Oesho ( xbc, Οηϸο) is a deity found on coins of 2nd to 6th-century, particularly the 2nd-century

Kushan The Kushan Empire ( grc, Βασιλεία Κοσσανῶν; xbc, Κυϸανο, ; sa, कुषाण वंश; Brahmi: , '; BHS: ; xpr, 𐭊𐭅𐭔𐭍 𐭇𐭔𐭕𐭓, ; zh, 貴霜 ) was a syncretic empire, formed by the Yuezhi, ...

era. He was apparently one of the titular deities of the Kushan dynasty. Oesho is an early Kushan deity that is regarded as an amalgamation of

Shiva Shiva (; sa, शिव, lit=The Auspicious One, Śiva ), also known as Mahadeva (; Help:IPA/Sanskrit, ɐɦaːd̪eːʋɐ, or Hara, is one of the Hindu deities, principal deities of Hinduism. He is the Supreme Being in Shaivism, one o ...

. By the time of the Kushan emperor Ooishki (Bactrian Οοηϸκι; often Romanised as Huvishka), who reigned in 140–180 CE, Oesho and the female deity Ardoksho (''Ardoxsho''; ''Ardochsho''; ''Ardokhsho'') were the only deities appearing on Kushan coins.

Connections

Connections to several contemporaneous deities worshipped by neighbouring cultures have been suggested. * During the Kushan era, Oesho was often linked to the Hindu concept of

Ishvara ''Ishvara'' () is a concept in Hinduism, with a wide range of meanings that depend on the era and the school of Hinduism. Monier Monier Williams, Sanskrit-English dictionarySearch for Izvara University of Cologne, Germany In ancient texts of ...

, which was embodied by the god

; Oesho may share the same etymology as Ishvara and/or represent a variant of the word in the

Bactrian language Bactrian (, , ) is an extinct Eastern Iranian language formerly spoken in the Central Asian region of Bactria (in present-day Afghanistan) and used as the official language of the Kushan, and the Hephthalite empires. Name It was long thought th ...

spoken by the Kushans. * Similarities have retrospectively been identified with the Avestan

Vayu Vayu (, sa, वायु, ), also known as Vata and Pavana, is the Hindu god of the winds as well as the divine massenger of the gods. In the '' Vedic scriptures'', Vayu is an important deity and is closely associated with Indra, the king of ...

. * Some later representations, evidently influenced by

Greco-Bactrian The Bactrian Kingdom, known to historians as the Greco-Bactrian Kingdom or simply Greco-Bactria, was a Hellenistic-era Greek state, and along with the Indo-Greek Kingdom, the easternmost part of the Hellenistic world in Central Asia and the India ...

culture, depict Oesho with a

trishula The ''trishula'' () is a trident, a divine symbol, commonly used as one of the principal symbols in Hinduism. In Nepal and Thailand, the term also often refers to a short-handled weapon which may be mounted on a ''daṇḍa'' "staff". Unlike ...

, the traditional implement of Shiva, similar to a

trident A trident is a three- pronged spear. It is used for spear fishing and historically as a polearm. The trident is the weapon of Poseidon, or Neptune, the God of the Sea in classical mythology. The trident may occasionally be held by other mar ...

that is part of Poseidon’s iconography.

Consort

The consort of Oesho was ''Ommo'' ("ΟΜΜΟ", Umā), as shown on a coin type of

ruler

Huvishka Huvishka (Kushan: Οοηϸκι, ''Ooēški'', Brahmi: ', '; Kharosthi: 𐨱𐨂𐨬𐨅𐨮𐨿𐨐 ', ') was the emperor of the Kushan Empire from the death of Kanishka (assumed on the best evidence available to be in 150 CE) until the successio ...

with, on the reverse, the divine couple ''Ommo'' ("ΟΜΜΟ", Umā) holding a flower, and ''Oesho'' ("ΟΗϷΟ",

) with four arms holding attributes.

Depictions of Oesho

File:Huvishka Oesho coin.jpg, Coin of Huvishka with deity ''Oesho'' ("ΟΗϷΟ",

). File:Huvishka with Ommo and Oesho.jpg, upright=1.5, Coinage of

ruler

with, on the reverse, the divine couple ''Ommo'' ("ΟΜΜΟ", Umā) holding a flower, and ''Oesho'' ("ΟΗϷΟ",

) with four arms holding attributes. Circa 150-180 CE. File:Vasudeva I Circa CE 190-230 Oesho reverse.jpg, Oesho, with a second human face, and the head of a horned animal, on a coin of Vasudeva I Image:Coin of KanishkaII.jpg, Coin of the

king Kanishka II with, on the reverse, a depiction of Oesho and the word "Oesho" in modified Greek script. Image:ShivaOeshoBactria3rdCenturyCE.jpg, Kushan worshipper with Oesho, Bactria, 3rd century CE.Metropolitan Museum of Art exhibition

Notes

References

* {{cite book , last = Bopearachchi , first = Osmund , author-link = Bopearachchi , title = De l'Indus à l'Oxus, Archéologie de l'Asie Centrale , year = 2003 , publisher = Association imago-musée de Lattes , location = Lattes , language = fr , isbn = 2-9516679-2-2 South Asian deities Kushan Empire Forms of Shiva