Hindu, Jain and Buddhist architectural heritage of Pakistan

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Hindu and Buddhist architectural heritage of Pakistan
)
Amb temples in Khushab district

The Hindu, Buddhist and Jain architectural heritage of Pakistan is part of a long history of settlement and civilization in

Vedic Civilisation
, which extended over much of northern India and Pakistan.

Vedic period

The Vedic Period (c. 1500 – c. 500 BCE) is postulated to have formed during the 1500 BCE to 800 BCE. As Indo-Aryans migrated and settled into the Indus Valley, along with them came their distinctive religious traditions and practices which fused with local culture.

scriptures of Hinduism, were composed.[note 2]

Several early tribes and kingdoms arose during this period and internecine military conflicts between these various tribes was common; as described in the

Bharatas
tribe and a confederation of ten tribes:

Its early phase saw the formation of various

kingdoms of ancient India. In its late phase (from c. 700 BCE), it saw the rise of the Mahajanapadas, and was succeeded by the golden age of Hinduism and classical Sanskrit literature, the Maurya Empire (from c. 320 BCE) and the Middle kingdoms of India
.

Gandhāra

Potohar Plateau and westwards into the Kabul Valley in Afghanistan, and northwards up to the Karakoram range.[8][9][10]

Famed for its unique

Vedic and later forms of Hinduism.[12]

Sites

Punjab

Sirkap near modern Taxila, Punjab, Pakistan (probably destroyed)

Temples:

  • Jain temple, Thari Bhabrian Lahore City.
  • Jain Digambar Temple with Shikhar, Old Anarkali Jain Mandir Chawk:[13] This temple was destroyed in the riots of 1992.[14] Now an Islamic school is run from the former temple. 31°33′41″N 74°18′29″E / 31.561389°N 74.308056°E / 31.561389; 74.308056.[15][16]

Sindh

Nagarparkar

(A Jain Stupa is also located in Sindh province.)

Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa

Balochistan

Conservation and corruption

In December 2017, the Chief Justice of Pakistan

Mian Saqib Nisar while hearing a case on Katas Raj Temple in Chakwal stressed, "This temple is not just a place of cultural significance for the Hindu community, but also a part of our national heritage. We have to protect it."[17] The bench of judges during the hearing of the case also expressed displeasure at the displacing of idols from the temples, demanding to know why there were no statues in the temples of Shiri Ram and Hanuman. The bench was told that a former chairman of the Evacuee Trust Property Board (ETPB) earned millions of rupees from corruption [during his tenure] and then ran away [from Pakistan].[18]

See also

Notes

  1. Black and red ware culture and the Painted Grey Ware culture.[3]
  2. ^ The precise time span of the period is uncertain. Philological and linguistic evidence indicates that the Rigveda, the oldest of the Vedas, was composed roughly between 1700 and 1100 BCE, also referred to as the early Vedic period.[4]

References

  1. .
  2. ^ India: Reemergence of Urbanization. Retrieved 12 May 2007.
  3. .
  4. ^ Oberlies (1998:155) gives an estimate of 1100 BCE for the youngest hymns in book 10. Estimates for a terminus post quem of the earliest hymns are more uncertain. Oberlies (p. 158) based on 'cumulative evidence' sets wide range of 1700–1100
  5. .
  6. .
  7. .
  8. .
  9. .
  10. ^ Kurt A. Behrendt (2007), The Art of Gandhara in the Metropolitan Museum of Art, pp.4-5,91
  11. ^ * Schmidt, Karl J. (1995). An Atlas and Survey of South Asian History, p.120: "In addition to being a center of religion for Buddhists, as well as Hindus, Taxila was a thriving center for art, culture, and learning."
    • Srinivasan, Doris Meth (2008). "Hindu Deities in Gandharan art," in Gandhara, The Buddhist Heritage of Pakistan: Legends, Monasteries, and Paradise, pp.130-143: "Gandhara was not cut off from the heartland of early Hinduism in the Gangetic Valley. The two regions shared cultural and political connections and trade relations and this facilitated the adoption and exchange of religious ideas. [...] It is during the Kushan Era that flowering of religious imagery occurred. [...] Gandhara often introduced its own idiosyncratic expression upon the Buddhist and Hindu imagery it had initially come in contact with."
    • Blurton, T. Richard (1993). Hindu Art, Harvard University Press: "The earliest figures of Shiva which show him in purely human form come from the area of ancient Gandhara" (p.84) and "Coins from Gandhara of the first century BC show Lakshmi [...] four-armed, on a lotus." (p.176)
  12. ^ TEPA to remodel roads leading to Jain Mandir Chowk
  13. ^ Ghauri, Aamir (5 December 2002). "Demolishing history in Pakistan". BBC News.
  14. ^ Wikimapia
  15. ^ LIST OF JAIN TEMPLES IN PAKISTAN Archived 27 September 2007 at the Wayback Machine
  16. ^ "Katas Raj case: 'Will halt water supply to cement factories if necessary,' says CJP". The Dawn newspaper. 23 November 2017. Retrieved 12 December 2017.
  17. ^ "SC bars lower courts from hearing cases on Katas Raj temple". The Dawn newspaper. 12 December 2017. Retrieved 12 December 2017.

External links