The assimilative power of Hinduism abosorbed the Greeks, Shakas, Kushanas and the Hunas into the Indian society. We do not know the precise process by which non-Hindus were absorbed in the Hindu fold. Probably they were attracted by the Hindu religion and philosophy and began to worship Hindu Gods. Among other possible reasons for the foreign invaders to adopt Indian religions were the non existence of the religion of Islam and the religion of Christianity being still in its infancy during that period. (It was in 313 A.D. that the Roman Emperor Constantine embraced Christianity and later it became the official religion of the Empire). Also at that time there existed several sectarian faiths like Bhagavata, Pashupata which vied with each other to attract adherents, especially the Buddhist missionaries played an important role in the spread of Buddhism and also received royal patronage it their efforts.
Buddhism the most preferred religion
With regards to the most prefered religion of the foreign hordes, undoubtedly it was Buddhism. The reason was due to the missionary activities of Ashoka. Alberuni writing in the 11th century A.D. says that earlier Persia, Iraq and the country up to the frontier of Syria was Buddhist and with the coming of Zoroastrianism and Islam it lost its hold over those territories. Earlier Hieuen Tsang had mentioned that Persia had two or three sangharamas with several hundred priests who studied the teachings of Saravastivadin school. The foreign hordes like Yavanas, Shakas and Kushanas who came through the north-western region were naturally attracted towards Buddhism. The architectural remains testify that the Mahayana form of Buddhism enjoyed in India and lower Asia the active support of and patronization from the ruling dynasties like the Greeks, the Scytho-Kushanas and the Parthians.
Shaivism had popular and mass appeal
Megasthenes states that Dionysios or Shiva worship was specially popular in the hill regions where grew the vines. Classical writers maintain that Shiva was worshipped in the west upto Bactria, the present Balkh in Afganistan and in the north as far as Meors or Meru which may be identified with Pamir. The numerous, extensive and widespread representations of Shaivism signify that it was the religion of the masses. This mass and popular appeal accompanied with inbuilt liberalism prompted the Kushanas on their arrival and thereafter to embrace and patronize Shaivism. Hindu temples were flourishing in Mesopotamia and Syria down to the 4th century A.D. when they were destroyed by St.Gregory. Indian religion was thus a living force in parts of western Asia down to 300 A.D. and may have influenced Christian religous dogmas and practices to some extent.
Orthodoxy inhibited the foreigners from embracing Vaishnavism?
At the same time the rigidity and orthodoxy kept them away from the orbit of the Vaishnava faith. It was only later that kings like Huvishka could demonstrate some inclination to Vaishnavism in his seal motifs. The name itself of a Kushana king Vasudeva may also indicate that the later Kushanas bestowed favour to the Bhagavata cult.
A large number of epigraphic records in comparision with the number of coins available may as well suggest that Vaishnavism during the period was a religion of the upper strata of the society. There is a general acceptance that epigraphs usually associates matter with the enlightened elites while coins represents that of the common people. With regard to the Kushana period, Prof. Rayachaudhury argues that the city of Mathura, the original home of Vaishnavism had ceased to be stronghold of the religion during the Saka-Kushana period because the wave of Buddhism, eclectic and rational in nature, captivated the affiliation of the rulers and Vaishnavism lost the occassion and opportunity to find favour of the court. According to Prof. Rayachaudhury, the Shakas and the Kushana sovereigns of northern India were generally hostile towards the religion of Vasudeva and it was this anti-Bhagavata attitude which probably brought the foreign kings into conflict with the imperial Guptas who were Vaishnava monarchs.
The Bactrian Greeks
The fact that no trace of the separate entity of the Greeks is left is enough proof of the fact that the Greek population in India was absorbed in the Indian social and religious fabric. There are epigraphical evidence of such absorption as the Besnagar inscription of Heliodorus who proclaims his Bhagavata faith and the inscriptions found in the caves at Nasik, Junnar and Karle recording the religious gifts by Yavana donors who bear Indian names.
According to M.V.D.Mohan among the Bactrian Greeks, the house of Euthydemids were driven to espouse the Buddhist cause as the forces ranged against them, (the Shungas) professed Vedic/Pauranic faith. The Buddhist subjects of the Mauryas probably did not favour the Shunga revolution and were willing to support the foreigner (Bactrian Greeks) who in turn welcomed their allegiance and tried to stablise it by accepting their faith first as a matter of policy and later out of conviction. According to Milindapanho, Menander belonging to the house of Euthydemids embraced Buddhism under the influence of Buddhist sage Nagasena towards the end of his life.
On the other hand the members of the house of Eukratides who has seized power in Bactria from the house of Euthydemids favoured the Pauranic faith and it appears they were provided some sort of protection by the Shunga rulers. Heliodorus, the ambassador of Antialkidas belonging to the house of Eukratides was a Bhagavata by faith and set up a Garuda pillar at Besnagar (Vidisha) near Gwalior.
The Kushans
The Kushanas were a branch of the Yueh-Chi tribe who originally inhabitated in the region beyond the north-western frontiers of China and later migrated to Bactria. But B.N.Puri in his work, India under the Kushanas writes that the Kushanas lived somewhere near Bactria or to the south of it and were a part of the ancient Shaka stock. They were known as Tocharians or Tukharas. They owed temporary allegiance to the Yueh-Chi tribe and later asserted themselves and defeated the last Greek ruler Hermaeus and later set foot on India.
Kujala Kadphises the first king of the Kushans adopted Buddhism as his religion. He had developed a great respect for Shaivism and hence the bull, the favourite symbol of Shiva and the monogram, Nandipada made their appearance on a series of his coins. His son Wema Kadphises was an ardent worshipper of Shiva. In the coins of Wema Kadphises either Shiva or one of his emblems is depicted and he himself took the epithet Maheshvara or Mahishvara. The predominance of the Shaiva motifs in the Kushana coins prompted Foucher to suggest that Shiva was a dominant religious factor in the north-west region when the Kushans came to India and that they were first converted to this region. The coins issued by Kushana kings like Kanishka, Huvishka and Vasudeva also has motifs of Shiva. In the coins of Huvishka we find the figure of Uma and also Shiva with a Chakra, the emblem of Vishnu. A study on coins issued by Kanishka shows that he had an eclectic frame of mind and worshipped a vareity of Indian, Iranian and Greek deities. Later he embraced Buddhism and became an ardent Buddhist. He constructed a grand Stupa at Purushavar (present Peshwar) and held the forth Buddhist council at Kashmir under the leadership of Vasumitra.
The Shakas
The Shakas who originally lived in the valley of the Oxus and Jaxartes migrated to India and later established themselves as rulers over Taxila, Mathura and Ujjayini and called themselves Mahakshatrapas. Over a period of time they got assimilated into the Indian society and adopted Indian religions. According to Sudhakar Chattopadhyaya, most of the northern satraps (ruling over Taxila and Mathura) were followers of Buddhist creed; while the names of the western satrapas such as Rudradaman, Rudrasimha and Rudrasena shows that they were Hindus. Nahapana’s son-in-law, Rsabhadatta was tolerant towards both Buddhists and Hindus. We find him making tirtha yatras to sacred places of Hindus and also making donations to the Buddhist monks.
The Hunas
The Hunas lived in Central Asia on the western border of China as far back as the 2nd century B.C. In course of their migrations to the west, one branch of them known as the Ephthalites or White Huns occupied the Oxus valley and conquered Gandhara. From there they led regular campaigns against India.
The Hunas who dominated the Indian political scene for some times later completely merged into the Indian society forgetting their identity altogether. As they attained power and prestige they also claimed Kshatriya status and succeeded in contracting matrimonial alliances with the ancient ruling classes in the country.
When a foreign tribe became Hinduised its members claimed the status generally as the Kshatriya but they were given a place in the society not as Kshatriya but as degraded Kshatriya (Vratya Rajanya), while the rank and file were characterised as Shudras. The process of Hinduisation that probably started with Toramana was completed by the time of Mihirakula who became a through convert to Shaivism.
Reference
Kanchan Chakraberti – Society, Religion and Art of the Kushana India, A Historico-Symbiosis, K.P.Bagchi & Company, Calcutta, 1981
Baldev Kumar – The Early Kusanas, Sterling Publishers (P) Ltd, New Delhi, 1973
Mehta Vasishtha Dev Mohan – The North-West India of the second century B.C., Indology Research Institute, Ludhiana, 1974
Upendra Thakur – The Hunas in India, The Chowkhamba Sanskrit Series Office, Varanasi, 1967
Sudhakar Chattopadhyaya – The Shakas in India, Visva-Bharati, Santiniketan, 1955
R.C.Majumdar, A.S.Altekar (Editors) – A New History of the Indian People, vol 6, The Vakataka-Gupta Age, 1946
H.C.Rayachaudhuri – Political History of Ancient India, University of Calcutta, 1972
B.N.Puri – India under the Kushanas
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