Book Review – The Great Kushana Testament

Summary

Satya Ranjan Banerjee reviews Professor B. N. Mukherjee’s monograph The Great Kushana Testament published by the Indian Museum; The book discusses the Rabatak Bactrian inscription discovered in Afghanistan which records proclamations of the Kushana king Kanishka; Banerjee observes that the inscription is a landmark for the study of Kushana history because it reveals details about royal lineage administrative reforms and religious patronage; The treatise transliterates the Bactrian text into Greek script and provides an English translation; It analyses linguistic features and assesses the implications for Indo Iranian history; The reviewer notes that Professor Mukherjee situates the inscription within the broader historical context by comparing Chinese and Greek sources; He emphasises that Mukherjee’s command of the subject and his critical approach make the book a valuable addition to scholarship; The work is divided into chapters discussing the discovery of the inscription the political circumstances of the Kushana empire and the significance of the new material for dating Kanishka’s reign; Banerjee comments on the author’s use of rare sources and his synthesis of evidence; He praises the clarity and forceful style of the prose; However the reviewer also points out that the book assumes familiarity with numismatics and epigraphy; Despite this limitation it will benefit scholars and students interested in ancient Indian history; The review ends by urging historians to read the book because it not only interprets the Rabatak inscription but also illuminates the broader economic and cultural history of Central Asia