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Historical Places of Pakistan

Taxila

Taxila (Sanskrit: तक्षशिला Takṣaśilā, literally meaning "City of Cut Stone" or "Rock of Taksha"; Urdu: ٹيڪسيلا‎) is a town and an important archaeological site inRawalpindi district of the Punjab province in Pakistan. Taxila is situated about 32 km (20 mi) north-west of Islamabad and Rawalpindi; just off the famous Grand Trunk Road. The town lies 549 metres (1,801 ft) above sea level. It is the head-quarters of the Taxila Tehsil in Rawalpindi district.
Ancient Takṣaśilā was situated at the pivotal junction of India, western Asia andCentral Asia. Owing to its strategic location, Taxila has changed hands many times over the centuries, with many empires vying for its control. When the great ancient trade routes connecting these regions ceased to be important, the city sank into insignificance and was finally destroyed by the nomadic Huns in the 5th century CE. Renowned archaeologist Sir Alexander Cunningham rediscovered the ruins of Takṣaśilā in mid-19th century. In 1980, Taxila was declared a UNESCOWorld Heritage Site.[1] In 2006 it was ranked as the top tourist destination in Pakistan by The Guardian newspaper.[2]
By some accounts, Taxila was considered to be amongst the earliest universities in the world.[3][4][5][6][7] Others do not consider it a university in the modern sense, in that the teachers living there may not have had official membership of particular colleges, and there did not seem to have existed purpose-built lecture halls and residential quarters in Takshashila,[8][9][10] in contrast to the laterNalanda university in eastern India.[10][11][12]
In a 2010 report, Global Heritage Fund identified Taxila as one of 12 worldwide sites most "On the Verge" of irreparable loss and damage, citing insufficient management, development pressure, looting, and war and conflict as primary threats.[13]

References in ancient texts[edit]

Takṣaśilā is reputed to derive its name from Takṣa, who was the son of Bharata, the brother of the Hindu god Rama.[3] Legend has it that Takṣa ruled a kingdom called Takṣa Khanda, and founded the city of Takṣaśilā.[14] According to another theory propounded by DD Kosambi, Takṣaśilā is related to Takṣaka, Sanskrit for "carpenter", and is an alternative name for the Nāgas of ancient India.[15] In the geat Hindu epic Mahābhārata, the Kuru heir Parikṣit (grandson of the Arjuna) was enthroned at Takṣaśilā.[16] Traditionally, it is believed that the Mahabharata was first recited at Takṣaśilā by Vaishampayana, a disciple of Vyasa at the behest of the seer Vyasa himself, at the Snake Sacrifice.[17]
Takshashila is also described in some detail in the Buddhist Jātaka tales, written in Sri Lanka around the 5th century.[18] The Jataka literature mentions it as the capital of the kingdom of Gandhara and as a great centre of learning.
The Chinese monk Faxian (also called Fa-Hien) writing of his visit to Taxila in 405 CE, mentions the kingdom of Takshasila (or Chu-cha-shi-lo) meaning "the Severed Head". He says that this name was derived from an event in the life of Buddha because this is the place "where he gave his head to a man".[19] Xuanzang (also called Hieun Tsang), another Chinese monk, visited Taxila in 630 and in 643, and he called the city as Ta-Cha-Shi-Lo. The city appears to have already overrun by the Huns and been in ruins by his time. Taxila is called Taxiala in Ptolemy’s Geography.[20] In the Historia Trium Regum (History of the Three Kings) composed by John of Hildesheim around 1375, the city is called Egrisilla.[21]

Political history[edit]

See also: Taxila (satrapy)
Scattered references in later works indicate that Takshashila may have dated back to at least the 5th century BCE.[22][23][24]
Historically, Takṣaśilā lay at the crossroads of three major ancient trade routes:
  1. The northern road — the later Grand Trunk or GT Road — the royal road which connected Gandhara in the west to the kingdom of Magadha and its capital Pāṭaliputra in the Ganges valley in eastern India. This trade route was described by the Greek writerMegasthenes as the “Royal Highway”.
  2. The north-western route through Bactria, Kāpiśa, and Puṣkalāvatī. This route connected Taxila with the western Asia.
  3. The Indus route from Kashmir and Central Asia, via Śri nagara, Mansehra, and the Haripur valley[25] across the Khunjerab Passto the Silk Road in the north to the Indian Ocean in the south. The Khunjerab passes between Kashmir and Xinjiang—the currentKarakoram highway—and was traversed in antiquity.
Taxila is in western Punjab, and was an important city during Alexander's campaign in ancient India.
Statue of a Hellenistic couple excavated in Taxila (IV).
Owing to its strategic location, Taxila has changed hands many times over the centuries, with many empires vying for its control.
  • Buddhist literature, especially the Jatakas, mentions Taxila as the capital of the kingdom of Gandhara.
  • c. 518 BCE – Darius the Great annexes Takṣaśilā to the Achaemenid Empire.[26] Taxila, as the capital of Gandhara satrapy, was evidently under Achaemenian rule for more than a century.
  • 326 BCE – Alexander the Great receives submission of ruler of Taxila, Omphis (Āmbhi).[26] Greek historians accompanying Alexander described Taxila as “wealthy, prosperous, and well governed.”
  • 321–317 BCE - Chandragupta Maurya, founder of the Mauryan empire, makes himself master of northern and north-western India, including Panjab. Chandragupta Maurya's advisor Kautilya (also known as Chanakya) was a teacher at Takṣaśilā. Under Chandragupta, Taxila became a provincial capital.
  • During the reign of Chandragupta's grandson Aśoka, Takṣaśilā became a great Buddhist centre of learning. Nonetheless, Takṣaśilā was briefly the centre of a minor local rebellion, subdued only a few years after its onset.[27] Ashoka encouraged trade by building roads, most notably a highway of more than 1,600 kilometers (1,000 miles) linking his capital Pataliputra with Taxila.
  • 2nd century BCE - After three generations of Maurya rule, Taxila was annexed by the Indo-Greek kingdom of Bactria. Indo-Greeks build new capital, Sirkap, on the opposite bank of the river from Takṣaśilā.[29] During this new period of Bactrian Greek rule, several dynasties (like Antialcidas) likely ruled from the city as their capital. During lulls in Greek rule, the city managed profitably on its own, to independently control several local trade guilds, who also minted most of the city's autonomous coinage.
  • c. 90 BCE – The Indo-Scythian (Sakas) chief Maues overthrows the last Greek king of Takṣaśilā.[30]
  • Neo-Pythagorean sage Apollonius of Tyana visits Taxila. His biographer described Taxila as a fortified city that was laid out on a symmetrical plan and compared it in size toNineveh.
  • 76 – The date of and inscription found at Taxila of "Great King, King of Kings, Son of God, the Kushana".[33] Taxila was taken from the Parthians by the Kushans under Kujula Kadphises. The great Kushan ruler Kanishka later founded "Sirsukh", the third city on the site.
  • 4th century CE: the Sasanian king Shapur II seems to have conquered Taxila, as evidenced by the numerous Sasanian copper coins found there.
  • c. 460–470 CE – The Hephthalites (the Huns) sweep over Gandhāra and Punjab; and cause wholesale destruction of the Buddhist monasteries and stupas at Takṣaśilā, which never again recovers.[34]
  • 1863–64 and 1872–73 - Excavations begun by Alexander Cunningham in identified a local site known as Saraikhala with ancient Taxila.

Ancient centre of learning[edit]

Main article: Ancient higher-learning institutions
Takshashila became a noted centre of learning (including the religious teachings of Hinduism) at least several centuries BCE, and continued to attract students from around the old world until the destruction of the city in the 5th century. At its height, it has been suggested that Takshashila exerted a sort of "intellectual suzerainty" over other centres of learning in India.,[35] and its primary concern was not with elementary, but higher education.[36] Generally, a student entered Takshashila at the age of sixteen. The Vedas, the ancient and the most revered Hindu scriptures, and the Eighteen Silpas or Arts, which included skills such as archery, hunting, and elephant lore, were taught, in addition to its law school, medical school, and school of military science.[37] Students came to Takshashila from far-off places such as Kashi, Kosala and Magadha, in spite of the long and arduous journey they had to undergo, on account of the excellence of the learned teachers there, all recognized as authorities on their respective subjects.[38][39]

Famous students and teachers[edit]

Takshashila had great influence on the Hindu culture and Sanskrit language. It is perhaps best known because of its association withChanakya, also known as Kautilya, the strategist who guided Chandragupta Maurya and assisted in the founding of the Mauryanempire. The Arthashastra (Sanskrit for The knowledge of Economics) of Chanakya, is said to have been composed in Takshashila itself.[40][41] The Ayurvedic healer Charaka also studied at Taxila.[37] He also started teaching at Taxila in the later period.[42] The ancient grammarian Pāṇini, who codified the rules that would define Classical Sanskrit, has also been part of the community at Takshashila.[43]
The institution is very significant in Buddhist tradition since it is believed[citation needed] that the Mahāyāna branch of Buddhism took shape there. Jivaka, the court physician of the Magadha emperor Bimbisara who once cured the Buddha, and the enlightened ruler of Kosala, Prasenajit, are some important personalities mentioned in Pali texts who studied at Takshashila.[44]

Nature of education[edit]

By some accounts, Taxilla was considered to be amongst the earliest universities in the world.[3][4][45][46][47] Others do not consider it a university in the modern sense, in that the teachers living there may not have had official membership of particular colleges, and there did not seem to have existed purpose-built lecture halls and residential quarters in Takshashila,[48][49][10] in contrast to the laterNalanda University.[10][11][12]
No external authorities like kings or local leaders subjected the scholastic activities at Takshashila to their control. Each teacher formed his own institution, enjoying complete autonomy in work, teaching as many students as he liked and teaching subjects he liked without conforming to any centralized syllabus. Study terminated when the teacher was satisfied with the student's level of achievement. In general, specialisation in a subject took around eight years, though this could be lengthened or shortened in accordance with the intellectual abilities and dedication of the student in question. In most cases the "schools" were located within the teachers' private houses, and at times students were advised to quit their studies if they were unable to fit into the social, intellectual and moral atmosphere there.[50]
Knowledge was considered too sacred to be bartered for money, and hence any stipulation that fees ought to be paid was vigorously condemned. Financial support came from the society at large, as well as from rich merchants and wealthy parents. Though the number of students studying under a single Guru sometimes numbered in the hundreds, teachers did not deny education even if the student was poor; free boarding and lodging was provided, and students had to do manual work in the household. Paying students like princes were taught during the day; non-paying ones, at night.[51] Guru Dakshina was usually expected at the completion of a student's studies, but it was essentially a mere token of respect and gratitude - many times being nothing more than a turban, a pair of sandals, or an umbrella. In cases of poor students being unable to afford even that, they could approach the king, who would then step in and provide something. Not providing a poor student a means to supply his Guru's Dakshina was considered the greatest slur on a King's reputation.[52]
Examinations were treated as superfluous, and not considered part of the requirements to complete one's studies. The process of teaching was critical and thorough- unless one unit was mastered completely, the student was not allowed to proceed to the next. No convocations were held upon completion, and no written "degrees" were awarded, since it was believed that knowledge was its own reward. Using knowledge for earning a living or for any selfish end was considered sacrilegious.[50]
Students arriving at Takshashila usually had completed their primary education at home (until the age of eight), and their secondary education in the Ashrams (between the ages of eight and twelve), and therefore came to Takshashila chiefly to reach the ends of knowledge in specific disciplines.[53] Both theoretical and practical aspects of the subjects were taught, and particular care was taken to ensure competence of students in case of subjects like medicine, where improper practice could result in disaster. The list of subjects taught at Takshashila underwent many additions over the years, with even Greek being taught there after the Alexandrian conquests. Foreign savants were accorded as much importance as local teachers.

Ruins[edit]

Map of Taxila
The British archaeologist Sir John Marshall (1876-1958) conducted excavations over a period of twenty years in Taxila.[54]
The ruins of Taxila contain buildings and Buddhist stupas located over a large area. The main ruins of Taxila are divided into three major cities, each belonging to a distinct time period.
  • The oldest of these is the Hathial area, which yielded surface shards similar to burnished red wares (or soapy red wares) recovered from early phases at Charsadda, and may date between the 6th century BCE and the late 2nd millennium BCE. Bhir Mound dates from the 6th century BCE.
  • The second city of Taxila is located at Sirkap and was built by Greco-Bactrian kings in the 2nd century BCE.
  • The third and last city of Taxila is at Sirsukh and relates to the Kushan rulers.
In addition to the ruins of the city, a number of buddhist monasteries and stupas also belong to the Taxila area. Some of the important ruins of this category include the ruins of the stupa at Dharmarajika, the monastery at Jaulian, the monastery at Mohra Muradu in addition to a number of stupas.
Further information: Taxila Tehsil
Archaeological artifacts from the Indo-Greek strata at Taxila (John Marshall "Taxila, Archeological excavations"). From top, left: * Fluted cup (Bhir Mound, stratum 1) * Cup with rosace and decoratice scroll (Bhir Mound, stratum 1) * Stone palette with individual on a couch being crowned by standing woman, and served (Sirkap, stratum 5) * Handle with double depiction of a philosopher (Sirkap, stratum 5) * Woman with smile (Sirkap, stratum 5) * Man withmoustache (Sirkap, stratum 5)

Culture[edit]

Taxila is a mix of wealthy urban and rustic rural environs. Urban residential areas are in the form of small neat and clean colonies populated by the workers of heavy industries, educational institutes and hospitals that are located in the area. The city has many educational institutes including HITEC University and the University of Engineering and Technology Taxila.
In addition to the ruins of ancient Taxila, relics of Mughal gardens and vestiges of historicalGrand Trunk Road, which was built by Emperor Sher Shah Suri in 15th–16th centuries, are also found in Taxila region. Nicholson's Obelisk, a monument of British colonial era situated at the Grand Trunk road welcomes the travellers coming from Rawalpindi/Islamabad into Taxila. The monument was built by the British to pay tribute to Brigadier John Nicholson(1822–1857) an officer of the British army who died in India during the 1857 Indian Mutiny.
Taxila Museum, dedicated mainly to the remains of ancient Taxila, is also situated in the city.

Industry[edit]

The industries include heavy machine factories and industrial complex, Pakistan Ordnance Factories at Wah Cantt and the cement factory. Heavy Industries Taxila and Heavy Mechanical Complex] are also based here. Small, cottage and household industries includestoneware, pottery and footwear.
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