Jamal Garhi is a small town located 13 kilometers from Mardan at Katlang-Mardan road in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province in northern Pakistan. Jamal Garhi was a Buddhist monastery from the first until the fifth century AD at a time when Buddhism flourished in this part of the Indian subcontinent. The monastery and main stupa are surrounded by chapels closely packed together.[1] The site is called "The Jamal Garhi Kandarat or Kafiro Kote" by the locals.

Jamal Garhi
View of Jamal Garhi ruins from the Graeco-Buddhist era.
Jamal Garhi is located in Pakistan
Jamal Garhi
Shown within Pakistan
Jamal Garhi is located in Gandhara
Jamal Garhi
Jamal Garhi (Gandhara)
LocationKhyber Pakhtunkhwa, Pakistan
Coordinates34°19′N 72°04′E / 34.317°N 72.067°E / 34.317; 72.067
TypeSettlement
Stupa drum panel showing the conception of the Buddha: Queen Maya dreams of a white elephant entering her right side, 100–300 AD, carved schist, Jamal Garhi, British Museum.
Indo-Corinthian capital from Jamal Garhi

Discovery

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The ruins of Jamal Garhi were first discovered by the British explorer and archaeologist Sir Alexander Cunningham in 1848. The stupa at the site was opened by Colonel Lumsden in 1852 but little of value was found at the time.[2] In 1871, the site was excavated by Lieutenant Cromten, who unearthed a large number of Buddhist sculptures which are now part of the collections of the British Museum[3] and the Indian Museum in Calcutta. At the monastery a Kharoshti inscription was also discovered which is now kept in Peshawar Museum.

Ruins

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Sculptural remains

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See also

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  • The frieze of the Buddha and the nude Vajrapani at Jamal Garhi - [5]

References

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  1. ^ "Jamal Garhi". Archived from the original on 28 September 2019. Retrieved 31 July 2014.
  2. ^ Cunningham, Alexander (1875). Jamal Garhi, Archaeological Survey of India 5, Report for the year 1872-73. pp. 46-53.
  3. ^ British Museum Collection
  4. ^ British Museum Collection
  5. ^ Perera, Sathsara (2018). "The frieze of the Buddha and the nude Vajrapani at Jamal Garhi (Special focus on the mix of Hellenistic and Indian elements in the particular relief of the Buddhist Kushan art)". Research Gate. Retrieved 29 July 2021.