著者

田辺 勝美 Katsumi TANABE

出版者

創価大学シルクロード研究センター

雑誌

シルクロード研究 (ISSN:13455931)

巻号頁・発行日

no.10, pp.13-29, 2017-02-28

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A Kushan princely figure (Fig.3) excavated at the sanctuary of Surkh Kotal situated in northern Afghanistan has not been identified as Kanishka I (127-150 AD) on the basis of persuading evidence nor as his deified portrait by many scholars although they associated the relevant figure with Kanishka I. However, in this paper the present author attempts to demonstrate that this statue is the very posthumous portrait of Kanishka I who was deified at the latest after his death in the reigning period of his successor King Huvishka (150-190 AD). The present author paid particular attention to the ivy scroll depicted along the center of the caftan depicted on that statue (Fig.3). The ivy symbolizes resurrection and eternal life in the next world to come according to Greek and Roman literal evidence and figural imagery of this plant as well as vine scroll. Ivy scroll design with heart-shaped leaves was widely diffused from the Mediterranean world to West, Central and South Asia including Gandhara as well as that of vine scroll in the first and second centuries AD. According to Kushan king’s images depicted on Kushan gold coins, the fashion of decorating vertically the central part of caftan with vine or ivy scroll came into vogue for the first time under the reign of the king Huvishka (Figs.7-9) who had succeeded Kanishka I, and also seems to have been deified because he is nimbate and haloed just like the nimbate Buddha image of free-standing and depicted on Gandharan Buddhist relief panels. That particular fashion of decorating caftan or tunic with floral pattern originated in Arsacid West Asia as is well attested to by the royal or aristocratic images excavated at Hatra and Palmyra (2^<nd>~3^<rd> century AD). That fashion must have been transmitted from West Asia to Central and South Asia through international trade between Parthian and Kushan empires. Taking into consideration these facts it seems quite probable that the enigmatic image of alleged Kanishka I (Fig.3) was produced during the reign of Huvishka rather than during Kanishka I was still alive. In other words, that relevant statue (Fig.3) is the posthumous portrait of Kanishka I and therefore most probably represents the deified Kanishka I installed by the order of Huvishka at the bagolango (temple) of Surkh Kotal that the victorious king Kanishka I had ordered to construct when he was reigning (232-150). As unfortunately the upper-body of this statue is missing, we cannot know whether it was nimbate or not. On the contrary to my interpretation, many scholars have not admitted the deification of Kanishka I on the basis that the epithet bago and deva applied to Kanishka I and Kushan kings do not necessarily mean god but king or lord. However, in the Surkh Kotal and Rabatak inscriptions, bago clearly means god, neither king nor lord. Furthermore, the epithet devaputra inscribed on the statue of Kanishka I (Fig. 2) excavated at the Mat shrine in Mathura, means ‘scion of god’, i.e., ‘epiphany of god’ just like the late Japanese emperor Showa was widely regarded and worshiped by the Japanese people as ‘living god’(現人神). The same holds true of the statue of Kanishka I (Fig. 3) excavated at Surkh Kotal. Although the statue of Kanishka I (Fig.2) from Mat might have been nimbate, we cannot verify the deification of that (Fig.3) of Surkh Kotal on the basis of divine circular nimbus deifying Huvishka on his coinage. However, it might be more reasonable to assume that both of them are deified images of Kanishka I judging from our above-developed investigation. To conclude, the ivy scroll depicted on the caftan of Kanishka I statue from Surkh Kotal was intentionally selected from among several floral decorative patterns then available in the East in order to symbolize and clarify not only the resurrection but also the deification of Kanishka I after death. In addition, the statue of Vema-Taktu (Fig.5) that might have been installed in the Mat shrine is probably his deified portrait. Lastly, the ivy scroll with cordiform leaves (Fig.3) and a row of heart-shaped leaves of ivy fit successively in a decorative band (Fig.6) are intimately related to Dionysos and therefore have a eschatological and soteriological connotation. That is the reason why both of them were applied for symbolizing the deification of the Kushan kings.