Who started the Saka Era which is still used by the Government of India?
(A) Kanishka
(B) Vikramaditya
(C) Samudra Gupta
(D) Asoka
Answer: (A) The mightiest of the Kushan rulers in India was Kanishka. He was in power from 78 AD to 120 AD. It was Kanishka who initiated the Saka Era in 78 AD. Through inheritance and conquest, Kanishka’s kingdom covered an area extending from Bukhara (now in Uzbekistan) in the west to Patna in the Ganges Valley in the east, and from the Pamirs (now in Tajikistan) in the north to central India in the south. His capital was Purushpura (Peshawar).
