The reign of Kaniska also constituted a brilliant egochin the field of art and architecture. The great relic tower of Buddha at Peshwar was famous all over the Buddhist world.

Agesilus the great engineer supervised the construction of this tower which was made of wood and iron and was about 400 feet high. Monasteries were, can strut at Kashmir, Mathura and Taxsila. Mathura was famous as a centre of remarkable a sculpture during the right Kaniska. During this period art was considerably influenced by religion.

After the rise of Mahayana Buddhism numerous statues of Buddha were made for workship. Even sculptors and artists from other countries collaborated with the Indian sculptors to make the images of Buddha and Bodhistava. Kanishka issued different types of coins.

During the reign of Kaniska of Gandhara a new school of a developed because of the impact of Greek or Hellenisitc art. The art which also famous as Greco-Buddhist art.

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The Headless statute of Kaniska discovered from Mathura and the images of Buddha found of Saranath are the examples of vedian style of art. But at Gandhara the art of image making was influenced by Greek to achieve. The Gandhara sculptors carved stone images of Buddha and Boddhi stuva initiating the style of Greeks.

The forms of Greek art were applied to Buddhist subjects. Images of Buddha appear in the likeness of Apollo. The Saksha and Kurvera is posed in the fashion of the phidian zeus and son on.

The dail ary follows Hellensitic modes. So at Gandhara the Greek technique of art was applied to the subjects drawn from Mahayan Buddhism. The Gandhara art reveals the Greek impact upon Indian culture.

Development of Art:

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The rulers of the Kushan dynasty were not only great conquerors but also patrons of art. Kaniska took keen interest is the art of architecture.

He laid the foundation of the towns of Prushpur, Kanislikapur etc. and built many beautiful buildings in these towns. He constructed a beautiful tower made of wood. A beautiful Buddhist Vihara was also built near this tower. The Muslim historian Alberuni was very much influenced to see this Vihara.

Besides this, the stupas and the viharas were built by the stupas and the viharas were built by Kushan ruler and is a large number. This fact was also supported by the Chinese traveler Hieun-Tsan.

The Gandhar School of sculpture:

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origin of the Gandhara art was the most significant feature the growth of the Kushan period. The territory of Gandhara was the main centre of this art. It was situated and the North West frontier of India. That is why; it was called the Gandhara School of art.

The new theory of Buddhism, Maha Janism was responsible for the growth of this art. The province of Gandhara was the centre of this new theory of Buddhism. This province was so situated as to be the meeting ground of the Indian, Chinese, Iranian and Greek Roman cultures.

Naturally the art of Gandhara was also influenced by these foreign cultures especially the Greek Roman culture. Infact, the Gandhara style originated in Bacteria and Parthia under the Greek rulers.

In this art, the states and images of Lord Buddha were constructed according to the Greek technique but the idea, personalities and spirit were Indian.

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That is why the Gandhara art is also known as the lndo-Greek art or Graeco-Buddhist art. According to Dr. R. Majumdar the Gandhara artist had the hands of a Greek and the heart of an Indian.”

So then new form of Buddhism was the main theme of the Gandhara Art. The full-size statues of Buddha and the images of the Kusham rulers were produced by employing this new style of art.

These statues images were made of the black stone. The different parts of the body, especially muscles and moustaches were shown in natural setting.

Besides this the clothes, hair style, decoration and ornamentation clearly indicate the influence of the Greek style. The statues of Buddha appear similar to the statues of Greek God, Apollos; actually, the Gandhara art is a lively commentary on the life and deeds of Lord Buddha.