Explanation

The Kushana rulers (e.g., Kanishka, Huvishka) projected kinship with the divine by depicting themselves alongside deities on their gold and copper coinage and in monumental sculpture such as the Mathura standing Buddha/Bodhisattva and royal portraits. Their notion of divine kinship and legitimacy is best evidenced through these coins and sculptures rather than through grants, panegyrics or mere identification with deities in texts.