DOI article:
Smagur, Emilia: Vaishnavite influences in the Kushan coinage
DOI Page / Citation link:https://doi.org/10.11588/diglit.31074#0069
VA1S H N AV1T E IN F L U E N C E S...
is dated to that period, whereas Megasthenes (ca. 320 BC) recognized it as the
cult of Heracles.^ This deity was later identified with Krishna. Vasudeva-Krishna
represents the type of local hero that watches over the well-being and safety of his
subjects. Nevei*theless, in the case of an attempt to datę the beginning of a cult, it
is better to base one's research on relevant inscriptions and sculptures than on the
literary sources2° The core of the legend connected with Vasudeva-Krishna prob-
ably originates from the tradition of honouring local heroes and relates to a historie
person belonging to the Vrishni clanA He lived near Mathura and was deihed and
worshipped with four other members of his family after his deathA Initially, the
remaining Vrishni-viras were probably worshipped to the same extent as Vasude-
va-Krishna but gradualły disappeared with timeA They belong to the Bhagavata
religion that shows some connections with Pancharatra sińce ca. 50 BCA The
next step was the unihcation of Vasudeva-Krishna with Vishnu of a solar, Vedic
origin.^ In the hrst centuries of the Common Era that unification process had not
yet been hnished^ and the iconography of Hindu deities depicted in anthropomor-
phic forms was still being shaped. Some iconographic elements might appear in
the representations of both gods; therefore, it is often impossible to determine with
certainty which of these two gods is actually depicted. For the same reason, the
representations of both deities shall be considered as Vaishnava representations.
The oldest known depictions of Vasudeva-Krishna were placed on coins. Pre-
sumably one of these depictions is shown on the punch-marked coins dated by
Gupta and Hardaker to the beginning of Chandragupta Maurya's reign (321 BC) A
Although the representation of the god is very simplihed, it still is identihable from
its iconography - a two-armed figurę holds a chakra in his left hand and an uniden-
tified object in his right hand, perhaps a sword or a club. Punchmarked coins which
show Vasudeva's brother, Balarama, come from a later period, dated to the H' half
of the 2"^ century BC, and according to Gupta and Hardaker may have been "the
product of a breakaway post-Mauryan region whose location might be Mathura",^
associated with the centre of Indian art. The deity is depicted in the same way as
Vasudeva-Krishna, but he holds a plough in his raised left hand instead of a chakra.
^FLOOD 1996: 119;seeSTASZCZYK2012: 160-161;AGRAWALA 1953:361;SR1VASTAVA2012: 128.
3° See STASZCZYK 2012: 160-161.
3' StNGH 2008: 437.
33 DESA! 1973: 3; SAMAD 2010: 71.
33 SR1VASTAVA2012: 414.
3-* SR1NIVASAN 2011: 128.
33 SAMAD 2010: 71.
3'STASZCZYK 2012: 166.
33 See GUPTA and HARDAKER 2014: 48^19, series Va, type 496. See also P1EPER 2012: 28.
3s GUPTAand HARDAKER 2014: 190-191, series VIII, types 604-607.
is dated to that period, whereas Megasthenes (ca. 320 BC) recognized it as the
cult of Heracles.^ This deity was later identified with Krishna. Vasudeva-Krishna
represents the type of local hero that watches over the well-being and safety of his
subjects. Nevei*theless, in the case of an attempt to datę the beginning of a cult, it
is better to base one's research on relevant inscriptions and sculptures than on the
literary sources2° The core of the legend connected with Vasudeva-Krishna prob-
ably originates from the tradition of honouring local heroes and relates to a historie
person belonging to the Vrishni clanA He lived near Mathura and was deihed and
worshipped with four other members of his family after his deathA Initially, the
remaining Vrishni-viras were probably worshipped to the same extent as Vasude-
va-Krishna but gradualły disappeared with timeA They belong to the Bhagavata
religion that shows some connections with Pancharatra sińce ca. 50 BCA The
next step was the unihcation of Vasudeva-Krishna with Vishnu of a solar, Vedic
origin.^ In the hrst centuries of the Common Era that unification process had not
yet been hnished^ and the iconography of Hindu deities depicted in anthropomor-
phic forms was still being shaped. Some iconographic elements might appear in
the representations of both gods; therefore, it is often impossible to determine with
certainty which of these two gods is actually depicted. For the same reason, the
representations of both deities shall be considered as Vaishnava representations.
The oldest known depictions of Vasudeva-Krishna were placed on coins. Pre-
sumably one of these depictions is shown on the punch-marked coins dated by
Gupta and Hardaker to the beginning of Chandragupta Maurya's reign (321 BC) A
Although the representation of the god is very simplihed, it still is identihable from
its iconography - a two-armed figurę holds a chakra in his left hand and an uniden-
tified object in his right hand, perhaps a sword or a club. Punchmarked coins which
show Vasudeva's brother, Balarama, come from a later period, dated to the H' half
of the 2"^ century BC, and according to Gupta and Hardaker may have been "the
product of a breakaway post-Mauryan region whose location might be Mathura",^
associated with the centre of Indian art. The deity is depicted in the same way as
Vasudeva-Krishna, but he holds a plough in his raised left hand instead of a chakra.
^FLOOD 1996: 119;seeSTASZCZYK2012: 160-161;AGRAWALA 1953:361;SR1VASTAVA2012: 128.
3° See STASZCZYK 2012: 160-161.
3' StNGH 2008: 437.
33 DESA! 1973: 3; SAMAD 2010: 71.
33 SR1VASTAVA2012: 414.
3-* SR1NIVASAN 2011: 128.
33 SAMAD 2010: 71.
3'STASZCZYK 2012: 166.
33 See GUPTA and HARDAKER 2014: 48^19, series Va, type 496. See also P1EPER 2012: 28.
3s GUPTAand HARDAKER 2014: 190-191, series VIII, types 604-607.