Question

Whom was Ashvaghosha a contemporary of?
A. Menander
B. Harsha
C. Kanishka
D. Ashoka

Answer 1

Hint:
1. He was an emperor of the Kushan dynasty in the second century.
2. He was famous for his military, political, and spiritual achievements.

Complete answer:
Option A. Menander: Menander was the best known representative of the Athenian New Comedy and a Greek dramatist. He wrote 108 comedies and eight times took the award at the Lenaia Festival. His work was lost during the Middle Ages and is recognised in modernity in a highly fragmentary form, most of which was discovered in the 20th century, as one of the most famous authors of antiquity. Hence, this option is incorrect.

Option B. Harsha: Harsha, also referred to as Harshavardhana, was an Indian emperor who ruled from 606 to 647 CE in North India. He was a member of the dynasty of Vardhana. His Empire covered most of North and Northwest India at the height of Harsha's control, stretched East to Kamarupa, and South to Narmada River and eventually made Kannauj its capital, and ruled until 647 CE. Hence, this option is incorrect.

Option C. Kanishka: Before Kalidasa (5th century) and the father of the Sanskrit drama, Ashvaghosha was a philosopher and poet who is considered India's greatest poet. The style of Sanskrit poetry known as kavya was popularized and eventually the position of a spiritual counselor at the court of Kanishka at Peshawar was promoted. In the second century, Kanishka was an emperor of the Kushan dynasty. The lord of the Kushan Empire was Kujula Kadphises. Hence, this option is correct.

Option D. Ashoka: Ashoka, also known as Ashoka the Great, was a Maurya Dynasty Indian emperor who ruled nearly the entire Indian subcontinent from c. 268 to 232 BCE. A grandson of Chandragupta Maurya, the founder of the dynasty, Ashoka facilitated the propagation of Buddhism throughout ancient Asia. Hence, this option is incorrect.

Therefore, from the above conclusions, Option C. Kanishka is the correct answer.

Note:
1. Kanishka came to rule an empire in Bactria extending to Pataliputra on the Gangetic plain. The main capital of his empire was located at Puruṣapura in Gandhara, with another major capital at Kapisa.
2. His conquests and patronage of Buddhism played an important role in the development of the Silk Road, and in the transmission of Mahayana Buddhism from Gandhara across the Karakoram range to China.