Previous Year Question

This important Bodhisattva image inscription discovered at Sarnath belongs to the reign of the Kushana ruler Kanishka I. The inscription engraved on the pedestal of the image records its installation in the third regnal year of Kanishka.

This colossal Bodhisattva image was discovered at Sarnath in 1905. The inscription indicates that it was installed by Bhikshu Bala. The image represents the Buddha as a Bodhisattva, that is, in the form associated with him before the attainment of Buddhahood.

An important feature of this image is that it was made of red sandstone associated with Mathura. Sculptures locally produced at Sarnath generally used stone from the Chunar region. For this reason, scholars have considered that the image was probably made at Mathura and brought to Sarnath. Mathura was a major centre of Buddhist sculpture during the Kushana period.

In the traditional chronology accepted for this UPPSC question, the beginning of Kanishka's reign is placed in 78 A.D. On this basis, his third regnal year is taken as 81 A.D., which explains the expected answer to the question.

It should be noted that the precise date of Kanishka's accession has remained debated in historical scholarship. Nevertheless, according to this UPPSC question and the traditional epigraphic chronology associated with it, 81 A.D. is the expected answer.