Assertion: Some historians feel that the Kushanas considered themselves godlike.

Reason: Colossal statues of Kushana rulers have been found installed in a shrine at Mat near Mathura and in a shrine in Afghanistan as well.

Both the Assertion and the Reason are correct and the Reason is the correct explanation of the Assertion.

The correct answer is Option 1 - Both the Assertion and the Reason are correct and the Reason is the correct explanation of the Assertion.

Assertion: Some historians feel that the Kushanas considered themselves godlike.

Reason: Colossal statues of Kushana rulers have been found installed in a shrine at Mat near Mathura and in a shrine in Afghanistan as well.

The assertion and reason are both correct, and the reason provides strong evidence to support the assertion.  The colossal statues of Kushana rulers, particularly those found in shrines, suggest that the Kushanas may have sought to elevate their status to a divine or semi-divine level. Additionally, the fact that these statues were placed in shrines, which are typically dedicated to religious or spiritual purposes, further supports the idea that the Kushanas may have considered themselves to have a divine or sacred status.

Divine Kings: One means of claiming high status was to identify with a variety of deities. This strategy is best exemplified by the Kushanas (c. first century BCE first century CE), who ruled over a vast kingdom extending from Central Asia to northwest India. Their history has been reconstructed from inscriptions and textual traditions. The notions of kingship they wished to project are perhaps best evidenced in their coins and sculpture. Colossal statues of Kushana rulers have been found installed in a shrine at Mat near Mathura (Uttar Pradesh). Similar statues have been found in a shrine in Afghanistan as well. Some historians feel this indicates that the Kushanas considered themselves godlike. Many Kushana rulers also adopted the title devaputra, or “son of god”, possibly inspired by Chinese rulers who called themselves sons of heaven.