Subahar monastery, (near or towards) Kabul, Velayat-e Kabol, AF

Raw data

"8th Century……Such masters would most likely have come from the great Buddhist monasteries in the Kabul region of Afghanistan. Many of these monasteries had architectural motifs similar to those in the Kalachakra mandala. For example, the main hall of Subahar Monastery had a zodiac motif on its ceiling and 360 chambers around it, one for each day of the lunar year. The Kabul monasteries also had considerable contact with Tantric Buddhism in Kashmir, where it was often mixed with Hindu tantra. "
http://www.angelfire.com/vt/OkarResearch/history4.html

"Mahmud of Ghazna [971-1030 - tmc] arrived at a Buddhist monastery outside Kabul […] the Buddhist shrine [bot-khane] of the Subahar". Elverskog (2010:51)

"Buddhism had flourished in the Kabul Valley under Hindu Shahi rule. Asadi Tusi, in his Garshasp Name written in 1048, described the opulence of its main monastery, Subahar (Su Vihara), when the Ghaznavids overran Kabul. It does not appear as though the Ghaznavids destroyed it." - Berzin (2001-2006a).

"Buddhist monasteries in the Kabul region of Afghanistan, such as Subahar, had architectural motifs similar to those in the Kalachakra mandala. "
- Berzin (2001-2006b).

Input by: tmciolek, Mar 16, 2012

Final data (and their sources)

Last updated: 18 Jul 2014

Lat/Long coordinates' accuracy:
The monastery in question is assumed to be situated actually no farther than 20 km from the point defined by the coordinates below.

Location of Subahar monastery, IN.

General location of the Subahar monastery, IN.
Lat 34.5167 Long 69.1833
Mapping & images: Falling Rain Genomics (http://www.fallingrain.com), 2012.


Google Map link:

http://maps.google.com/maps?q=34.5167+69.1833+(Approx.%20loc.%20of%20the%20Subahar%20monastery,%20IN)&ll=34.5167,69.1833&spn=05.0,05.0&t=k&hl=en

Final data - explanatory notes

1. Monastery's name

2. Monastery's modern country & province

  • Afghanistan:Velayat-e Kabol

3. Monastery's alternative/historical names

  • Su Vihara - Berzin (2001-2006a).

4. Monastery's lat/long coordinates

5. Other known nearby Buddhist monasteries

  • [missing data]

6. Modern name of the known nearest city, town, or village

7. The settlement's alternative/historical names

8. The settlement's coordinates

9. Monastery's major Buddhist tradition

  • Vajrayana - Berzin (2001-2006b).

10. Monastery's Buddhist sub-tradition

  • [missing data]

11. Date-early

  • [missing data]

0967-99p 1000-32c 1033-66c 1067-99p dated-xx - tmciolek 18 Jul 2014

12. Date-intermediate

  • Still active during the times of Mahmud of Ghazna (971-1030) - Elverskog (2010:51)
  • Still active in 1048 - Berzin (2001-2006a).

MBM chrono-tag 1000-32c 1033-66c - tmciolek 18 Jul 2014

13. Date-late

  • [missing data]

14. Details of contacts with other monasteries

  • [missing data]

15. Type of evidence regarding the monastery

  • [missing data]

16. Additional notes

  • [missing data] (incl. details of the size of the monastic population)

17. Corrections & addenda to this page were kindly provided by

  • [missing data]

end of page

0967-99p1000-32c1033-66c1067-99p20kmafghanistancentral-asiadated-xxmuralsplacessouth-asiatrad.vajrayana
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