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Shahbaz Garhi, or Shahbazgarhi, is a village and historic site located in Mardan District of
The town is the location of
/ref> that are cut into two large rock boulders and written in the
/ref> They retain immense historical importance, as they appear to be the first examples of writing in the subcontinent. They were constructed during the 3rd Century BC (272-231 BC), during the reign of
File:A closer view of the rock - Ashoka Major Rock Edict.jpg, Edict No.12
File:Upper Rock Inscription at Shahbaz Garhi, Mardan.JPG, Edicts No.1 to No.11
File:A view of the second rock in the mountain - Fourteen rock edicts of Ashok.jpg, Edicts No.13 and No.14
File:A distance view of the second rock - Ashoka Major Rock Edict.jpg, Protective housing
File:Shahbazgarhi Edicts 7 and 12.jpg, A rubbing of two of the inscriptions.
File:Dhrama Dipi inscription in the Shahbazgarhi First Edict in the Kharosthi script.jpg, The words ''" Dhrama- Dipi"'' ("Inscription of the
Map of Gandhara archeological sites, from the Huntington Collection, Ohio State University (large file)Gandhari.org
Complete text of the Shahbazgarhi edicts {{Mardan-Union-Councils Mardan District Archaeological sites in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Former populated places in Pakistan Edicts of Ashoka
Khyber Pakhtunkhwa
Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (; ; , ; abbr. KP or KPK), formerly known as the North West Frontier Province (NWFP), is a Administrative units of Pakistan, province of Pakistan. Located in the Northern Pakistan, northwestern region of the country, Khyber ...
, Pakistan. It is at an altitude of 293 metres (964 feet).
It is about 12 km from Mardan city. It has mountains, green trees, open fields and a small river in the centre of the village.
In old times all these facilities made it attractive for the army and travelers to dig in their tents here, stay for few days and organize their further strategy. The historic Stones of Ashoka (commonly known to the native people by the name of Hkule Gutt), and other sites like Mekha Sanda (male buffalo, female buffalo) are worth visiting.
Location
Shahbaz Garhi is situated on the junction of three ancient routes; #Kabul toPushkalavati
Pushkalavati, was the capital of the ancient region of Gāndhāra, situated in present day's Pakistan. Its ruins are located on the outskirts of the modern city of Charsadda, in Charsadda District, in the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, 35-42 kilometres ...
(modern Charsadda)
#Swat
A SWAT (''Special Weapons and Tactics'') team is a generic term for a police tactical unit within the United States, though the term has also been used by other nations.
SWAT units are generally trained, equipped, and deployed to res ...
through Buner
Buner District (, ) is a district in the Malakand Division of the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province of Pakistan. Before receiving the status of a district in 1991, it was a tehsil within Swat District.
Buner's elevation starts at 1200 ft in the S ...
#Taxila
Taxila or Takshashila () is a city in the Pothohar region of Punjab, Pakistan. Located in the Taxila Tehsil of Rawalpindi District, it lies approximately northwest of the Islamabad–Rawalpindi metropolitan area and is just south of the ...
through Hund on the bank of Indus River
The Indus ( ) is a transboundary river of Asia and a trans-Himalayas, Himalayan river of South Asia, South and Central Asia. The river rises in mountain springs northeast of Mount Kailash in the Western Tibet region of China, flows northw ...
.
Situated on the modern Mardan-Swabi
Swabi (; ) is a city in the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province of Pakistan. It is located near the bank of the Indus River. It is the 73rd largest city of Pakistan and eighth largest in the province in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. Swabi is also a major city in ...
Road, the town was once a thriving Buddhist
Buddhism, also known as Buddhadharma and Dharmavinaya, is an Indian religion and List of philosophies, philosophical tradition based on Pre-sectarian Buddhism, teachings attributed to the Buddha, a wandering teacher who lived in the 6th or ...
city surrounded by monasteries and stupas
In Buddhism, a stupa (, ) is a domed hemispherical structure containing several types of sacred relics, including images, statues, metals, and '' śarīra''—the remains of Buddhist monks or nuns. It is used as a place of pilgrimage and m ...
.
Ancient rock edicts
Ashokan inscriptions
The town is the location of ancient India
Anatomically modern humans first arrived on the Indian subcontinent between 73,000 and 55,000 years ago. The earliest known human remains in South Asia date to 30,000 years ago. Sedentism, Sedentariness began in South Asia around 7000 BCE; ...
n rock-inscriptionsNWFP - Imperial Gazetteer of India, v. 19, p. 149./ref> that are cut into two large rock boulders and written in the
Kharosthi
Kharosthi script (), also known as the Gandhari script (), was an ancient script originally developed in the Gandhara Region of modern-day Pakistan, between the 5th and 3rd century BCE. used primarily by the people of Gandhara alongside vari ...
script. Shahbazgarhi Rock Edicts - UNESCO/ref> They retain immense historical importance, as they appear to be the first examples of writing in the subcontinent. They were constructed during the 3rd Century BC (272-231 BC), during the reign of
Ashoka
Ashoka, also known as Asoka or Aśoka ( ; , ; – 232 BCE), and popularly known as Ashoka the Great, was List of Mauryan emperors, Emperor of Magadha from until #Death, his death in 232 BCE, and the third ruler from the Mauryan dynast ...
, the famous Mauryan
The Maurya Empire was a geographically extensive Iron Age historical power in South Asia with its power base in Magadha. Founded by Chandragupta Maurya around c. 320 BCE, it existed in loose-knit fashion until 185 BCE. The primary sourc ...
emperor, inscribed in the Kharoshthi script.
The rock edicts were added to the UNESCO
The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO ) is a List of specialized agencies of the United Nations, specialized agency of the United Nations (UN) with the aim of promoting world peace and International secur ...
World Heritage
World Heritage Sites are landmarks and areas with legal protection under an treaty, international treaty administered by UNESCO for having cultural, historical, or scientific significance. The sites are judged to contain "cultural and natural ...
Tentative List on 30 January 2004 in the Cultural category.
The translation of the text is written on a board nearby the rocks. The sight is a famous tourist spot for people who are interested in history.
gallery
Dharma
Dharma (; , ) is a key concept in various Indian religions. The term ''dharma'' does not have a single, clear Untranslatability, translation and conveys a multifaceted idea. Etymologically, it comes from the Sanskrit ''dhr-'', meaning ''to hold ...
") in Kharosthi
Kharosthi script (), also known as the Gandhari script (), was an ancient script originally developed in the Gandhara Region of modern-day Pakistan, between the 5th and 3rd century BCE. used primarily by the people of Gandhara alongside vari ...
, in Edict No.1 of the Shahbazgarhi edicts.
References
External links
Map of Gandhara archeological sites, from the Huntington Collection, Ohio State University (large file)
Complete text of the Shahbazgarhi edicts {{Mardan-Union-Councils Mardan District Archaeological sites in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Former populated places in Pakistan Edicts of Ashoka