Nava Vihara

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Nava Vihāra
Native name
नवविहार
Map
Map
Map
Type
Kushan emperor Kaniska
DemolishedDamaged during various conflicts

The Nava Vihāra (

Buddhist monasteries close to the ancient city of Balkh in northern Afghanistan. Historical accounts report it as flourishing as an important centre of Buddhism between the seventh and eleventh centuries CE. It may have been founded considerably earlier, perhaps in or after the reign of the Kushan emperor Kaniṣka, in the second century CE.[1][2][3]

Rise to prominence

Historical accounts report it as flourishing as an important centre of Buddhism between the seventh and eleventh centuries CE. It may have been founded considerably earlier, perhaps in or after the reign of Kaniṣka, in the second century CE.[4][5][3]

The many Buddhist references in the

Mongol period in the 13th century or, at minimum, that a strong Buddhist legacy remained for centuries among the Buddhist converts to Islam.[citation needed
]

Xuanzang's report

In the Great Tang Records on the Western Regions, Xuanzang (玄奘)reports that at the time of his visit to Balkh in 630 there were about a hundred viharas and 30,000 monks, a large number of stupas and other religious monuments, and that Buddhism was flourishing in the Bactrian portion of the Western Turkic Khaganate. He also described it as having strong links with the Kingdom of Khotan in the Tarim Basin. The temple was led by Pramukha, Sanskrit for "leader, administrator", who, under the Arabized name of Barmak,[6] came to be known as the Barmakids).[3]

History under the Arabs

The Umayyad Caliphate captured Balkh in 663 from the Kabul Shahis who had taken over the territory from the Western Turks.

In 708

Khotan and Kashmir.[citation needed
]

The Barmakids, who attained great power under the Abbasid Caliphate becoming powerful viziers, are regarded as having their origin in a line of hereditary administrators at Nava Vihāra who had converted to Islam.[citation needed]

An

stupas.[7]

Some Arabic sources erroneously describe the vihāra as a fire temple of Zoroastrianism, presumably because of its proximity to Balkh, Zoroaster's birthplace. In Arabic sources, the monastery's name is represented as "Naubahar". Van Bladel (p. 68) has pointed out that this version of the name can be traced to the pronunciation in the Bactrian language.[3]

The Tang Chinese pilgrim Yijing (義浄)visited Nava Vihāra in the 680s and reported it flourishing as a Sarvāstivādin center of study.

Persian scholar and writer in service to the Ghaznavids, reported that around the start of the 10th century, the monasteries in Bactria, including Nava Vihāra, were still functioning and decorated with Buddhist frescoes.[citation needed
]

A curious notice of this building is found in the writings of Arabian geographer Ibn Hawqal, an Arabian traveler of the 10th century.

See also

References

  1. Al Biruni
    .
  2. ^ History of Buddhism and Islam in Afghanistan, Last accessed 03 Jan 2008
  3. ^
    ISBN 978-0754669562
    .
  4. Al Biruni
    .
  5. ^ History of Buddhism in Afghanistan, Last accessed 15 July 2016
  6. JSTOR 609203
    .
  7. JSTOR 620573
    .

External links
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