bouddha. Schiste, Gandhara, Empire kouchan, . Musée national de Tokyo. Une des premières représentations connues du Bouddha. Le bouddhisme est une religion et une philosophie dont les origines se situent en Inde aux à la suite de l'éveil de Siddhartha Gautama à Bodhgaya dans le Bihar et de la diffusion de son enseignement.