Bhamala Stupa
بهامالا اسٹوپ
View of the ruins of the cruciform stupa
Religion
AffiliationBuddhism
Year consecrated2nd century CE
Location
LocationHaripur
Khyber Pakhtunkhwa
Pakistan
Bhamala Stupa is located in Pakistan
Bhamala Stupa
Shown within Pakistan
Geographic coordinates33°50′N 72°58′E / 33.833°N 72.967°E / 33.833; 72.967

Bhamala Stupa (Urdu: بهامالا اسٹوپ) is a ruined Buddhist stupa and World Heritage Site near Haripur, Pakistan, that dates to the 2nd century CE. It is located on the banks of the Haro River, near Khanpur Dam, and is a tourist destination.[1] Bhamala stupa is part of the larger Bhamala Buddhist Complex.[2] The site is known for its 1,700-year-old statue of the Buddha attaining enlightenment—considered to be the oldest such statue in the world.[3]

Excavation

Dating to the 2nd–5th century CE,[1] the site was first excavated by Sufian Malik and John Marshall, in 1929,[3] and work continued until the early 1930s; excavations resumed in 2017.[3] The spot was nominated as a UNESCO World Heritage Site, which led to partial restoration, mainly of the stupa. As of June 2015, the site is under the oversight of the Department of Archaeology and Museums of the government of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. It is believed to be one of the best preserved sites in the Taxila valley.[2]

Buddha statue, Bhamala Stupa

The stupa has a characteristic cruciform plan, with flights of stairs in the four cardinal directions, which is one of the last steps of the evolution of the Gandhara stupa, the preceding steps being:

  1. the Dharmarajika Stupa, with a near-Indian design of a semi-hemispheric stupa almost directly on the ground surface
  2. the Loriyan Tangai stupa, with an elongated shape and many narrative reliefs
  3. the near-pyramidal Jaulian stupa[4]

The cruciform design further evolved into the towering design of the second Kanishka stupa.[4]

Specifications

According to current understanding, the shape of the main stupa is cruciform, and it is the largest surviving example of this shape in the Taxila and Gandhara regions. There are about nineteen small, votive stupas in the courtyard surrounding the main one.[2]

See also

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Bhamala Stupa, Haripur.

References

  1. 1 2 "'Discoveries at Bhamala stupa opened new chapter in history' – Pakistan – DAWN.COM". 3 February 2019.
  2. 1 2 3 "Hazara University Department of Archaeology". Huarchaeology.org. Archived from the original on 14 July 2014.
  3. 1 2 3 "Pakistan unveils remains of 1,700-year-old sleeping Buddha". TheGuardian.com. 15 November 2017.
  4. 1 2 After Le Huu Phuoc, Buddhist Architecture, Grafikol 2009, p.179
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