RAS question
Which Kushan king is traditionally associated with the beginning of the Saka era (78 CE)?
Correct answer: (D) Kanishka I.
Kanishka I is traditionally associated with the beginning of the Saka era in 78 CE.
Explanation
Kanishka I is the answer because the traditional account links him with the Saka era, whose starting point is 78 CE. EBSCO Research Starters confirms that Kanishka's reign has been associated with the Saka Era dating system and that this system was initiated in 78 CE, later forming the basis of the modern Indian governmental calendar. Exam answers often use careful wording here because Kanishka's own reign is debated, with one older reckoning placing it around 78-103 CE and more recent scholarship placing it later, around 127-151 CE. So, for RAS purposes, the tested fact is the traditional association, not an uncontested chronological certainty.
Why the other options are wrong
- (A) Huvishka comes after Kanishka in the Kushan dynastic sequence, so he is not the ruler traditionally linked with the 78 CE beginning of the Saka era.
- (B) Kujula Kadphises was the ruler under whom the Kushans first established political unity, but the Saka Era dating system is not associated with him.
- (C) Vima Kadphises comes before Kanishka in the Kushan sequence, while the Saka-era association belongs specifically to Kanishka.
Concept
This tests ancient Indian chronology, especially the Kushan period and the use of eras in historical dating. It recurs in RAS because such questions connect rulers, dynastic order, and calendar systems in one compact fact.