of his reign. This record of 23 lines is the earliest one of Kanishka.
• The inscription speaks of the maximum extent of the Kushana empire,
as far east as Champa near Bhagalpur. The incorporation of Champa,
Pataliputra and Saketa into the Kushana empire, is for the first time,
recorded in a Kushana inscription. However, this remarkable
expansion of the Kushana power to the east of Varanasi was in fact, a
short-lived one. None of the successors of Kanishka I is known to
have wielded any direct authority over areas to the east of Mathura.
• This longest and perhaps the most important Kushana inscription so
far known, sets to rest some of the major debates and issues in the
Kushana political history. That Kanishka was a direct descendant of
the line starting from Kujula Kadphises is established; there was no
‘Kadphises’ group of rulers, separate from the so-called ‘Kanishka’
group of rulers.
• Kanishka, genealogically at least, was the fourth among the Kushana
rulers. The so-called ‘Saka era’ was certainly introduced by Kanishka
himself and none else, though its exact correspondence to the year in
Christian era still remains unsolved.
• The record under review is also a mine of information on the religious
policy and attitudes of the Kushana kings. The Kushana practice of
deifying the ruler, both after death and even during his lifetime, is
clearly demonstrated herein. The deified images of the Kushana kings
were enshrined in dynastic sanctuaries or devakulas.
• The Rabatak inscription informs us about the construction of what
would be the fifth devakula in the Kushana empire, the other four
being located at Mat (near Mathura), Surkhkotal (in Afghanistan),
Airtam (in Tazakistan) and Dalverdjin-Tepe.
Kadphises
Numismatic evidence suggests that Kujula Kadphises was the colleague or
ally and afterwards the successor of Hermaeus, the last Greek prince of the
Kabul valley. Kadphises I extirpated Parthian rule from both the Kabul and
Kandahar regions after a short time. He added Gandhara and Taxila to his
other conquests which might have been achieved by his son Vima Kadphises,