Product Code Database
Taxila or Takshashila ()Ancient names include ; ; ; is a city in the Pothohar Plateau 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 Haripur District of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.
Established during the Vedic period, Old Taxila was for a time the capital city of Gandhara. It was situated on the eastern shore of the Indus River—the pivotal junction of the Indian subcontinent and Central Asia;Raymond Allchin, Bridget Allchin, The Rise of Civilization in India and Pakistan. Cambridge University Press, 1982 p.127 it was possibly founded around 1000 BCE. Takshashila and Pushkalavati remained prominent cities in Gandhāra during the Mahajanapadas. The city is believed to have become part of the Achaemenid Empire during 550 – 326 BCE. In 326 BCE, it was claimed by Alexander the Great, after overthrowing the Achaemenids. Alexander gained control of the city without a battle since it immediately surrendered to his Macedonian Empire. This was followed successively by the Maurya Empire (~317 – ~200 BCE), the Indo-Greeks (~200 BCE – ~55 BCE), the Indo-Scythians (~80 BCE – ~30 CE), and the Kushan Empire (~30 CE – ~375 CE), who destroyed the existing city, in the first century CE, to build their own on a site to the north of the ruins. Owing to its strategic location, Taxila has changed hands many times over the centuries, with many polities vying for its control. When the great ancient trade routes connecting these regions ceased to be important, the city sank into insignificance and was finally destroyed in the 5th century by the invading Huna people. In mid-19th century British Raj, ancient Taxila's ruins were rediscovered by British archaeologist Alexander Cunningham and extensively excavated by Sir John Marshall. In 1980, UNESCO designated Taxila as a World Heritage Site.UNESCO World Heritage Site, 1980. Taxila: Multiple Locations. Retrieved 13 January 2007.
By some accounts, the University of ancient Taxila is considered to be one of the earliest universities or education centre in South Asia.
Balakrishnan Muniapan, Junaid M. Shaikh (2007), "Lessons in corporate governance from Kautilya's Arthashastra in ancient India", World Review of Entrepreneurship, Management and Sustainable Development 3 (1):
The city's modern name, however, is derived from the ancient Greek rendering
noted in Ptolemy's Geography.J. W. McCrindle, The Invasion of India by Alexander the Great as Described by Arrian, Q. Curtius, Diodorus, Plutarch and Justin, Westminster, Constable, 1893, pp.343–344. The Greek-language transcription of Taxila became universally favoured over time, and both the Sanskrit and Pali names fell out of use.Faxian, a Chinese Buddhism pilgrim who visited the city via the Silk Road, had given its name's meaning as "cut-off head". With the help of a Jataka tales, he had interpreted it to be the place where Gautama Buddha—during a previous birth as Pusa or Chandaprabha—cut off his head to feed a hungry lion. This tradition still persists with the area in front of Sirkap (also meaning "cut-off head"), which was known in the 19th century as Babur Khana ('House of Tiger'), alluding to the place where Gautama Buddha had offered his head. In addition, a hill range to south of the Taxila Valley is called Margala ().
One of the earliest mentions of Taxila is in Pāṇini's , a Sanskrit grammar treatise dated to the 4th century BCE.
Much of the Hindu epic, the Mahabharata, is a conversation between Vaishampayana (a pupil of the sage, Vyasa) and King Janamejaya II. It is traditionally believed that the story was first recited by Vaishampayana at the behest of Vyasa during the snake sacrifice performed by Janamejaya at Takshashila. The audience also included Ugrashravas, an itinerant bard, who would later recite the story to a group of priests at an ashram in the Naimisha Forest from where the story was further disseminated. The Kuru Kingdom's heir, Parikshit (grandson of Arjuna) is said to have been enthroned at Takshashila.
The Ramayana describes Takshashila as a magnificent city famed for its wealth which was founded by Bharata, the younger brother of Rama. Bharata, who also founded nearby Pushkalavati, installed his two sons, Taksha and Pushkala, as the rulers of the two cities.
In the Buddhist Jatakas, Taxila is described as the capital of the kingdom of Gandhara and a great centre of learning with world-famous teachers. The Jatakas mention non-Buddhist institutions and teachers in Taxila. They show the predominance of Vedas and technical disciplines including law, medicine, and military science. The Takkasila Jataka, more commonly known as the Telapatta Jataka, tells the tale of a prince of Benares who is told that he would become the king of Takkasila if he could reach the city within seven days without falling prey to the who waylaid travellers in the forest. According to the Dipavamsa, one of Taxila's early kings was a Kshatriya named Dipankara who was succeeded by twelve sons and grandsons. , mentioned in the Avadanakalpalata, is another king associated with the city.
As per canonical Śvetāmbara Jainism texts Āvaśyaka Cūrṇi and Āvaśyaka Niryukti, Tirthankara Rishabhanatha visited Takshashila while wandering after initiation as a monk millions of years ago. Upon learning of his arrival, Bahubali, who was not in the city at that moment, rushed to the city, but the Rishabhanatha had already departed before Bahubali arrived. His footprints were subsequently consecrated by Bahubali who erected a throne and a dharmachakra ('wheel of the law') over them several miles in height and circumference. The 14th century Vividha Tirtha Kalpa mentions this establishment, stating:
"तक्षशिलायां बाहुबलीविनिर्मितं धर्मचक्रम् ॥"
- Ācārya Jinaprabhāsūri in "''Vividha Tirtha Kalpa"'' (p. 85)
As per the canonical Jaina text Mahanishith Sutra, the Dharmachakra Tirtha established by Bahubali is recognized as the abode of Chandraprabha, and Takshashila is also referred to as "Dharmachakra Bhumi," marking its significance as a center of Jainism.
While there is limited information about the subsequent period, it is noted that during the medieval era, Takshashila faced challenges due to the proliferation of fraudulent ascetics and a lack of proper sustenance, leading to restrictions on Jain monasticism' wandering in the region, as documented in six ancient Jaina texts known as the Jain literature.
Samprati built a Jaina temple known as "Kunala Stupa" in honor of his father Kunala. During Samprati's rule, the extent of the wandering of Jaina monks developed multifold times, and later also included this region.
According to the Prabhavakacarita, by the second to third century CE, there were approximately 500 Jaina temples in Takshashila, and it was occupied by a significant number of Jainas. However, a devastating plague struck the city, leading to widespread death and chaos. The Jaina community sent a Sravaka named Virchand to Nadol, who conveyed their suffering to Acharya Manadevasuri. Suri gave " Laghu Shanti Stava," stating that reciting it would alleviate the plague. Following the recitation, the plague subsided within a few days. However, in the third year, the Turks devastated the city.
According to Acharya Dhaneswarasuri's " Shatrunjaya Mahatmya," Javad Shah, a merchant from Mahuva, renovated Palitana temples in Vikram Samvat 108. He retrieved an image of Rishabhanatha from Takshashila and established it as the principal deity at the principal shrine amongst Shatrunjaya temples.
Excavations in Takshashila support these traditions. Dr. Sir John Marshall noted that Indo-Greek kings displaced the city from its fortified position and settled it in Sirkap during the early years of the second century BCE. The city remained inhabited through the Greeks, Saka, Pahlavas, and Kushan Empire periods. Numerous small and large temples have been discovered along the main road of Sirkap. Dr. Marshall concluded that the temples in blocks 'F' and 'G' of Sirkap are Jaina temples due to their architectural similarities with Kankali Tila, a Jaina stupa, found in Mathura. In block 'G,' located on the right side of the main road, numerous ruins of large buildings have been found, characterized by the presence of small temples alongside these structures, which were accessible to devotees. This evidence strongly supports claims by the Jaina tradition that Takshashila was a significant center for Jainism.
The earliest settled occupation in Taxila Valley was found at Sarai Khola, located 2 km to the south-west of Taxila Museum, where three radiocarbon dates from Period I suggest the site was first occupied between the late 4th and early 3rd millennium BCE, with deposits of polished stone celts, chert blades and a distinctive type of highly burnished pottery that shows clear signs of the use of woven baskets in the manufacturing process and the application of a slurry to the exterior surface.Petrie, Cameron, (2013). "Taxila", in D. K. Chakrabarti and M. Lal (eds.), History of Ancient India III: The Texts, and Political History and Administration till c. 200 BC, Vivekananda International Foundation, Aryan Books International, Delhi, p. 654.
Periods IA and II at Sarai Khola seem to show continuity from Period I, with the appearance of red burnished wares. However, Kot Diji-style wares were found in greater numbers, and the Kot Diji-style forms show signs of having been wheel-thrown, marking a clear technological change from the Period I material. Seven radiocarbon dates were also taken from the earlier and later Period II/Kot Diji, and seem to show this phase dates from the mid-late 3rd to early 2nd millennium BCE.
Later, Taxila was inhabited at Bhir Mound, dated to some time around the period 800-525 BCE with these early layers bearing grooved red burnished ware.Petrie, Cameron, (2013). "Taxila", in D. K. Chakrabarti and M. Lal (eds.), History of Ancient India III: The Texts, and Political History and Administration till c. 200 BC, Vivekananda International Foundation, Aryan Books International, Delhi, p. 656.
Taxila was sometimes ruled as part of the Gandhara kingdom (whose capital was Pushkalavati), particularly after the Achaemenid period, but Taxila sometimes formed its own independent district or city-state.
On Alexander's death, in 323 BCE, the province and much of the once Achaemenid territories would pass to his general Seleucus I Nicator and founder of the successor Seleucid Empire.
Taxila was founded in a strategic location along the ancient "Royal Highway" that connected the Mauryan capital at Pataliputra in Bihar, with ancient Peshawar, Puṣkalāvatī, and onwards towards Central Asia via Kashmir, Bactria, and Kāpiśa. Taxila thus changed hands many times over the centuries, with many empires vying for its control.
The last Greek king of Taxila was overthrown by the Indo-Scythian chief Maues around 90 BCE. Gondophares, founder of the Indo-Parthian Kingdom, conquered Taxila around 20 BCE, and made Taxila his capital. According to early Christian legend, Thomas the Apostle visited Gondophares IV around 46 CE, possibly at Taxila given that city was Gondophares' capital city.
Taxila's university remained in existence during the travels of Chinese pilgrim Faxian, who visited Taxila around 400 CE. He wrote that Taxila's name translated as "the Severed Head", and was the site of a story in the life of Buddha "where he gave his head to a man". A Record of Buddhistic Kingdoms, Being an Account by the Chinese Monk Fa-Hsien of his Travels in India and Ceylon in Search of the Buddhist Books of Discipline, Chapter 11
The White Huns and Alchon Huns swept over Gandhara and Punjab around 470 CE, causing widespread devastation and destruction of Taxila's famous Buddhist monasteries and , a blow from which the city would never recover. From 500 CE to 540 CE, the city languished after falling under the control of the Hunnic Empire ruled by Mihirakula. Mihirakula presided over some destruction of Buddhist sites, monasteries and Hindu temples across northwestern regions of the Indian subcontinent.Li Rongxi (1996), The Great Tang Dynasty Record of the Western Regions, Bukkyo Dendo Kyokai and Numata Center for Buddhist Translation and Research, Berkeley, pp. 97–100
Xuanzang visited India between 629 and 645 CE. Taxila which was desolate and half-ruined was visited by him in 630 CE, and found most of its still ruined and desolate. Only a few monks remained there. He adds that the kingdom had become a dependency of Kashmir with the local leaders fighting amongst themselves for power. He noted that it had some time previously been a subject of Ancient Kapisa. By the ninth century, it became a dependency of the Kabul Shahis. The Turk Shahis dynasty of Kabul was replaced by the Hindu Shahis dynasty which was overthrown by Mahmud of Ghazni with the defeat of Trilochanpala.
Al-Usaifan's king during the reign of Al-Mu'tasim is said to have converted to Islam by Al-Biladhuri and abandoned his old faith due to the death of his son despite having priests of a temple pray for his recovery. Said to be located between Kashmir, Multan and Kabul, al-Usaifan is identified with kingdom of Taxila by some authors.The Panjab Past and Present - Volume 11 - Page 18Pakistan Journal of History and Culture - Volumes 4-5 - Page 11
Taxila became a noted centre of learning (including the religious teachings of Historical Vedic Religion and Buddhism) at least several centuries BCE, and continued to attract students from around the old world until the destruction of the city in the 5th century. It has been suggested that at its height, Taxila exerted a sort of "intellectual suzerainty" over other centres of learning in India and its primary concern was not with elementary, but higher education. Generally, a student entered Taxila at the age of sixteen. The ancient and the most revered scriptures, and the Eighteen Silpas or Arts, which included skills such as archery, hunting, and elephant lore, were taught, in addition to its law school, medical school, and school of military science. Students came to Taxila from far-off places such as Varanasi, Kosala and Magadha, in spite of the long and arduous journey they had to undergo, on account of the excellence of the learned teachers there, all recognised as authorities on their respective subjects.:
The admission to Takshashila
was not only limited to the students belonging to the elite
class, some evidence mentions the sons of kings, nobles,
merchants, tailors, and even fishermen getting education at
Takshashila.
Jīvaka, the court physician of the Magadha emperor Bimbisara who once cured the Buddha, and the Buddhism-supporting ruler of Kosala, Prasenajit, are some important personalities mentioned in Pali texts who studied at Taxila.:
No external authorities like kings or local leaders subjected the scholastic activities at Taxila to their control. Each teacher formed his own institution, enjoying complete autonomy in work, teaching as many students as he liked and teaching subjects he liked without conforming to any centralised syllabus. Study terminated when the teacher was satisfied with the student's level of achievement. In general, specialisation in a subject took around eight years, though this could be lengthened or shortened in accordance with the intellectual abilities and dedication of the student in question. In most cases the "schools" were located within the teachers' private houses, and at times students were advised to quit their studies if they were unable to fit into the social, intellectual and moral atmosphere there.
Knowledge was considered too sacred to be bartered for money, and hence any stipulation that fees ought to be paid was vigorously condemned. Financial support came from the society at large, as well as from rich merchants and wealthy parents. Though the number of students studying under a single Guru sometimes numbered in the hundreds, teachers did not deny education even if the student was poor; free boarding and lodging was provided, and students had to do manual work in the household. Paying students, such as princes, were taught during the day, while non-paying ones were taught at night. Gurudakshina was usually expected at the completion of a student's studies, but it was essentially a mere token of respect and gratitude - many times being nothing more than a turban, a pair of sandals, or an umbrella. In cases of poor students being unable to afford even that, they could approach the king, who would then step in and provide something. Not providing a poor student a means to supply his Guru's Dakshina was considered the greatest slur on a King's reputation.
Examinations were treated as superfluous, and not considered part of the requirements to complete one's studies. The process of teaching was critical and thorough- unless one unit was mastered completely, the student was not allowed to proceed to the next. No convocations were held upon completion, and no written "degrees" were awarded, since it was believed that knowledge was its own reward. Using knowledge for earning a living or for any selfish end was considered sacrilegious.
Students arriving at Taxila usually had completed their primary education at home (until the age of eight), and their secondary education in the Ashrams (between the ages of eight and twelve), and therefore came to Taxila chiefly to reach the ends of knowledge in specific disciplines.
Taxila's archaeological sites lie near modern Taxila about northwest of the city of Rawalpindi. The sites were first excavated by John Marshall, who worked at Taxila over a period of twenty years from 1913.
The vast archaeological site includes neolithic remains dating to 3360 BCE, and Early Harappan remains dating to 2900–2600 BCE at Sarai Kala. Taxila, however, is most famous for ruins of several settlements, the earliest dating from around 1000 BCE. It is also known for its collection of Buddhist religious monuments, including the Dharmarajika, the Jaulian monastery, and the Mohra Muradu monastery.
The main ruins of Taxila include four major cities, each belonging to a distinct time period, at three different sites. The earliest settlement at Taxila is found in the Hathial section, which yielded pottery shards that date from as early as the late 2nd millennium BCE to the 6th century BCE. The Bhir Mound ruins at the site date from the 6th century BCE, and are adjacent to Hathial. The ruins of Sirkap date to the 2nd century BCE, and were built by the region's Greco-Bactrian kings who ruled in the region following Alexander the Great's invasion of the region in 326 BCE. The third and most recent settlement is that of Sirsukh, which was built by rulers of the Kushan Empire empire, who ruled from nearby Purushapura (modern Peshawar).
In a 2010 report, Global Heritage Fund identified Taxila as one of 12 worldwide sites most "on the Verge" of irreparable loss and damage, citing insufficient management, development pressure, looting, and war and conflict as primary threats. In 2017, it was announced that Thailand would assist in conservation efforts at Taxila, as well as at Buddhist sites in the Swat Valley.
In 2017, the Pakistani government announced its intention to develop Taxila into a site for Buddhist religious pilgrimage. As part of the efforts, it announced that an exhibition on the Buddhist heritage of the region would be held in Thailand, and that the Thai government would assist in conservation efforts at the site. Relics from Taxila were also sent to Sri Lanka for the 2017 Vesak holiday as part of an effort to showcase the region's Buddhist heritage. The PTDC also announced in 2017 that a tour bus service would be launched between the Taxila Museum and Islamabad.
In addition to the ruins of ancient Taxila, relics of and vestiges of historical Grand Trunk Road are also found in Taxila. Nicholson's Obelisk, named in honor of Brigadier John Nicholson who died during the Sepoy Mutiny of 1857, is a monument from the British era that welcomes travelers arriving from Rawalpindi/Islamabad.
The city is linked to Peshawar and Islamabad by the M-1 Motorway, which in turn offers wider motorway access to Lahore via the M-2 Motorway, and Faisalabad via the M-4 Motorway.
strata at Taxila (John Marshall "Taxila, Archeological excavations"). From top, left:
|
|
