The glory of Gandhara
By Qasim Ali Moini
Tuesday, 18 Aug, 2009 | 09:23 AM PST |


Ancient Gandhara was a cosmopolitan confluence of cultures where East met West. — File Photo

KARACHI: Ancient Gandhara was a cosmopolitan confluence of cultures where East met West and where, thanks to the network of monasteries, stupas and temples as well as state patronage, the Buddhist faith experienced a golden age, exemplified by the relics of Gandharan art that survive to this day.

This view was expressed by Mahmood-ul-Hasan Shah, assistant director in the federal government's directorate-general of archaeology and museums, while delivering a virtual presentation on Gandhara at the Goethe-Institut here on Monday.

The presentation was based on an exhibition titled `Gandhara – The Buddhist heritage of Pakistan: legends, monasteries and paradise'. The exhibition was on display for 10 months in the German cities of Bonn and Berlin. Mr Shah represented Pakistan during the exhibition in Germany.

Mr Shah initially gave a historical background of the area known in antiquity as Gandhara, consisting of parts of modern Afghanistan and north-western Pakistan.

Buddhism was patronised by the area's Kushan rulers – who had originally come from Central Asia – and experienced its golden age from the first to the fifth century AD, when it was `dealt a death blow', as Mr Shah put it, by the White Huns, who practised Hinduism.

He described the people of Gandhara as `totally cosmopolitan', adding that the art that emerged from the area was influenced by indigenous cultures as well as Greco-Roman culture.

Mr Shah used slides that depicted the major sites associated with the Gandhara culture as well as examples of Gandharan art. He said it was the British that started excavating the Gandhara sights in the nineteenth century, adding that `the Peshawar valley and Mardan were the heart of Gandhara.' He said though Taxila was outside the Gandhara region, it was very much linked to it culturally.

Notable sites included Bhir Mound, described as the first city of Taxila, founded in 600BC by the Achaemenians, Sirkap, which featured both Buddhist and Jain temples as well as Sirsukh, the `third capital of Taxila', founded by Kushan ruler, Kanishka.

Interestingly, the remains of a Zoroastrian fire temple were shown from Jandial, said to have been built by the Indo-Parthians.

Several stupas were shown, said to be built by Maurya ruler Ashoka, such as the Dharmarajika stupa as well as the Butkara stupa at Saidu Sharif. The Shinger Dar stupa is said to contain a relic of the Buddha from amongst those distributed by Ashoka among the tribes of the region.

Coming to Gandharan art, Mr Shah started with slides of Macedonian ruler Alexander, moving on to Greek deities Athena and Aphrodite, who were also worshipped in Gandhara. Evidence of considerable Greek influence on local art included Corinthian pillars shown in sculptures as well as a Bodhisattva – the Buddha to be – with Greek features. Mr Shah pointed out that the image of Buddha commonly found in Gandharan art was actually that of Greek deity Apollo, which was adopted by local artisans to depict the Buddha.

Various specimens of Gandharan art traced the journey of the Buddha from birth, to enlightenment, to death. One image showed the baby Bodhisattva being bathed by deities Indra and Brahma, while a footprint of Buddha is shown with swastikas and the dharma chakra contained within. In another image, Mr Shah said the monastic robe the Buddha is wearing was typically Greek, as the style in India was to keep one shoulder uncovered, while the image had both shoulders covered.

Mr Shah ended the presentation by showing a picture of the now hollow giant alcoves of Bamiyan in Afghanistan, where the Buddhas once looked out across the Afghan landscape, before they were destroyed by the Taliban. `We must not let this happen again'.

http://www.dawn.com/wps/wcm/connect/dawn-content-library/dawn/news/entertainment/16-the-glory-of-gandhara-hs-07

Refreshing the long gone memories of Buddhism

By Fawad Ali Shah

KARACHI: There is not even a single monastery in Pakistan, which once remained a hub of Buddhism.

It is said that this part of the subcontinent where Gandhara civilisation nurtured has an eminent place in the theology of Buddhism. However, the sad part of the story is that not even a single place of worship for Buddhists exists in Pakistan.

Several years ago, Swat and other parts of NWFP, where terrorism is reigning, used to be the hub of Buddhism and are said to be the birthplace of the second Buddha.

Goethe-Institut Pakistan on Monday organised a visual presentation of Buddhist relics in order to give the citizens of Karachi some knowledge about the historical background of the subcontinent and the Buddhism and Gandhara civilisation under the title, 'Gandhara: The Buddhist Heritage of Pakistan'.

The presentation that was delivered by Assistant Director, Department of Archaeology and Museums, government of Pakistan, Mehmood-ul-Hassan focused on the life of Siddhartha Gautama Buddha and the development of the Buddhism in the region.

He supported his arguments by the presentation of visuals of some of the relics of that era.

Citing evidence from the history Hassan informed the audience that Buddha was born somewhere on the border of the India and Nepal.

Buddha was as a humble and peaceful person who opted for winning hearts by love, he added. He showed a Stupa of Arathi who according to him lived in the times of Buddha.

Despite having 1,000 children Arati used to butcher children of others.

"Once parents whose lonely son was abducted by Arati went to Buddha for help," he narrated the story from Mythology, adding that Buddha kidnapped one of her children.

She requested Buddha to release him and in response Buddha asked her to think about the pain that the parents of the children would feel after you kill their children, he said adding, Arati regretted her past doings and converted to Buddhism and later on became a spiritual healer, who would heal skin diseases.

He also displayed visuals of the relics of Buddhism, showing the death of Sidartha and his imaginative times in paradise, where the gods surround him.

He said Buddhism was heavily destroyed in the region after the invasion of White Huns.

These people had some commonalities with Hinduism and they promoted Hinduism in the region.

"After invasions of these people Buddhists started migrating to Far-East Asia," he went on to say.

He said second Buddha was born in Swat and that is the reason why this region is rich with Buddhist relics.

Answering a question he said that Buddhism in the later stage was greatly influenced by the Greek mythologies.

The statue of Buddha in Bamyan has been destroyed.

He hoped that the government would soon introduce courses of arts and heritage in the schools and colleges so that students could know about their culture and heritage.

"We have no other option but to save these relics, these are our cultural identities," Hassan said.

http://www.dailytimes.com.pk/default.asp?page=2009%5C08%5C18%5Cstory_18-8-2009_pg12_7
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