Gor Khatri (;

Hindko Hindko (, , ) is an Indo-Aryan languages, Indo-Aryan language spoken by several million people of various ethnic backgrounds in northwestern Pakistan, primarily in the provinces of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Police, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and northern Pun ...

and

Urdu Urdu (; , , ) is an Indo-Aryan languages, Indo-Aryan language spoken chiefly in South Asia. It is the Languages of Pakistan, national language and ''lingua franca'' of Pakistan. In India, it is an Eighth Schedule to the Constitution of Indi ...

: گورکهتری) (or Gor Khuttree; literally meaning "Grave of Kshatriya" or Hindu warriors) is an archeological site located in

Peshawar Peshawar is the capital and List of cities in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa by population, largest city of the Administrative units of Pakistan, Pakistani province of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. It is the sixth most populous city of Pakistan, with a district p ...

Pakistan Pakistan, officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by population, fifth-most populous country, with a population of over 241.5 million, having the Islam by country# ...

. It was built in the Mughal-era by Jehan Ara Begum, daughter of

Shah Jahan Shah Jahan I, (Shahab-ud-Din Muhammad Khurram; 5 January 1592 – 22 January 1666), also called Shah Jahan the Magnificent, was the Emperor of Hindustan from 1628 until his deposition in 1658. As the fifth Mughal emperor, his reign marked the ...

, as a

caravanserai A caravanserai (or caravansary; ) was an inn that provided lodging for travelers, merchants, and Caravan (travellers), caravans. They were present throughout much of the Islamic world. Depending on the region and period, they were called by a ...

History

Gor Khatri is an archaeological site which includes a square shaped compound that has been excavated and researched, located in Peshawar, Pakistan. In 1641, Jehan Ara Begum, daughter of Shah Jahan, built Gor Khatri as a caravanserai.

Alexander Cunningham Major General Sir Alexander Cunningham (23 January 1814 – 28 November 1893) was a British Army engineer with the Bengal Sappers who later took an interest in the history and archaeology of India. In 1861, he was appointed to the newly crea ...

identified Gor Khatri with where Kanishka stupa initially was.

Ahmad Hasan Dani Ahmad Hassan Dani (Urdu: احمد حسن دانی) FRAS, SI, HI (20 June 1920 – 26 January 2009) was a Pakistani archaeologist, historian, and linguist. He was among the foremost authorities on Central Asian and South Asian archaeology ...

further discovers that it was also where the Buddha bowl tower once stood. The celebrated Chinese pilgrim

Xuanzang Xuanzang (; ; 6 April 6025 February 664), born Chen Hui or Chen Yi (), also known by his Sanskrit Dharma name Mokṣadeva, was a 7th-century Chinese Bhikkhu, Buddhist monk, scholar, traveller, and translator. He is known for the epoch-making ...

, who visited

Gandhara Gandhara () was an ancient Indo-Aryan people, Indo-Aryan civilization in present-day northwest Pakistan and northeast Afghanistan. The core of the region of Gandhara was the Peshawar valley, Peshawar (Pushkalawati) and Swat valleys extending ...

in the early 7th Century CE, had paid glowing tribute to the city and the Kanishka stupa in his memoirs. He also talked about a site, which many historians argue refers to Gorkhatri where "Buddha's giant bowl was kept". Mughal Emperor

Babar Babar (), also variously spelled as Baber, Babur, and Babor is a male given name of Persian language, Persian origin, and a popular male given name in Pakistan. It is generally taken in reference to the Persian language, Persian ''babr'' (Persian ...

, who recorded its importance in his autobiography, visited the place in the Babur NamaPage 141 published by Penguin In the early 16th century, Jahanara Begum, daughter of Mughal Emperor

, built a pavilion at the ancient site, and converted the site into a

, and named it ''Sarai Jahanabad.'' She also constructed a Jama Masjid, a sauna bath and two wells inside Sarai Jahanabad for the convenience of travelers. The

Sikh Sikhs (singular Sikh: or ; , ) are an ethnoreligious group who adhere to Sikhism, a religion that originated in the late 15th century in the Punjab region of the Indian subcontinent, based on the revelation of Guru Nanak. The term ''Si ...

s converted the site into the residence and official headquarters of their mercenary general Paolo Avitabile who was governor of Peshawar from 1838-1842. They constructed a Hindu temple for

Shiva Shiva (; , ), also known as Mahadeva (; , , Help:IPA/Sanskrit, ɐɦaːd̪eːʋɐh and Hara, is one of the Hindu deities, principal deities of Hinduism. He is the God in Hinduism, Supreme Being in Shaivism, one of the major traditions w ...

there. Prof. S.M. Jaffar, in his monumental book "Peshawar: Past and Present", identified it with the place of Hindu pilgrimage where they performed the Sardukahr ritual (shaving off heads). Between the 1917 till 2002, Gor Khatri was used as a police headquarters and fire brigade station.

Compound

Gor khatri is a 160x160 square meter compound located in the south-east side of Peshawar, Pakistan. It includes two prominent gateways, the Goraknath Temple at the center, and a network of cells and buildings in the southern and western side of the complex.

Excavations

Dr. Farzand Ali Durrani initiated the first vertical excavations at Gor Guthrree in 1992-93 but his excavation work could not be completed due to lack of funds. However, he confirmed the city foundation went back to at least the 3rd Century BC. The second round of excavations carried on until 2007 in the north eastern aspect of Gorkhatri pushed Peshawar's age by another couple of centuries, officially making it the oldest living city in

South Asia South Asia is the southern Subregion#Asia, subregion of Asia that is defined in both geographical and Ethnicity, ethnic-Culture, cultural terms. South Asia, with a population of 2.04 billion, contains a quarter (25%) of the world's populatio ...

Gallery

File:Gorkhatree Tehsil gate.JPG, Entryway to the site as viewed from the site's park File:Gorakhnath Temple inside.jpg, Hindu temple at the site File:Gorakhnath Temple in Peshawar Old City, Pakistan.jpg, Goraknath Temple Peshawar File:Old Firebrigade in Gorkhatree, Peshawar.jpg, Old fire brigade File:Gorkhatree_Entrance_Gate.jpg, Closeup of Gorkhatri's entryway File:Avitable Plaque in Gorkhatree.jpg, Plaque marking the former residence of Sikh-era General Paolo Avitable

References

External links

{{commonscat, Gorkhatree, Peshawar
Feature on Gor Khatri - The News 07-01-2007

Article lamenting decline of Gor Khatri - DAWN 04-11-2012
Tourist attractions in Peshawar Caravanserais in Pakistan Archaeological sites in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Hindu pilgrimage sites in Pakistan Populated places in Peshawar District Hinduism in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Mughal caravanserais