Pakistan: The Forgotten Buddhist Cradle

Abstract

Pakistan, a well-known Muslim country in South Asia, used to be an important Buddhist cradle during the begining of the Christian era. Gandhara, a western region of Pakistan situated on the western bank of the Sindhu River, is famous for being the first school of art that produced the earliest Buddha statues, and for Taxila - a centre of knowledge since the Buddha’s time. Buddhist sites in the Gandhara region can be divided into 3 areas : Taxila Valley, Swat Valley and Peshwar Valley. There are several interesting sites and monuments in each area, such as Jaulian and Sirkap in Taxila Valley, Butkara in Swat Valley and Takht-e-bhai in Peshwar Valley. In addition to these, the Khyber Pass, an important historical site, is situated in Peshwar Valley.