Question

What was the capital of Kanishka?
A. Mathura
B. Purushapura
C. Ujjain
D. Gandhara

Answer 1

Hint:
The city is now known as Peshawar and is located in Pakistan.
As the centre of the ancient Gandhara region, the city became the capital of the Kushan Empire under the rule of Kanishka.
The city was home to the “Kanishka stupa”, one of the tallest buildings in the ancient world.

Complete answer:
Kushan Empire Origin
Kushanas are observed to be one of the five divisions of the Yuezhi tribe. They used to live in the Chinese frontier or central Asia.
They are called Guishuang in Chinese sources.
Finally, they acquired supremacy over the other Yuezhi tribes.
They moved eastward towards India eventually defeating the Parthians and the Sakas in the 1st century AD.

Kanishka of Kushan Dynasty [127 AD – 150 AD]
Considered the greatest Kushana king and one of the great kings of ancient India.
He was the son of Vima Kadphises.
His main capital was Purushapura, now known as Peshawar.
After capturing Pataliputra, he took the Buddhist monk Ashvaghosha with him to Peshawar.
Kanishka called the fourth Buddhist Council at Kundalvana in Kashmir.
He supported Buddhism.
The coins in his time contain a mix of Indian, Greek and Zoroastrian deities.
He was a patron of art and architecture. The Gandhara School of art flourished under him.
He promoted the Mahayana form of Buddhism, especially in China.
His empire included Gandhara, Peshawar, Oudh, Pataliputra, Kashmir and Mathura. Parts of Uzbekistan and Tajikistan were also included in his kingdom.

Option (A) Mathura: This option is incorrect. Mathura was a part of the empire of Kanishka but it was not his capital.

Option (B) Purushapura: This option is correct. The main capital of Kanishka’s empire was located at Purushapura in Gandhara. And his other major capital was at Kapisa.

Option (C) Ujjain: This option is incorrect as Ujjain was not included in the empire of Kanishka.

Option (D) Gandhara: This option is also incorrect. Kanishka’s main capital was Purushapura, which was one of the main cities of Gandhara.

Therefore the correct answer is B

Note
Peshawar which is now the provincial capital of Pakistan's Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province was known variously as Parasawara and Purushapura.
The city was also called Begram.
Akbar, the Mughal emperor of India (1556–1605) gave the present name, Peshawar (peshawar, “frontier town”).