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This article is about the ancient kingdom. For other places, see Gandhara City. Gandhara is also aproposed name of Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa Province in Pakistan. See also Gandara and Gandahar.

Gandh ra (Sanskrit/Hindi: Gand r , Urdu/Punjabi: , Pashto: ,'; also knownas Waihind in Persian),[citation needed] is the name of an ancient kingdom (Mahajanapada),located in northern Pakistan and eastern Afghanistan. Gandhara was located mainly in the vale ofPeshawar, the Potohar plateau (see Taxila) and on the Kabul River. Its main cities werePurushapura (modern Peshawar), literally meaning City of Man[1] and Takshashila (modernTaxila).[2]

The Kingdom of Gandhara lasted from the early 1st millennium BC to the 11th century AD. Itattained its height from the 1st century to the 5th century under the Buddhist Kushan Kings. TheHindu term Shahi is used by history writer Al-Biruni[3] to refer to the ruling Hindu dynasty[4] thattook over from the Turki Shahi and ruled the region during the period prior to Muslim conquests ofthe 10th and 11th centuries. After it was conquered by Mahmud of Ghazni in 1021 CE, the name

Gandhara disappeared. During the Muslim period the area was administered from Lahore or fromKabul. During Mughal times the area was part of Kabul province.Contents [hide]1 Geography2 History2.1 Epic and Puranic traditions2.2 Pushkalavati and Prayag2.3 Taxila3 Persian rule4 Mauryas5 Graeco-Bactrians, Sakas, and Indo-Parthians6 Kushan rule7 Invasion by the Huns8 Turkishahi and Hindushahi

8.1 End9 Rediscovery10 Language11 Proselytism12 Art13 Timeline14 See also15 Notes16 References17 External links

[edit]Geography

Female spouted figure, terracotta, Charsadda, Gandhara, 3rd1st century BC Victoria and AlbertMuseum.

The Gandh ri people were settled since the Vedic times on the banks of Kabul River (river Kubh or Kabol) down to its confluence with the Indus. Later Gandh ra included parts of northwest Punjab. Gandhara was located on the northern trunk road(Uttarapatha) and was a centre of international commercial activities. It was animportant channel of communication with ancient Iran, India and Central Asia.

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The boundaries of Gandhara varied throughout history. Sometimes the Peshawar valleyand Taxila were collectively referred to as Gandhara and sometimes the Swat valley(Sanskrit: Suv stu) was also included. The heart of Gandhara, however, was always the Peshawar valley. The kingdom was ruled from capitals at Pushkalavati (Charsadda),Taxila, Purushapura (Peshawar) and in its final days from Udabhandapura (Hund) onthe Indus. According to the Puranas, they were named[clarification needed] after

Taksha and Pushkara, the two sons of Bharata, a prince of Ayodhya.[edit]History

Evidence of Stone Age human inhabitants of Gandhara, including stone tools and burntbones, was discovered at Sanghao near Mardan in area caves. The artifacts areapproximately 15,000 years old. More recent excavations point to 30,000 years beforepresent.

The region shows an influx of southern Central Asian culture in the Bronze Age with theGandhara grave culture, likely corresponding to immigration of Indo-Aryan speakersand the nucleus of Vedic civilization. This culture survived till 1000 BC. Its evidence hasbeen discovered in the hilly regions of Swat and Dir, and even at Taxila.

The name of the Gandh ris is attested in the Rigveda (RV 1.126.7[5]) and in ancient inscriptions dating back to Achaemenid Persia. The Behistun inscription listing the 23territories of King Darius I (519 BC) includes Gand ra along with Bactria and Thatagush ( atagu , Satagydia). In the book "Histories" by Herodotus, Gandhara is named as asource of tax collections for King Darius. The Gandh ris, along with the Balhika (Bactrians), M javants, Angas, and the Magadhas, are also mentioned in the Atharvaveda (AV 5.22.14), as distant people. Gandharas are included in theUttarapatha division of Puranic and Buddhistic traditions. The Aitareya Brahmanarefers to king Naganajit of Gandhara who was a contemporary of Janaka, king ofVideha.[edit]Epic and Puranic traditions

Gandhara had played an important role in the epic of Ramayana and Mahabharata.Ambhi Kumar was direct descendant of Bharata (of Ramayana) and Shakuni (ofMahabharata). It is said that Lord Rama consolidated the rule of the Kosala Kingdomover the whole of the Indian peninsula. His brothers and sons ruled most of theJanapadas (16 states) at that time.

In Mahabharata, the princess named Gandhari was married to Hastinapur's blind kingDhritrashtra and was mother of Duryodhana and other Kauravas. The prince ofGandhara Shakuni was against this wedding but accepted it, fearing an invasion fromHastinapur. In the aftermath, Shakuni influences the Kaurava prince Duryodhana andplays a central role in the great war of Kurukshetra that eliminated the entire Kurufamily, including Bhishma and a hundred Kaurava brothers. According to Puranictraditions, this country (Janapada) was founded by Gandh ra, son of Aruddha, a

descendant of Yay ti. The princes of this country are said to have come from the line of Druhyu, who was a king of the Druhyu tribe of the Rigvedic period. According toVayu Purana (II.36.107), the Gandharas were destroyed by Pramiti, aka Kalika, at theend of Kaliyuga.Mother Goddess (fertility divinity), derived from the Indus Valley Civilization,terracotta, Sar Dheri, Gandhara, 1st century BC, Victoria and Albert Museum.

Gandh ra is also thought to be the location of the mythical Lake Dhanakosha, the

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birthplace of Padmasambhava, the founder of Tibetan Buddhism. The bKa' brgyud(Kagyu) sect of Tibetan Buddhism identifies the lake with the Andan Dheri stupa,located near the tiny village of Uchh near Chakdara in the lower Swat Valley. A springwas said to flow from the base of the stupa to form the lake. Archaeologists have foundthe stupa but no spring or lake can be identified.[edit]

Pushkalavati and PrayagThe primary cities of Gandhara were Purushapura (now Peshawar), Takshashila (orTaxila) and Pushkalavati. The latter remained the capital of Gandhara down to the 2ndcentury AD, when the capital was moved to Peshawar. An important Buddhist shrinehelped to make the city a centre of pilgrimage until the 7th century. Pushkalavati inthe Peshawar Valley is situated at the confluence of the Swat and Kabul rivers, wherethree different branches of the River Kabul meet. That specific place is still calledPrang (from Pray ga) and considered sacred and where local people still bring their dead for burial. Similar geographical characteristics are found at site of Prang inKashmir and at the confluence of the Ganges and Yamuna, where the sacred city ofPrayag is situated, west of Benares. Pray ga (Allahabad) one of the ancient pilgrim centres of India as the two rivers are said to be joined here by the undergroundSarasvati River, forming a trive , a confluence of three rivers.[edit]TaxilaMain article: Taxila

The Gandharan city of Taxila was an important Buddhist[6] centre of learning from the5th century BC[6] to the 2nd century.[edit]Persian rule

Cyrus the Great (558530 BC) built the first "universal" empire, stretching from Greeceto the Indus River. Both Gandhara and Kamboja soon came under the rule of theAchaemenian Dynasty of Persia during the reign of Cyrus the Great or in the first yearof Darius I. The Gandhara and Kamboja had constituted the seventh satrapies (upperIndus) of the Achaemenid Empire.

When the Achamenids took control of this kingdom, Pushkarasakti, a contemporary ofking Bimbisara of Magadha, was the king of Gandhara. He was engaged in a powerstruggle against the kingdoms of Avanti and Pandavas.

The inscription on Darius' (521486 BC) tomb at Naqsh-i-Rustam near Persepolisrecords GAD RA (Gand ra) along with HINDUSH (H ndu, Sindh) in the list of satrapies.

Under the Persian rule, a system of centralized administration with a bureaucraticsystem was introduced in the region. Great scholars such as Panini and Kautilya livedin this cosmopolitan environment. The Kharosthi alphabet, derived from the one usedfor Aramaic (the official language of Achaemenids) developed here and remained

national script of Gandhara until 3rd century AD.

By about 380 BC Persian hold on the region weakened. Many small kingdoms sprangup in Gandhara. In 327 BC Alexander the Great conquered Gandhara and the IndianSatrapies of the Persian Empire. The expeditions of Alexander were recorded by hiscourt historians and by Arrian (around AD 175) in his Anabasis Alexandri and otherchroniclers many centuries after the event.

The companions of Alexander the Great did not record the names of Kamboja and

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Gandhara, rather they located a dozen small political units within their territories.Alexander conquered most of these political units of the former Gandhara, Sindhu andKamboja Mahajanapadas.

According to Greek chroniclers, at the time of Alexander's invasion hyparchs Kubhesha,Hastin (Astes), and Ambhi (Omphes) were ruling the lower Kabul valley, Puskalavati

(modern Charasadda), and Taxila, respectively, while Ashvajit (chief of Aspasoi/Aspasiior Ashvayanas) and Assakenos (chief of Assakenoi or Ashvakayanas, both being partsof the Kambojas) ruled the upper Kabul valley and Mazaga/Massaga (Mashkavati),respectively.[edit]MauryasCoin of Early Gandhara Janapada: AR Shatamana and one-eighth Shatamana (round),

Taxila-Gandhara region, ca. 600300 BC

Chandragupta, the founder of Mauryan dynasty is said to have lived in Taxila whenAlexander captured this city. According to tradition, he trained under Kautilya, whoremained his chief adviser throughout his career. Supposedly using Gandhara andVahika as his base, Chandragupta led a rebellion against the Magadha Empire andascended the throne at Pataliputra in 321 BC. However, there are no contemporaryIndian records of Chandragupta Maurya and almost all that is known is based on thediaries of Megasthenes, the ambassador of Seleucus at Pataliputra, as recorded byArrian in his Indika. Gandhara was acquired from the Greeks by Chandragupta Maurya.

After a battle with Seleucus Nicator (Alexander's successor in Asia) in 305 BC, theMauryan Emperor extended his domains up to and including Southern Afghanistan.With the completion of the Empire's Grand Trunk Road, the region prospered as acenter of trade. Gandhara remained a part of the Mauryan Empire for about a centuryand a half.

Ashoka, the grandson of Chandragupta, was one of the greatest Indian rulers. Like hisgrandfather, Ashoka also started his career from Gandhara as a governor. Later hesupposedly became a Buddhist and promoted this religion in his empire. He built manystupas in Gandhara. Mauryan control over northwestern frontier, including the Yonas,Kambojas, and the Gandharas is attested from the Rock Edicts left by Ashoka.According to one school of scholars, the Gandharas and Kambojas were cognatepeople.[7][8][9] It is also contended that the Kurus, Kambojas, Gandharas and Bahlikaswere cognate people and all had Iranian affinities,[10] or that the Gandhara andKamboja were nothing but two provinces of one empire and hence influencing eachother's language.[11] However, the local language of Gandhara is represented byPanini's conservative bh , which is entirely different from the Iranian (Late Avestan) language of the Kamboja that is indicated by Patanjali's quote of Kambojan avati 'to go' (= Late Avestan ava(i)ti).[12][13][14][15] Gandhara was often linked politicallywith the neighboring regions of Kashmir and Kamboja.[16][edit]

Graeco-Bactrians, Sakas, and Indo-ParthiansStanding Buddha, Gandhara (1st2nd century), Tokyo National MuseumAthena in the art of Gandhara.

The decline of the Empire left the sub-continent open to the inroads by the Greco-Bactrians. Southern Afghanistan was absorbed by Demetrius I of Bactria in 180 BC.Around about 185 BC, Demetrius invaded and conquered Gandhara and the Punjab.

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Later, wars between different groups of Bactrian Greeks resulted in the independenceof Gandhara from Bactria and the formation of the Indo-Greek kingdom. Menander wasits most famous king. He ruled from Taxila and later from Sagala (Sialkot). He rebuiltTaxila (Sirkap) and Pushkalavati. He became a Buddhist and is remembered inBuddhists records due to his discussions with a great Buddhist philosopher, N gasena, in the book Milinda Panha.

Around the time of Menander's death in 140 BC, the Central Asian Kushans overranBactria and ended Greek rule there. Around 80 BC, the Sakas, diverted by theirParthian cousins from Iran, moved into Gandhara and other parts of Pakistan andWestern India. The most famous king of the Sakas, Maues, established himself inGandhara.

By 90 BC the Parthians had taken control of eastern Iran and in around 50 BC they putan end to the last remnants of Greek rule in Afghanistan. Eventually an Indo-Parthiandynasty succeeded in taking control of Gandhara. The Parthians continued to supportGreek artistic traditions. The start of the Gandharan Greco-Buddhist art is dated toabout 7550 BC. Links between Rome and the Indo-Parthian kingdoms existed. There isarchaeological evidence that building techniques were transmitted between the tworealms. Christian records claim that around AD 40 Thomas the Apostle visited India andencountered the Indo-Parthian king Gondophares.[17][edit]Kushan ruleStanding Bodhisattva or Bodhisattva Maitreya from Gandhara. 3rd century Grey schist.Muse des beaux-arts de Montral.Gandhara fortified city depicted in a Buddhist relief.

The Parthian dynasty fell about 75 to another group from Central Asia. The Kushans,known as Yuezhi in China (although ethnically Asii) moved from Central Asia to Bactria,where they stayed for a century. Around 75, one of their tribes, the Kushan (Ku a), under the leadership of Kujula Kadphises gained control of Gandhara and other parts ofwhat is now Pakistan.

The Kushan period is considered the Golden Period of Gandhara. Peshawar Valley andTaxila are littered with ruins of stupas and monasteries of this period. Gandharan artflourished and produced some of the best pieces of Indian sculpture. Many monumentswere created to commemorate the Jataka tales.

The Gandhara civilization peaked during the reign of the great Kushan king Kanishka(128151). The cities of Taxila (Takshasila) at Sirsukh and Peshawar were built.Peshawar became the capital of a great empire stretching from Gandhara to CentralAsia. Kanishka was a great patron of the Buddhist faith; Buddhism spread to CentralAsia and the Far East across Bactria and Sogdia, where his empire met the Han Empireof China. Buddhist art spread from Gandhara to other parts of Asia. Under Kanishka,

Gandhara became a holy land of Buddhism and attracted Chinese pilgrim to seemonuments associated with many Jataka tales.

In Gandhara, Mahayana Buddhism flourished and Buddha was represented in humanform. Under the Kushans new Buddhists stupas were built and old ones were enlarged.Huge statues of the Buddha were erected in monasteries and carved into the hillsides.Kanishka also built a great tower to a height of 400 feet at Peshawar. This tower wasreported by Faxian ([Fa-hsien]), Songyun (Sung-yun) and Xuanzang ([Hsuan-tsang]).This structure was destroyed and rebuilt many times until it was finally destroyed by

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Mahmud of Ghazni in the 11th century.

After Kanishka, the empire started losing territories in the east. In the west, Gandharacame under the Sassanid, the successor state of the Parthians, and became theirvassal from 241 until 450.[edit]

Invasion by the HunsSharing of the Buddha's relics, above a Gandhara fortified city.

The Hepthalite Huns captured Gandhara around 450, and did not adopt Buddhism.During their rule, Hinduism was revived but the Gandharan Civilization declined. TheSassanids, aided by Turks from Central Asia, destroyed the Huns' power base inCentral Asia, and Gandhara once again came under Persian suzerainty in 568. Whenthe Sassanids were defeated by the Muslim Arabs in AD, Gandhara along with Kabulwas ruled by Buddhist Turks.

The travel records of many Chinese Buddhists pilgrims record that Gandhara was goingthrough a transformation during these centuries. Buddhism was declining andHinduism was rising. Fa-Xian travelled around 400, when Prakrit was the language ofthe people and Buddhism was flourishing. 100 years later, when Song-Yun visited in520, a different picture was described: the area had been destroyed by Huns and wasruled by Lae-Lih who did not practice laws of the Buddha. Xuan-Zang visited Indiaaround 644 and found Buddhism on the wane in Gandhara and Hinduism in theascendant. Gandhara was ruled by a king from Kabul, who respected Buddha's law, butTaxila was in ruins and Buddhist monasteries were deserted. Instead, Hindu templeswere numerous and Hinduism was popular.[edit]Turkishahi and Hindushahi

After the fall of the Sassanid Empire to the Arabs in 644, Afghanistan and Gandharacame under pressure from Muslims. But they failed to extend their empire toGandhara. Gandhara was first ruled from Kabul and then from Udabhandapura (Hind).

Gandhara was ruled from Kabul by Turkshahi for next 200 years. Sometime in the 9thcentury the Hindushahi replaced the Turkishahi. Based on various Muslim records theestimated date for this is 870. According to Al-Biruni (9731048), Kallar, a Brahminminister of the Turkshahi, founded the Hindushahi dynasty in 843. The dynasty ruledfrom Kabul, later moved their capital to Udabhandapura. They built great temples allover their kingdoms. Some of these buildings are still in good condition in the SaltRange of the Punjab.[edit]End

Jayapala was the last great king of this dynasty. His empire extended from west ofKabul to the river Sutlej. However, this expansion of Gandhara kingdom coincided with

the rise of the powerful Ghaznavid Empire under Sabuktigin. Defeated twice bySabuktigin and then by Mahmud of Ghazni in the Kabul valley, Jayapala committedsuicide. Anandapala, a son of Jayapala, moved his capital near Nandana in the SaltRange. In 1021 the last king of this dynasty, Trilochanapala, was assassinated by hisown troops which spelled the end of Gandhara. Subsequently, some Shahi princesmoved to Kashmir and became active in local politics.

The city of Kandahar in Afghanistan is said to have been named after Gandhara.According to H.W. Bellow, an emigrant from Gandhara in the 5th century brought this

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name to modern Kandahar. Faxian reported that the Buddha's alms-bowl existed inPeshawar Valley when he visited around 400 (chapter XII). In 1872 Bellow saw thishuge begging bowl (seven feet in diameter) preserved in the shrine of Sultan Waisoutside Kandahar. When Olaf Caroe wrote his book in 1958 (Caroe, pp. 170171), thisrelic was reported to be at Kabul Museum. The present status of this bowl is unknown.

Al Biruni writing c. 1030 CE, reported on the devastation caused during the conquest ofGandhara and much of northwest India by Mahmud of Ghazni following his defeat ofJayapala at Peshawar in 1001 CE:

"Now in the following times no Muslim conqueror passed beyond the frontier of Kbuland the river Sindh until the days of the Turks, when they seized the power in Ghaznaunder the Smn dynasty, and the supreme power fell to the lot of N ir-addaula Sabuktagin. This prince chose the holy war as his calling, and therefore called himselfal-Ghz ("the warrior/invader"). In the interest of his successors he constructed, inorder to weaken the Indian frontier, those roads on which afterwards his son Yamin-addaula Ma m d marched into India during a period of thirty years and more. God be merciful toboth father and son ! Ma md utterly ruined the prosperity of the country, and performed there wonderful exploits, by which the Hindus became like atoms of dust scattered in all directions, andlike a tale of old in the mouth of the people. Their scattered remains cherish, of course, the mostinveterate aversion towards all Muslims. This is the reason, too, why Hindu sciences have retiredfar away from those parts of the country conquered by us, and have fled to places which our handcannot yet reach, to Kashmir, Benares, and other places. And there the antagonism between themand all foreigners receives more and more nourishment both from political and religioussources."[18] During the closing years of the tenth and the early years of the succeeding centuryof our era, Mahmud the first Sultan and Musalman of the Turk dynasty of kings who ruled atGhazni, made a succession of inroads twelve or fourteen in number, into Gandhar the presentPeshwar valley in the course of his proselytizing invasions of Hindustan.[19] Fire and sword havoc and destruction, marked his course everywhere. Gandhar which wasstyled the Garden of the North was left at his death a weird and desolate waste. Its rich fields andfruitful gardens, together with the canal which watered them (the course of which is still partiallytraceable in the western part of the plain), had all disappeared. Its numerous stone built cities,monasteries, and topes with their valuable and revered monuments and sculptures, were sacked,

fired, razed to the ground, and utterly destroyed as habitations. [19]

[edit]Rediscovery

By the time Gandhara had been absorbed into the empire of Mahmud of Ghazni, Buddhist buildingswere already in ruins and Gandhara art had been forgotten. After Al-Biruni, the Kashmiri writerKalha a wrote his book Rajatarangini in 1151. He recorded some events that took place in Gandhara, and gave details about its last royal dynasty and capital Udabhandapura.

In the 19th century, British soldiers and administrators started taking interest in the ancient historyof the Indian Subcontinent. In the 1830s coins of the post-Ashoka period were discovered and inthe same period Chinese travelogues were translated. Charles Masson, James Prinsep, and

Alexander Cunningham deciphered the Kharosthi script in 1838. Chinese records providedlocations and site plans of Buddhists shrines. Along with the discovery of coins, these recordsprovided necessary clues to piece together the history of Gandhara. In 1848 Cunningham foundGandhara sculptures north of Peshawar. He also identified the site of Taxila in the 1860s. Fromthen on a large number of Buddhist statues have been discovered in the Peshawar valley.

John Marshall performed an excavation of Taxila from 1912 to 1934. He discovered separateGreek, Parthian, and Kushan cities and a large number of stupas and monasteries. Thesediscoveries helped to piece together much more of the chronology of the history of Gandhara andits art.

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After 1947 Ahmed Hassan Dani and the Archaeology Department at University of Peshawar madea number of discoveries in the Peshawar and Swat Valley. Excavation on many sites of theGandhara Civilization are being done by researchers from Peshawar and several universitiesaround the world.[edit]LanguagePortraits from the site of Hadda, Gandhara, 3rd century, Guimet Museum

The Gandharan Buddhist texts are both the earliest Buddhist and South Asian manuscriptsdiscovered so far. Most are written on birch bark and were found in labeled clay pots. Panini hasmentioned both the Vedic form of Sanskrit as well as what seems to be Gandhari, a later form(bh ) of Sanskrit, in his Ashtadhyayi.

Gandhara's language was a Prakrit or "Middle Indo-Aryan" dialect, usually calledG ndh r . Texts are written right-to-left in the Kharo h script, which had been adapted for Indo-Aryan languages from a Semitic alphabet, the Aramaic alphabet.Gandh ra was then controlled by the Achaemenid dynasty of the Persian empire, which used the Aramaic script to write the Iranian languages of the Empire.

Semitic scripts were not used to write South Asian languages again until the arrival ofIslam and subsequent adoption of the Persian-style Arabic alphabet for New Indo-Aryanlanguages like Urdu, Punjabi, Sindhi and Kashmiri. Kharosthi script died out about the4th century. However, the Hindko and the archaic Dardic and Kohistani dialects,derived from the local Indo-Aryan Prakrits, are still spoken, though the Afghan Pashtolanguage is the most dominant language of the region today.[edit]ProselytismFurther information: Silk Road transmission of BuddhismThe Kushan Lokaksema (Ch:, Zhi Chan), first translator of a Mahayana sutra intoChinese

Gandharan Buddhist missionaries were active, with other monks from Central Asia,from the 2nd century AD in Han-dynasty (202 BC 220 AD) China's capital of Luoyang,and particularly distinguished themselves by their translation work. They promotedscriptures from Early Buddhist schools as well as those from the Mahayana.Lokaksema, a Kushan and the first to translate Mahayana scriptures into Chinese (167186)Zhi Yao (c. 185), a Kushan monk, second generation of translators after LokaksemaZhi Qian (220252), a Kushan monk whose grandfather had settled in China during168190Zhi Yueh (c. 230), a Kushan monk who worked at NanjingDharmaraksa (265313), a Kushan whose family had lived for generations at DunhuangJnanagupta (561592), a monk and translator from Gandhara

Shikshananda (652710), a monk and translator from Udyana, GandharaPrajna (c. 810), a monk and translator from Kabul, who educated the Japanese K kai in Sanskrit texts

[edit]Art

Gandh ra is noted for the distinctive Gandh ra style of Buddhist art, which developed

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out of a merger of Greek, Syrian, Persian, and Indian artistic influence. Thisdevelopment began during the Parthian Period (50 BC AD 75). Gandh ran style flourished and achieved its peak during the Kushan period, from the 1st to the 5thcentury. It declined and suffered destruction after invasion of the White Huns in the 5thcentury.

Stucco as well as stone was widely used by sculptors in Gandhara for the decoration ofmonastic and cult buildings. Stucco provided the artist with a medium of greatplasticity, enabling a high degree of expressiveness to be given to the sculpture.Sculpting in stucco was popular wherever Buddhism spread from Gandhara - India,Afghanistan, Central Asia and China.See also: Greco-Buddhist art

Female spouted figure, terracotta, Charsadda, Gandhara (3rd1st century BC)

Mother Goddess (fertility divinity), derived from the Indus Valley tradition, terracotta,Sar Dheri, Gandhara (1st century BC)

Prince Siddhartha Gautama Shakyamuni (1st2nd century)

Standing Buddha (1st2nd century)

Buddha head (2nd century)

Buddha in acanthus capital

The Greek god Atlas, supporting a Buddhist monument, Hadda

The Bodhisattva Maitreya (2nd century)

Wine-drinking and music, Hadda (1st2nd century)

Maya's white elephant dream (2nd3rd century)

The birth of Siddharta (2nd3rd century)

The Great Departure from the Palace (2nd3rd century)

The end of ascetism (2nd3rd century)

The Buddha preaching at the Deer Park in Sarnath (2nd3rd century)

Scene of the life of the Buddha (2nd3rd century)

The death of the Buddha, or parinirvana (2nd3rd century)

A sculpture from Hadda, (3rd century)

The Bodhisattva and Chandeka, Hadda (5th century)

The Buddha and Vajrapani under the guise of Herakles

Hellenistic decorative scrolls from Hadda, northern Pakistan

Hellenistic scene, Gandhara (1st century)

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A stone plate (1st century).

"Laughing boy" from Hadda[edit]Timeline

Legend: Bharat, the brother of Lord Rama of Kosala, ruled from Gandhara, his sonswere Taksh and Pushkala, who inhabited new cities called Taksha-shila (Taxila), andPushkarvati (Peshawar).[20] Tentative timeline for this event is 5000 B.C. or beforethat.Legend: Gandhari, the princess of Gandhara is married to Dhritrashtra, the king ofHastinapur. The Ancient Indian scripture Mahabharata dates this event to be around3000 B.C.c.2300c.1900 BC Indus Valley civilizationc.1900c.520 BC No records. Indo-Aryan migrations. Ramayana legend says LordRama's brother Bharat ruled from Gandhara.c.520c.326 BC Persian Empire Under direct Persian control and/or local control underPersian suzerainty.c.326c.305 BC Occupied by Alexander the Great and Macedonian generalsc.305c.180 BC Controlled by the Maurya dynasty, founded by Chandragupta.Converted to Buddhism under King Asoka (273232 BC)c.185c.97 BC Under control of the Indo-Greek Kingdom, with some incursions of theIndo-Scythians from around 100 BCc.97 BCc. AD 7 Saka (Scythian) Rulec.07c.75 Parthian invasion and Indo-Parthian Kingdom, Rule of CommanderAspavarman?. Ambhi Kumar, king of Gandhara was a descendant of Lord Raghu andprince Bharat of Kosala Kingdom.c.75c.230 Kushan Empirec.230c.440 Kushanshas under Persian Sassanid suzeraintyc.450c.565 White Huns (Hephthalites)c.565c.644 Nezak kingdom, ruled from Kapisa and Udabhandapurac.650c.870 Turkshahi, ruled from Kabulc.8701021 Hindushahi, ruled from Udabhandapurac.10321350 Conquered and controlled by the empire of Mahmud of Ghazni.[edit]See alsoGandhari peopleKambojasKashmir SmastMahajanapadasMankiala[edit]Notes^ from Sanskrit puru a= (primordial) man and pura=city^ Encyclopdia Britannica: Gandhara^ Kalhana Rajatarangini referred to them as simply Shahi and inscriptions refer to them as sahi.

(Wink, pg 125)^ Al Biruni refers to the subsequent rulers as "Brahman kings"; however, most other referencessuch as Kalahan refer to them as kshatriyas. (Wink, pg 125)^ "Rigveda 1.126:7, English translation by Ralph TH Griffith".^ a b UNESCO World Heritage Centre: Taxila^ Revue des etudes grecques 1973, p 131, Ch-Em Ruelle, Association pour l'encouragement desetudes grecques en France.^ Early Indian Economic History, 1973, pp 237, 324, Rajaram Narayan Saletore.^ Myths of the Dog-man, 199, p 119, David Gordon White; Journal of the Oriental Institute, 1919, p

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200; Journal of Indian Museums, 1973, p 2, Museums Association of India; The P radas: A Study in Their Coinage and History, 1972, p 52, Dr B. N. Mukherjee P radas; Journal of the Department of Sanskrit, 1989, p 50, Rabindra Bharati University, Dept. of Sanskrit-Sanskrit literature; The Journal of Academy of Indian Numismatics & Sigillography,1988, p 58, Academy of Indian Numismatics and Sigillography Numismatics; Cf:Rivers of Life: Or Sources and Streams of the Faiths of Man in All Lands, 2002, p 114, J.

G. R. Forlong.^ Journal of the Oriental Institute, 1919, p 265, Oriental Institute (Vadodara, India) Oriental studies; For Kuru-Kamboja connections, see Dr Chandra Chakraberty's viewsin: Literary history of ancient India in relation to its racial and linguistic affiliations, pp14,37, Vedas; The Racial History of India, 1944, p 153, Chandra Chakraberty Ethnology; Paradise of Gods, 1966, p 330, Qamarud Din Ahmed Pakistan.^ Ancient India, History of India for 1000 years, four Volumes, Vol I, 1938, pp 38, 98 DrT. L. Shah.^ 'IMPORTANT NOTE: Ancient Buddhist text Anguttara Nikaya's list of Mahajanapadasincludes the Gandhara and the Kamboja as the only two salient Mahajanapadas in theUttarapatha. However, the Chulla-Niddesa list (5th c BCE), which is one of the mostancient Buddhist Commentaries, includes the Kamboja and Yona but no Gandhara(See: Chulla-Niddesa, (P.T.S.), p.37). This shows that when Chulla-NiddesaCommentary was written, the Kambojas in the Uttarapatha were a predominant peopleand that the Gandharans, in all probability, had formed part of the KambojaMahajanapada around this timethus making them a one people. Kautiliya'sArthashastra (11.1.14) (4th c BCE) refers only to clans of the Kurus, Panchalas,Madrakas, Kambojas etc but it does not mention the Gandharas as separate peoplefrom the Kambojas. The Mudrarakshasa Drama by Visakhadatta also refer to the Sakas,Kambojas, Yavanas, Pahlavas, Bahlikas and Kiratas but again it does not include theGandharas in Chandragupta's army list. The well known Puranic legend (told innumerous Puranas) of king Sagara's war with the invading tribes from the north-westincludes the Kambojas, Sakas, Yavanas, Pahlavas, and Paradas but again theGandharas are not included in Haihayas's army (Harivamsa 14.119; e.g Vayu Purana88.12743; Brahma Purana (8.3551); Brahmanda Purana (3.63.123141); ShivaPurana (7.61.23); Vishnu Purana (5.3.1521), Padma Purana (6.21.1633) etc etc).Again, the Valmiki Ramayana(a later list) includes Janapadas of Andhras, Pundras,Cholas, Pandyas, Keralas, Mekhalas, Utkalas, Dasharnas, Abravantis, Avantis,Vidarbhas, Mlecchas, Pulindas, Surasenas, Prasthalas, Bharatas, Kurus, Madrakas,Kambojas, Daradas, Yavanas, Sakas (from Saka-dvipa), Rishikas, Tukharas, Chinas,Maha-Chinas, Kiratas, Barbaras, Tanganas, Niharas, Pasupalas etc (Ramayana 4.43).Yet at another place in the Ramayana (I.54.17; I.55.2 seq), the north-western martialtribes of the Sakas, Kambojas, Yavanas, Pahlavas, Kiratas, Haritas/Tukharas, Barbarasand Mlechchas etc joined the army of sage Vasishtha during the battle of Kamdhenuagainst Aryan king Viswamitra of Kanauj. Yaska in his Nirukta (II.2) refers to theKambojas but not to the Gandharas. Among the several unrighteous barbaric hordes(opposed to Aryan king Vikarmaditya), Brhat Katha of Kshmendra (10.1.28586) andKathasaritsagara of Somadeva (18.1.7678) each list the Sakas, Mlechchas, Kambojas,Yavanas, Neechas, Hunas, Tusharas, Parasikas etc but they do not mention theGandharas. Vana Parva of Mahabharata states that the Andhhas, Pulindas, Sakas,

Kambojas, Yavanas, Valhikas, Aurnikas and Abhiras etc will become rulers in Kaliyugaand will rule the earth (India) un-righteously (MBH 3.187.2830). Here there is nomention of Gandhara since it is included amongst the Kamboja. Sabha Parava ofMahabharata enumerates numerous kings from the north-west paying gifts to Pandavaking Yudhistra at the occasion of Rajasuya amongs whom it mentions the Kambojas,Vairamas, Paradas, Pulindas, Tungas, Kiratas, Pragjyotisha, Yavanas, Aushmikas,Nishadas, Romikas, Vrishnis, Harahunas, Chinas, Sakas, Sudras, Abhiras, Nipas,Valhikas, Tukharas, Kankas etc (Mahabharata 2.501.seqq). The lists does not includethe Gandharas since they are counted as the same people as the Kambojas. In context

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of Krsna digvijay, the Mahabharata furnishes a key list of twenty-five ancient Janapadasviz: Anga, Vanga, Kalinga, Magadha, Kasi, Kosala, Vatsa, Garga, Karusha, Pundra,Avanti, Dakshinatya, Parvartaka, Dasherka, Kashmira, Ursa, Pishacha, Mudgala,Kamboja, Vatadhana, Chola, Pandya, Trigarta, Malava, and Darada (MBH 7/11/1517).Besides, there were Janapadas of Kurus and Panchalas also. Interestingly, no mentionis made to Gandhara in this list. Again in another of its well known Shlokas, the

Mahabharata (XIII, 33.2023; XIII, 35, 1718), lists the Sakas, Yavanas, Kambojas,Dravidas, Kalingas, Pulindas, Usinaras, Kolisarpas, Mekalas, Sudras, Mahishakas, Latas,Kiratas, Paundrakas, Daradas etc as the Vrishalas/degraded Kshatriyas (See also:Comprehensive History of India, 1957, p 190, K. A. N. Sastri). It does not include theGandharas in the list though in yet another similar shloka (MBH 12.207.4344), thesame epic now brands the Yavanas, Kambojas, Gandharas, Kiratas and Barbaras(Yauna Kamboja Gandharah Kirata barbaraih) etc as Mlechcha tribes living the lives ofthe Dasyus or the Barbarians. Thus in the first shlokas, the Gandharas and theKambojas are definitely treated as one people. The Assalayana-Sutta of MajjimaNakaya says that in the frontier lands of the Yonas a, Kambojas and other nations,there are only two classes of People...Arya and Dasa where an Arya could becomeDasa and vice-varsa (Majjima Nakayya 43.1.3). Here again, the Gandharas aredefinitively included among the Kambojas as if the two people are same. Rajataranginiof Kalhana, a Sanskrit text from the north, furnishes a list of northern nations whichking Lalitaditya Muktapida (Kashmir) (8th c AD) undertakes to reduce in his dig-vijayaexpedition. The list includes the Kambojas, Tukharas, Bhauttas (in Baltistan in westernTibet), Daradas, Valukambudhi, Strirajya, Uttarakurus and Pragjyotisha respectively,but no mention of Gandharas (Rajatarangini: 4.1644.175). Apparently the Gandharasare counted among the Kambojas. Sikanda Purana (Studies in the Geography, 1971, p25962, Sircar, Hist of Punjab, 1997, p 40, Dr L. M. Joshi and Dr Fauja Singh (Editors)),contains a list of 75 countries among which it includes Khorasahana, Kuru, Kosala,Bahlika, Yavana, Kamboja, Siva, Sindhu, Kashmira, Jalandhara (Jullundur), Hariala(Haryana), Bhadra (Madra), Kachcha, Saurashtra, Lada, Magadha, Kanyakubja,Vidarbha, Kirata, Gauda, Nepala etc but no mention of Gandhara in this list of 75countries. Kavyamimasa of Rajashekhar (880920 AD) also lists 21 north-westerncountries/nations of the Saka, Kekaya, Vokkana, Huna, Vanayuja, Kamboja, Vahlika,Vahvala, Lampaka, Kuluta, Kira, Tangana, Tushara, Turushaka, Barbara, Hara-hurava,Huhuka, Sahuda, Hamsamarga (Hunza), Ramatha and Karakantha etc but no mentionof Gandhara or Darada (See: Kavyamimasa, Rajashekhara, Chapter 17; also:Kavyamimasa Editor Kedarnath, trans. K. Minakshi, pp 226227). Here in both the lists,the Daradas and Gandharas are also treated as the Kambojas. TheSatapancasaddesavibhaga of Saktisagama Tantra (Book III, Ch VII, 155) lists Gurjara,Avanti, Malava, Vidarbha, Maru, Abhira, Virata, Pandu, Pancala, Kamboja, Bahlika,Kirata, Khurasana, Cina, Maha-Cina, Nepala, Gauda, Magadha, Utkala, Huna, Kaikeya,Surasena, Kuru Saindhava, Kachcha among the 56 countries but the list does notinclude the Gandharas and Daradas. Similarly, Sammoha Tantra list also contains 56nations and lists Kashmira, Kamboja, Yavana, Sindhu, Bahlika, Parsika, Barbara,Saurashtra, Malava, Maharashtra, Konkana, Avanti, Chola, Kamrupa, Kerala, Simhalaetc but no mention of Daradac and Gandhara (See quotes in: Studies in Geography,1971, p 78, D. C. Sircar; Studies in the Tantra, pp 9799, Dr P. C. Bagchi). Obviously,

the Daradas and Gandharaa are included among the Kambojas. Raghu Vamsa byKalidasa refers to numerous tribes/nations of the east (including the Sushmas, Vangas,Utkalas, Kalingas and those on Mt Mahendra), then of the south (including Pandyas,Malaya, Dardura, and Kerals), then of the west (Aprantas), and then of the north-west(like the Yavanas, the Parasikas, the Hunas, the Kambojas) and finally those of thenorth Himalayan (like the Kirats, Utsavasketas, Kinnaras, Pragjyotishas) etc (See:Raghuvamsa IV.60 seq). Here again no mention of the Gandharas though Raghu doestalk of the Kambojas. And last but not the least, even the well known Manusmriti, theHindu Law Book, refers to the Kambojas, Yavanas, Shakas, Paradas, Pahlavas, Chinas,

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Kiratas, Daradas and Khasha besides also the Paundrakas, Chodas, Dravidas butsurprisingly enough, it does not make any mention of the Gandharas in this veryelaborate list of the Vrishalah Ksatriyas (Manusamriti X.4344). The above referencesamply demonstrate that the Gandharas were many times counted among theKambojas themselves as if they were one and the same people. Thus, the Kambojasand the Gandhara do seem to have been a cognate people.

^ There are also several instances in the ancient literature where the reference hasbeen made only to the Gandharas and not to the Kambojas. In these cases, theKambojas have obviously been counted among the Gandharas themselves.^ Kalimpur Inscriptions of Pala king Dharmapala of Bengal (770810 AD) lists thenations around his kingdom as the Bhoja (Gurjara), Matsya, Madra, Kuru, Avanti,Gandhara and the Kira (Kangra) which he boasts of as if they are his vassal states.From Monghyr inscriptions of king Devapala (810850AD) the successor of kingDharmapalal, we get the list of the nations as Utkala (Kalinga), Pragjyotisha (Assam),Dravida, Gurjara (Bhoja), Huna and the Kamboja. These are the nations which cavalryof Pala king Devapala is said to have scoured during his war expeditions against thesepeople. Obviously the Kamboja of the Monghyr inscriptions of king Devapala here isnone else than the Gandhara of the Kalimpur inscription of king Dharamapala. Hence,the Gandhara and the Kamboja are used interchangeably in the records of the Palakings of Bengal, thus indicating them to be same group of people.^ James Fergusson observes: "In a wider sense, name Gandhara implied all thecountries west of Indus as far as Candhahar" (The Tree and Serpent Worship, 2004, p47, James Fergusson).^ Encyclopedia Americana, 1994, p 277, Encyclopedias and Dictionaries.^ Bracey, R 'Pilgrims Progress' Brief Guide to Kushan History^ Alberuni's India. (c. 1030 CE). Translated and annotated by Edward C. Sachau in twovolumes. Kegana Paul, Trench, Trbner, London. (1910). Vol. I, p. 22.^ a b The races of Afghanistan Being a brief account of the principal nations inhabitingthat country By Henry Walter Bellow Asian Educational services Page 73^ V lm ki, "Ramayana, the epic of Rama, prince of India", page 181 [edit]ReferencesBeal, Samuel. 1884. Si-Yu-Ki: Buddhist Records of the Western World, by Hiuen Tsiang.2 vols. Trans. by Samuel Beal. London. Reprint: Delhi. Oriental Books ReprintCorporation. 1969.Beal, Samuel. 1911. The Life of Hiuen-Tsiang by the Shaman Hwui Li, with anIntroduction containing an account of the Works of I-Tsing. Trans. by Samuel Beal.London. 1911. Reprint: Munshiram Manoharlal, New Delhi. 1973.Bellew, H.W. Kashmir and Kashgar. London, 1875. Reprint: Sang-e-Meel Publications1999 ISBN 969-35-0738-XCaroe, Sir Olaf, The Pathans, Oxford University Press, Karachi, 1958.Herodotous, The Histories, Translated by Aubrey De Selincourt, Penguin Books, 1954.Hill, John E. 2003. "Annotated Translation of the Chapter on the Western Regionsaccording to the Hou Hanshu". 2nd Edition.Hussain, J. An Illustrated History of Pakistan, Oxford University Press, Karachi, 1983.Legge, James. Trans. and ed. 1886. A Record of Buddhistic Kingdoms: being an account

by the Chinese monk F-hsien of his travels in India and Ceylon (A.D. 399414) in search of theBuddhist Books of Discipline. Reprint: Dover Publications, New York. 1965.Shaw, Isobel. Pakistan Handbook, The Guidebook Co., Hong Kong, 1989Watters, Thomas. 19045. On Yuan Chwang's Travels in India (A.D. 629645). Reprint: MushiramManoharlal Publishers, New Delhi. 1973.[edit]External links Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Gandhara

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