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Kanishka Casket
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The Kanishka casket or "Kanishka reliquary", dated to the first year of the reign of the Kushan emperor Kanishka , in 127 CE , was discovered in a deposit chamber under Kanishka's stupa, 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. It is today at the Peshawar Museum, and a copy is in the British Museum . The casket is dedicated in Kharoshthi . The inscription reads:

  • mahara)jasa kanishkasa kanishka-pure nagare aya gadha-karae deya-dharme sarva-satvana hita-suhartha bhavatu mahasenasa sagharaki dasa agisala nava-karmi ana---kanishkasa vihare mahasenasa sangharame"


  • kaniskasa vihara mahasenasa sangharame").


The lid of the casket shows the Buddha on lotus pedestal, and worshipped by Brahma and Indra .

The edge of the lid is decorated by a frieze of flying geese, or Hamsa , symbolizing the travel of departing souls and the removel 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.


DETAILS


  Image:KanishkaBuddhaDetail2JPGDetail Of The Buddha, Surrounded By "http://wwwinformationdelightinfo/encyclopedia/entry/Vrhbosna/cherubs" class="copylinks">Cherubs , with devotee or Bodhisattava