Taxila monastic cluster, (near) Wah, Punjab, PK

Raw data

"Taxila […] The city dates back to the Gandhara period and contains the ruins of the Gandhāran city of Takṣaśilā which was an important Hindu and Buddhist centre, and is still considered a place of religious and historical sanctity in those traditions." - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Taxila

Ancient city of Taxila coords.
Long: 72.833336 Lat: 33.750000 Alexandria Digital Library Gazetteer, record# ADL3264726
http://www.alexandria.ucsb.edu/gazetteer/

Long: 72.833 Lat: 33.750 TGN
http://www.getty.edu/research/tools/vocabularies/tgn/index.html

Taxila Ruins of Sirkup, approx., Lat 33.755 Long 72.829 - based on the visual identification of the site in maps,
http://maps.google.com/ - tmciolek , 13 Jul 2012.

" […] That Taxila was very famous can be deduced from the fact that it is mentioned in several languages. In Sanskrit, the city was called Takshaçila (Prince of the Serpent Tribe); in Pâli it was known as Takkasilâ; the Greeks knew the town as Taxila, which the Romans rendered as Taxilla; the Chinese called it Chu-ch'a-shi-lo.
Taxila is a vast complex of ruins, some 30 km north-west of modern Islamabad, which includes a Mesolithic cave (Khanpur cave), four settlement sites (Saraidala, Bhir, Sirkap and Sirsukh), a number of Buddhist monasteries of various periods […]
Sirkap was a fortified city founded during the mid-2nd century BC. Taxila was the capital of a kingdom called Hindu? (Indus country) and consisted of the western half of the Punjab. It was added to the Achaemenid empire under Darius I the Great, but the Persian occupation did not last long. The many private houses, stupas and temples are laid out on the Hellenistic grid system and show the strong Western classical influence on local architecture. The city was destroyed in the 1st century AD by the Kushans of central Asia.
To the north, [are] excavations of the ruins of the Kushan city of Sirsukh […]
The city of Sirkap (Severed Head), chronologically the second major city of Taxila, is to be found spreading down the Hathial Spur and on to the plains of the Taxila valley. It is bounded by the Tamra stream and to the north and south by the Gau stream, which today has been almost completely obliterated by a modern road and water channel. The present layout of the city was established by the Bactrian Greeks sometime around 180 BC and takes the form of a wide and open grid system. In general, the city presents a better planned architecture than Bhir Mound. The city is encompassed by a mighty wall over 5 km long and up to 6 m thick. […] A number of temples and monasteries can be found here: Apsidal Temple, Sun Temple, Shrine of the Double Headed Eagle, Kunala Monastery and Ghai Monastery.
The major attraction in this city is the Great Stupa, one of the largest and most impressive throughout Pakistan, located just 2 km east of Bhir Mound and Sirkap. The chapels and chambers around the Great Stupa were built at various times from the 1st century BC to the post-Kushan period. These structures display a wide range of designs and probably were donated by pilgrims, possibly representing various schools of Buddhism."
http://whc.unesco.org/en/list/139

Input by: tmciolek, Apr 25, 2009

Wah, Pakistan Page
Other names: Wāh
World:Pakistan:Punjab
Latitude 33.7983 Longitude 72.6956
http://www.fallingrain.com/world/PK/4/Wah.html

"Taxila or Takshashila, in modern-day Pakistan, was an early Buddhist centre of learning. According to scattered references which were only fixed a millennium later it may have dated back to at least the 5th century BC.[13] Some scholars date Takshashila's existence back to the 6th century BC.[14] The school consisted of several monasteries without large dormitories or lecture halls where the religious instruction was most likely still provided on an individualistic basis."
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ancient_Universities_of_Pakistan#Asia
Input by: tmciolek, Sep 27, 2012

Final data (and their sources)

Last updated: 13 Jul 2012

Final data (and their sources)

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 Taxila monastic cluster, PK.

General location of the Taxila monastic cluster, PK.
lat=33.755 long=72.829
Mapping & images: Falling Rain Genomics (http://www.fallingrain.com), 2009.


Google Map link:

http://maps.google.com/maps?q=33.755+72.829+(Approx.%20loc.%20of%20the%20Taxila%20monastic%20cluster,%20PK)&ll=33.755,72.8296&spn=05.0,05.0&t=k&hl=en


Final data - explanatory notes

1. Monastery's name

  • Taxila monastic cluster

2. Monastery's modern country & province

  • Pakistan:Punjab

3. Monastery's alternative/historical names


4. Monastery's lat/long coordinates

  • Taxila Ruins of Sirkup, approx., Lat 33.755 Long 72.829 - based on the visual identification of the site in maps, http://maps.google.com/ - tmciolek, 13 Jul 2012.

5. Buddhist monasteries of this cluster include:


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

  • [missing data]

10. Monastery's Buddhist sub-tradition

  • [missing data]

11. Date-early

  • 100 BCE - See Epigraphia Indica, Vol 4, 1896-97, p. 54-55.
  • MBM chrono-tag: <=0200 - tmciolek 13 Dec 2012
  • <=0200 0200-32c 0233-66c 0267-99c 0300-32c 0333-66c 0367-99c 0400-32c 0433-66c dated-el

12. Date-intermediate

  • [missing data]

13. Date-late

  • MBM chrono-tag: 0433-66c - tmciolek 13 Dec 2012

14. Details of contacts with other monasteries

  • An inscription records the foundation of a monastery in a place called Chhema, northeast of Taxila. The donor appears to be the son of a donor mentioned on the Mathura lion capital. This would be a very early connection, perhaps 100 BCE. See Epigraphia Indica, Vol 4, 1896-97, p. 54-55. [Stewart Gordon, 7 September 2009]

15. Type of evidence regarding the monastery

  • Archaeology, inscription.

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]

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