Kanishka stupa

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Remains of the Kanishka stupa

The Kanischka Stupa is a historical stupa near Peshawar , which the Kushana ruler Kanischka had built around 150 AD. The building is known from excavations and reports from Chinese pilgrims.

location

The sparse remains of the stupa are located in the suburb of Shah-Ji-Ki-Dheri, about 3 km south of Peshawar .

Historical reports

Three Chinese pilgrims left descriptions of the structure, Faxian traveled between 399 and 412. Songyun visited the stupa 512 and Xuanzang around 630. Songyun describes the stupa as in the lower part of the structure made of stone, a structure made of wood, richly decorated and with a staircase and a gilded iron point. Chinese pilgrims report a height of 591 to 689 feet, which corresponds to about 180 to 210 meters; According to the Chinese pilgrim Faxian, the building was only 120 meters high. The stupa was struck by lightning several times and also suffered from earthquakes - but it has been restored again and again. The Arab historian and scribe Al-Biruni saw the building in the early 11th century; However, a short time later it was destroyed by Mahmud of Ghazni (r. 988-1030) and almost razed to the ground by human hands (stone removal) and natural forces.

reliquary

Kanishka reliquary

British excavations under the direction of David Brainerd Spooner took place from 1908 to 1909, during which the richly decorated bronze Kanishka reliquary was found, only about 18 cm high and almost 13 cm in diameter , which bears the following inscription:

May this perfume box as a meritorious gift from Mahārāja Kanishka in the city of Kanishkapuraie contribute to the welfare and happiness of all living beings through the acceptance by the teachers of the Sarvāstivādin ... the overseer of the construction works of the refectory in the Kanishka monastery of Mahāsena's saṁghārāma

On the lid of the can, there are three people whose average clearly than on a lotus throne seated Buddha raising his right hand ( abhayamudra can be identified). The two figures standing to one side are - despite some reservations - probably the worshiping Hindu deities Brahma and Indra , but an unspecified king (as a representative of worldly power) and a Bodhisattva (as a representative of spiritual power) have also been brought into play . All three figures are dressed in toga-like robes. The representation of Buddha - together with the one on the bimaran reliquary - is one of the oldest known portraits of the enlightened one.

Three bone fragments were found in the jar, believed to have come from the Buddha; It is unclear whether they were part of the gift or whether the container was specially made for the relics already venerated on site. The relics are now in a pagoda on a hill above the central Burmese city ​​of Mandalay . The original of the box is in the Peshawar Museum ; a copy is on display in the British Museum in London.

See also

literature

Individual evidence

  1. ^ The Journey of Faxian to India , available online from Silk Road Seattle, an online project by the Simpson Center for the Humanities at the University of Washington

Coordinates: 33 ° 59 ′ 57 ″  N , 71 ° 35 ′ 31 ″  E