| Budget Amount *help |
¥1,800,000 (Direct Cost: ¥1,800,000)
Fiscal Year 1998: ¥600,000 (Direct Cost: ¥600,000)
Fiscal Year 1997: ¥1,200,000 (Direct Cost: ¥1,200,000)
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| Research Abstract |
The city of Mathura geographically situates at the western most point of the Gangetic basin. Thus for the people of East India, it was an access point leading to North-West India. Besides, it also maintained access to the trade-routs to Western sea coast area and to the Southern part of India. The city, literally, enjoyed pivotal position in the net-work of trade routes at the beginning of the Christian era. This merit of being the pivotal city in the then trade-routs net-work, and of having commanding position in the economic activities in Ancient India, had been exploited in full scale by the rulers of alien origin during the Saka-Kushan period. Owing to the economic prosperity due to its trading activities through the trade-routes, the city seems to have enjoyed a kind of freedom of religion and religious catholicism. In the city and its surrounding area, we come across centres and cult spots of Jainism, Buddhism, Yaksa cult, Naga cult, and the so called Hinduism represented by the cults of Krshna, i, e, . Vaishnavism, and Shaivism. Thus, the metropolis was, in a way, a kind of 'melting pot of religions'. This condition was mainly made possible due to the economic prosperity of the society. The inscriptions of the period dedicated to religious sites refer to the existence of guilds of various merchants and craftsmen like, 'Cloakmakers', 'Goldsmiths', 'Blacksmiths' and 'Timber merchants'. And we also come across the cases of donation, made by the well-to-do section of the then society, which was made possible by the 'interests' procured from their investments in such guilds. Thus, in the society of Mathura during the Saka-Kushan period, we find very strong relationship between the then religious catholicism and economic transactions.
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