Gandhara Art, the Buddhist visual art in which images were carved in a realistic Greco-Roman style with graceful bodies and curly hair, developed during the Kushana reign. Buddhist and Jaina sculptures of a different style were produced in Mathura too. These Buddha, statues were made of red sand-stone and looked fatter and happier. Many stupas too were built in this era.
Literature flourished during the Kushana reign. Ashvaghosha was an important writer who belongs to this period who wrote Buddhacharita, a biography of Buddha. Mahayana Buddhist texts including the Mahavastu and the Divyavadana were also scripted around the same time. Jatakas or stories about the Buddha’s previous births too were written around this time.
Astronomy, astrology and medicine were other fields that progressed during the Kushana rule. Charaka and Sushruta, two notable Ayurvedic practitioners wrote on numerous plants and herbs that were used in the treatment of diseases.
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