Indian Art: A History of Indian Art from the Earliest Times up to the Third Century A.D. c13.s6.12

c13.s6.12

The institution of Devakula, i. e. a gallery of royal effigies is described by Bhāsa in his Pratimā Nāṭaka in a manner which leaves no doubt about its real existence. The Kushāṇas obviously adopted it in a full-fledged form, probably due to some tradition which they had seen in their homeland as also indicated by the wall of royal statues in the palace of Toprak Kalē in Kirgiztan in Central Asia. The emperors at Mathura attached more than ordinary significance is shown by their inscriptions, which as one on the statue of Vema refers to the construction of the Devakula with ancillary monuments, viz. a garden (ārāma), pond (puṣkariṇī) and well (udapāna), and when after the lapse of time the buildings fell in ruins another inscription of a high officer of Huvishka refers to the steps taken for the repair of the Devakula.