Indian Art: A History of Indian Art from the Earliest Times up to the Third Century A.D. c16.62

c16.62

In Kuṣāṇa art emphasis on sculpture was mounting to the decrease of terracotta art. This is reflected in the comparative paucity of terracotta specimens in this period both at Mathurā and Ahichchhatrā, whereas at Kosam the art of clay-figurines almost died out. Only in a very limited number of specimens the earlier traditions of fine workmanship continued, and the majority of Kuṣāṇa figurines exhibit a crude style. Attention may be drawn to a charming figure of Kāmadeva standing on the prostrate body of the fisherman Śūrpaka. He holds a sheaf of arrows in right hand and a long bow in left. The story of the princess Kumudavatī falling in love with the unwilling fisherman Śūrpaka and winning his heart through the intervention of the god of love seems to have been a popular one in the Kuṣāṇa period as Aśvaghosha refers to it both in the *Buddhacharita* (XXX. 11) and the *Saundrananda* (VIII. 44)². [Fig. 241].