1854.] Coins of Indian Buddhist Satraps. 711 



Jushka and Kanishka, Kashmere was in the hands of the Buddhists, 

 and that the kings themselves built monasteries and temples for the 

 worship of Buddha. The memoirs of the Chinese pilgrims Ea 

 Hian (A. D. 400) and Hwan Thsang (A. D. 640) also ascribe the 

 foundation of numerous topes iu Peshawur, and Gandhara to the 

 prince Ki-ni-Jcia or Kia-ni-se-kia, that is to the Katierki of the 

 coins and the Kanishka of the Raja Taringini. I have no doubt 

 therefore of the Bucldhistical faith of the princes themselves, but I 

 'believe that the old Sabseanism of the east, which is fully repre- 

 sented on the reverses of their coins, was still the prevailing religion 

 of the people. The first Kadphizes who calls himself ''the crown 

 of the Dharma," on the reverses of his coins, yet places a figure of 

 the Grecian Hercules within the circle df the legend. In a similar 

 manner the Indo-Scythian Oerke or Hushka who is seen with a 

 Buddhist prayer cylinder in his hand on the obverses of his gold 

 coins, # yet gives representations of the sun and moon, and of the 

 five elements on their reverses. The Buddhist religion was eim> 

 nently a tolerant one, and I presume that the Buddhist princes may 

 have placed these Sabsean figures on their money with the sole view 

 of gratifying the mass of their subjects amongst whom it was to 

 circulate. 



The last coins which I shall notice, are those of the family of 

 Gondophares, which are highly interesting for several reasons : but 

 more particularly on account of the very strong probability that 

 this Gondophares is identical with the king Gundaforns who put 

 Saint Thomas to death. The coins of Gondophares are common in 

 Kabul, Kandahar, and Sistan, and in the western and southern 

 Punjab. All these countries therefore, must have owned his sway. 

 He was besides the head and founder of his family as no less than 

 three members of it claim relationship with him on their coins . 

 Orthagnes, his full brother, Abdagases his nephew, and Sasa (or 



* See the accompanying plate of Indo-Scythian relics, in which fig. 1 represents 

 the Tibetan prayer-cylinder of the present day : — fig. 2 is a bronze badge, and fig. 

 3 is a coin of Oerke, both representing the prayer-cylinder in the manner in 

 which it may now be seen in the hands of the Buddhist Lamas of Thibet. The 

 prayer-cylinder was certainly iu use in Ladak as early as 100 A. D. when Fa liian 

 visited that country. 



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