Gandharan Buddhism

The Buddhas of Bamiyan, an example of late Gandhāran Buddhist monumental sculpture.
Topographic map of the region showing major Gandhāran and Bactrian sites
The Dharmarajika Stupa and ruins of surrounding monasteries
Kushan territories (full line) and maximum extent of Kushan dominions under Kanishka the Great (dotted line), which saw the height of Gandhāran Buddhist expansion.
Conjectural restoration of Takht-i-Bahi, a major Buddhist monastery in Mardan, Pakistan

Gandhāran Buddhism refers to the Buddhist culture of ancient Gandhāra which was a major center of Buddhism in the northwestern Indian subcontinent from the 3rd century BCE to approximately 1200 CE.[1][2] Ancient Gandhāra corresponds to modern day north Pakistan, mainly the Peshawar valley and Potohar plateau as well as Afghanistan's Jalalabad. The region has yielded the Gandhāran Buddhist texts written in Gāndhārī Prakrit the oldest Buddhist manuscripts yet discovered (1st century CE).[3] Gandhāra was also home to a unique Buddhist artistic and architectural culture which blended elements from Indian, Hellenistic, Roman and Parthian art.[4] Buddhist Gandhāra was also influential as the gateway through which Buddhism spread to Central Asia and China.[3][5]

  1. ^ Salomon, Richard, The Buddhist Literature of Ancient Gandhāra, An introduction with Selected Translations. p. xvii
  2. ^ Kurt Behrendt, Pia Brancaccio, Gandharan Buddhism: Archaeology, Art, and Texts, 2006 p. 11
  3. ^ a b "UW Press: Ancient Buddhist Scrolls from Gandhara". Retrieved 2008-09-04.
  4. ^ Kurt Behrendt, Pia Brancaccio, Gandharan Buddhism: Archaeology, Art, and Texts, 2006 p. 10
  5. ^ Lancaster, Lewis R. "The Korean Buddhist Canon: A Descriptive Catalogue". www.acmuller.net. Retrieved 4 September 2017.