Which one of the following statements is correct about the Rabatak inscription?

Correct option is A

The correct answer is (A) Clarifying the relationship between Kanishka and Kadphises kings

Explanation:
• The Rabatak inscription is a famous stone tablet discovered in Afghanistan in 1993. It is written in the Bactrian language and Greek script, dating to the reign of the Kushan emperor Kanishka the Great.
• Before its discovery, the exact genealogy of the early Kushan kings was debated. The Rabatak inscription explicitly lists Kanishka’s ancestors: his great-grandfather Kujula Kadphises, his grandfather Vima Taktu, and his father Vima Kadphises.
• It also describes the expansion of Kanishka’s empire into India, mentioning cities like Saketa, Kausambi, Pataliputra, and Champa.
• The inscription clarifies that Kanishka succeeded Vima Kadphises and establishes a clear dynastic link, making it one of the most important epigraphic finds for Kushan history.

Information Booster:
• Kanishka is famous for convening the Fourth Buddhist Council in Kashmir.
• He started the Shaka Era in 78 CE.

Additional Knowledge:
• Mauryan kings (Option B): Mauryan history is primarily known through Ashokan Edicts and the Puranas; the Rabatak inscription is strictly Kushan.
• Vishnu worship (Option C): Such information is found in the Besnagar Pillar inscription of Heliodorus.
• Tamil coastal trade (Option D): This is the subject of Sangam literature and Roman accounts like the 'Periplus of the Erythraean Sea'.