Page:History of India Vol 2.djvu/278

 240 THE KUSHAN OR INDO - SCYTHIAN DYNASTY bowed before him like herbage under hail. The peoples of three regions came in to make their submission; under the hoofs of the horse ridden by King Kanishka everything either bent or broke. The king said: ' I have subjugated three regions; all men have taken refuge with me; the region of the north alone has not come in to make its submission. If I subjugate it, I shall never again take advantage of an opportunity against any one, be he who he may; but I do not yet know the best way to succeed in this undertaking. ' The king's people, having heard these words, took counsel together and said: ' The king is greedy, cruel, and unreasonable; his campaigns and continued conquests have wearied the mass of his servants. He knows not how to be content, but wants to reign over the four quarters. The garrisons are stationed on distant fron- tiers, and our relatives are far from us. Such being the situation, we must agree among ourselves, and get rid of him. After that we may be happy.' As he was ill, they covered him with a quilt, a man sat on top of him, and the king died on the spot." The reign of Kanishka appears to have lasted some twenty-five or thirty years, and may be assumed to have terminated about 150 A. D. Very little is known about the successors of Ka- nishka. He was immediately followed by Huvishka, or Hushka, who was probably his son, and appears to have retained undiminished the great empire to which he suc- ceeded. His dominions certainly included Kabul, Kash- mir, Gaya, and Mathura. At the last named city, a