Jamal Garhi is a small town located 13 kilometers from
Mardan
Mardān (Pashto and ; Urdu ; Pashto: ) is a city in the Mardan District of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Province, Pakistan. Located in the Valley of Peshawar, Mardan is the second-largest city of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (after Peshawar). It is a fast-growing ...
at
Katlang-Mardan road in
Khyber Pakhtunkhwa
Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (; ps, خېبر پښتونخوا; Urdu, Hindko: خیبر پختونخوا) commonly abbreviated as KP or KPK, is one of the four provinces of Pakistan. Located in the northwestern region of the country, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa ...
province in northern
Pakistan
Pakistan ( ur, ), officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan ( ur, , label=none), is a country in South Asia. It is the world's List of countries and dependencies by population, fifth-most populous country, with a population of almost 24 ...
. Jamal Garhi was a Buddhist monastery from the first until the fifth century AD at a time when Buddhism flourished in this part of the
Indian subcontinent
The Indian subcontinent is a physiographical region in Southern Asia. It is situated on the Indian Plate, projecting southwards into the Indian Ocean from the Himalayas. Geopolitically, it includes the countries of Bangladesh, Bhutan, In ...
. There is a beautiful monastery and main
stupa
A stupa ( sa, स्तूप, lit=heap, ) is a mound-like or hemispherical structure containing relics (such as ''śarīra'' – typically the remains of Buddhist monks or nuns) that is used as a place of meditation.
In Buddhism, circum ...
, surrounded by chapels closely packed together. The site is called "The
Jamal Garhi Kandarat or
Kafiro Kote" by the locals.
Discovery
The ruins of Jamal Garhi were first discovered by the British explorer and archaeologist Sir
Alexander Cunningham
Major General Sir Alexander Cunningham (23 January 1814 – 28 November 1893) was a British Army engineer with the Bengal Engineer Group who later took an interest in the history and archaeology of India. In 1861, he was appointed to the newl ...
in 1848. The
stupa
A stupa ( sa, स्तूप, lit=heap, ) is a mound-like or hemispherical structure containing relics (such as ''śarīra'' – typically the remains of Buddhist monks or nuns) that is used as a place of meditation.
In Buddhism, circum ...
at the site was opened by Colonel Lumsden in 1852 but little of value was found at the time. In 1871, the site was excavated by Lieutenant Cromten, who unearthed a large number of Buddhist sculptures which are now part of the collections of the
British Museum
The British Museum is a public museum dedicated to human history, art and culture located in the Bloomsbury area of London. Its permanent collection of eight million works is among the largest and most comprehensive in existence. It docum ...
and the
Indian Museum in Calcutta.
At the monastery a
Kharoshti
The Kharoṣṭhī script, also spelled Kharoshthi (Kharosthi: ), was an ancient Indo-Iranian script used by various Aryan peoples in north-western regions of the Indian subcontinent, more precisely around present-day northern Pakistan and e ...
inscription was also discovered which is now kept in
Peshawar Museum
The Peshawar Museum ( ur, پشاور میوزیم ''(colloquial)''; پشاور عجائب گھر ''(official)'') is a museum located in Peshawar, capital of Pakistan's Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province. The Peshawar Museum is notable for its colle ...
.
Ruins
File:SFAAMBuddha.jpg, The Seated Buddha, dating from 300 to 500 CE, was found near Jamal Garhi, and is now on display at the Asian Art Museum in San Francisco
San Francisco (; Spanish for " Saint Francis"), officially the City and County of San Francisco, is the commercial, financial, and cultural center of Northern California. The city proper is the fourth most populous in California and 17t ...
File:Road to Buddhist Remains.JPG, Road to Buddhist remains at Jamal Garhi.
File:Side view of the Buddhist Remains.JPG, Side view of the Buddhist remains.
File:The main (round) Stupa of Jamal Garhi-2.jpg, The main (round) Stupa
File:The Monastery and Water Tank, Jamal Garhi.JPG, The Monastery and Water Tank.
File:Jamal Garhi Buddhist Ruins (3).jpg, Jamal Garhi Buddhist ruins
File:Court of Votive Stupas at Jamal Garhi.JPG, Court of Votive Stupas.
File:Jamal Garhi Buddhist Ruins (2).jpg, Jamal Garhi Buddhist ruins.
File:One of the Budhist Remains.JPG, Some of the Buddhist Ruins.
Sculptural remains
File:Stair friezes Jamal Garhi.jpg, Stair friezes at Jamal Garhi.
File:Sculptures Jamal Garhi.jpg, Sculptures at Jamal Garhi.
File:Hunting scene Jamal Garhi.jpg, Hunting scene.
File:Revelers Jamal Garhi.jpg, Revelers.
File:The Buddha and nude Vajrapani at Jamal Garhi.jpg, The Buddha and nude Vajrapani
(Sanskrit; Pali: Vajirapāṇi, meaning, " Vajra in ishand") is one of the earliest-appearing bodhisattvas in Mahayana Buddhism. He is the protector and guide of Gautama Buddha and rose to symbolize the Buddha's power.
Vajrapāni is also ...
.
File:Gandhara wedding.jpg, Wedding scene.
File:Base of pillar, Indo-Corinthian capitals and elephants from base of stupa, Jarwal-Garhi.jpg, Base of pillar, Indo-Corinthian capitals and elephants from base of stupa.
File:Series of Indo-Corinthian capitals from Jamal-Garhi.jpg, Series of Indo-Corinthian capitals from Jamal Garhi.
File:Indo-Corinthian capitals from Jamal-Garhi.jpg, Indo-Corinthian capitals from Jamal Garhi.
See also
*
Seated Buddha from Gandhara
The Seated Buddha from Gandhara is an early surviving statue of the Buddha discovered at the site of Jamal Garhi in ancient Gandhara in modern-day Pakistan, that dates to the 2nd or 3rd century AD during the Kushan Empire. Statues of the "enlig ...
, which was also found at the site.
*
Ranigat a historical site in
Buner
Buner District ( ps, بونیر ولسوالۍ, ur, ) is a district in Malakand Division of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province in Pakistan. Before becoming a district in 1991, it was a tehsil within Swat District.
History
The Buner Valley lies bet ...
near
Swabi
Swabi ( ps, صوابۍ; ur, ) is a city in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province of Pakistan,[Takht-i-Bahi
Takht-i-Bahi ( Persian/ ur, , translation=throne of the water spring), is an Indo-Parthian archaeological site of an ancient Buddhist monastery in Mardan, Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa, Pakistan. The site is considered among the most important relics of Bu ...](_blank)
* The frieze of the Buddha and the nude Vajrapani at Jamal Garhi -
References
{{Archaeological sites around Mardan
Populated places in Mardan District
Asian sculptures in the British Museum
Indian Buddhist sculpture
Gandhara