History of Ganndhara
Ganndhāra is the name of an ancient kingdom (Mahajanapada), located in northern Pakistan and eastern Afghanistan. Ganndhara was located mainly in the vale of Peshawar, the Potohar plateau and on the Kabul River. Its main cities were Purushapura (modern Peshawar), literally meaning City of Manand Takshashila (modern Taxila).
The Kingdom of Ganndara lasted from c. the 6th century BCE to the 11th century CE. It attained its height from the 1st century to the 5th century under the Buddhist Kushan Kings. The Hindu Shahi, a term used by history writer Al-Biruni to refer to the ruling Hindu dynasty that took over from the Turki Shahi and ruled the region during the period prior to Muslim conquests of the tenth and eleventh centuries. After it was conquered by Mahmud of Ghazni in 1021 CE, the name ****hara disappeared. During the Muslim period the area was administered from Lahore or from Kabul. During Mughal times the area was part of Kabul province.
Geography
The Ganndhāri people were settled since the Vedic times on the banks of Kabul River (river Kubhā or Kabol) up to its mouth into the Indus. Later Ganndhāra included parts of northwest Punjab. Ganndhara was located on the northern trunk road (Uttarapatha) and was a centre of international commercial activities. It was an important channel of communication with ancient Iran and Central Asia.
The boundaries of Ganndhara varied throughout history. Sometimes the Peshawar valley and Taxila were collectively referred to as Ganndhara and sometimes the Swat valley (Sanskrit: Suvāstu) was also included. The heart of Ganndhara however was always the Peshawar valley. The kingdom was ruled from capitals at Pushkalavati (Charsadda), Taxila, Purushapura (Peshawar) and in its final days from Udabhandapura (Hund) on the Indus. According to the Puranas, they have been named after Taksha and Pushkara, the two sons of Bharata, a king of Ayodhya.
Ancient Ganndhara
Prehistoric Period
Evidence of Stone Age human inhabitants of Ganndhara, including stone tools and burnt bones, was discovered at Sanghao near Mardan in area caves. The artifacts are approximately 15,000 years old. More recent excavations point to 30,000 years before present.
To date, no evidence of the Harappan Culture of the Indus Valley Civilization has been found in Ganndhara. According to some scholars, the Aryans moved into Ganndhara and the rest of North Western Pakistan around 1500BC.
The region shows an influx of southern Central Asian culture in the Bronze Age with the Ganndhara grave culture, likely corresponding to immigration of Indo-Aryan speakers and the nucleus of Vedic civilization. This culture survived till 600 BC. Its evidence has been discovered in the hilly regions of Swat and Dir, and even at Taxila.
The name of the Ganndhāris is attested in the Rigveda (RV 1.120.1) and in ancient inscriptions dating back to Achaemenid Persia. The Behistun inscription listing the 23 territories of King Darius I (519 BC) includes Ganndāra along with Bactria and Thatagush (ϑataguš, Satagydia). In the book "Histories" by Heroditus, Ganndhara is named as a source of tax collections for King Darius. The Ganndhāris, along with the Balhika (Bactrians), Mūjavants, Angas, and the Magadhas, are also mentioned in the Atharvaveda (AV 5.22.14), as distant people. Ganndharas are included in the Uttarapatha division of Puranic and Buddhistic traditions. The Aitareya Brahmana refers to king Naganajit of Ganndhara who was contemporary of Janaka, king of Videha.
Ganndharas and their king figure prominently as strong allies of the Kurus against the Pandavas in the Mahabharata war. The Ganndharas were well trained in the art of war. According to Puranic traditions, this country (Janapada) was founded by Ganndhāra, son of Aruddha, a descendant of Yayāti. The princes of this country are said to have come from the line of Druhyu who was an (assumed) king of the Druhyu tribe of the Rigvedic period. According to Vayu Purana (II.36.107), the Ganndharas were destroyed by Pramiti aka Kalika, at the end of Kaliyuga.
Mother Goddess (fertility divinity), derived from the Indus Valley tradition, terracotta, Sar Dheri, Ganndhara, 1st century BC, Victoria and Albert Museum
The Ganndhara kingdom sometimes also included Kashmir. Hecataeus of Miletus (549–468) refers to Kaspapyros (sometimes interpreted as referring to Kashmira) as a Ganndaric city. According to Ganndhara Jataka, (Jataka No 406), at one time, Ganndhara formed a part of the kingdom of Kashmir. The Jataka also gives another name Chandahara for Ganndhara. Buddhist texts like Anguttara Nikaya refer to sixteen great countries (Mahajanapadas) which flourished in the Indian subcontinent during Buddha's time; only two of them, the Ganndhara and the Kamboja were located in the Uttarapatha or the northwestern division.
Ganndhāra is also thought to be the location of the mystical Lake Dhanakosha, the birthplace of Padmasambhava, the founder of Tibetan Buddhism. The bKa' brgyud (Kagyu) sect of Tibetan Buddhism identifies the lake with the Andan Dheri stupa, located near the tiny village of Uchh near Chakdara in the lower Swat Valley. A spring was said to flow from the base of the stupa to form the lake. Archaeologists have found the stupa but no spring or lake can be identified.
Ganndhāra is the name of an ancient kingdom (Mahajanapada), located in northern Pakistan and eastern Afghanistan. Ganndhara was located mainly in the vale of Peshawar, the Potohar plateau and on the Kabul River. Its main cities were Purushapura (modern Peshawar), literally meaning City of Manand Takshashila (modern Taxila).
The Kingdom of Ganndara lasted from c. the 6th century BCE to the 11th century CE. It attained its height from the 1st century to the 5th century under the Buddhist Kushan Kings. The Hindu Shahi, a term used by history writer Al-Biruni to refer to the ruling Hindu dynasty that took over from the Turki Shahi and ruled the region during the period prior to Muslim conquests of the tenth and eleventh centuries. After it was conquered by Mahmud of Ghazni in 1021 CE, the name ****hara disappeared. During the Muslim period the area was administered from Lahore or from Kabul. During Mughal times the area was part of Kabul province.
Geography
The Ganndhāri people were settled since the Vedic times on the banks of Kabul River (river Kubhā or Kabol) up to its mouth into the Indus. Later Ganndhāra included parts of northwest Punjab. Ganndhara was located on the northern trunk road (Uttarapatha) and was a centre of international commercial activities. It was an important channel of communication with ancient Iran and Central Asia.
The boundaries of Ganndhara varied throughout history. Sometimes the Peshawar valley and Taxila were collectively referred to as Ganndhara and sometimes the Swat valley (Sanskrit: Suvāstu) was also included. The heart of Ganndhara however was always the Peshawar valley. The kingdom was ruled from capitals at Pushkalavati (Charsadda), Taxila, Purushapura (Peshawar) and in its final days from Udabhandapura (Hund) on the Indus. According to the Puranas, they have been named after Taksha and Pushkara, the two sons of Bharata, a king of Ayodhya.
Ancient Ganndhara
Prehistoric Period
Evidence of Stone Age human inhabitants of Ganndhara, including stone tools and burnt bones, was discovered at Sanghao near Mardan in area caves. The artifacts are approximately 15,000 years old. More recent excavations point to 30,000 years before present.
To date, no evidence of the Harappan Culture of the Indus Valley Civilization has been found in Ganndhara. According to some scholars, the Aryans moved into Ganndhara and the rest of North Western Pakistan around 1500BC.
The region shows an influx of southern Central Asian culture in the Bronze Age with the Ganndhara grave culture, likely corresponding to immigration of Indo-Aryan speakers and the nucleus of Vedic civilization. This culture survived till 600 BC. Its evidence has been discovered in the hilly regions of Swat and Dir, and even at Taxila.
The name of the Ganndhāris is attested in the Rigveda (RV 1.120.1) and in ancient inscriptions dating back to Achaemenid Persia. The Behistun inscription listing the 23 territories of King Darius I (519 BC) includes Ganndāra along with Bactria and Thatagush (ϑataguš, Satagydia). In the book "Histories" by Heroditus, Ganndhara is named as a source of tax collections for King Darius. The Ganndhāris, along with the Balhika (Bactrians), Mūjavants, Angas, and the Magadhas, are also mentioned in the Atharvaveda (AV 5.22.14), as distant people. Ganndharas are included in the Uttarapatha division of Puranic and Buddhistic traditions. The Aitareya Brahmana refers to king Naganajit of Ganndhara who was contemporary of Janaka, king of Videha.
Ganndharas and their king figure prominently as strong allies of the Kurus against the Pandavas in the Mahabharata war. The Ganndharas were well trained in the art of war. According to Puranic traditions, this country (Janapada) was founded by Ganndhāra, son of Aruddha, a descendant of Yayāti. The princes of this country are said to have come from the line of Druhyu who was an (assumed) king of the Druhyu tribe of the Rigvedic period. According to Vayu Purana (II.36.107), the Ganndharas were destroyed by Pramiti aka Kalika, at the end of Kaliyuga.
Mother Goddess (fertility divinity), derived from the Indus Valley tradition, terracotta, Sar Dheri, Ganndhara, 1st century BC, Victoria and Albert Museum
The Ganndhara kingdom sometimes also included Kashmir. Hecataeus of Miletus (549–468) refers to Kaspapyros (sometimes interpreted as referring to Kashmira) as a Ganndaric city. According to Ganndhara Jataka, (Jataka No 406), at one time, Ganndhara formed a part of the kingdom of Kashmir. The Jataka also gives another name Chandahara for Ganndhara. Buddhist texts like Anguttara Nikaya refer to sixteen great countries (Mahajanapadas) which flourished in the Indian subcontinent during Buddha's time; only two of them, the Ganndhara and the Kamboja were located in the Uttarapatha or the northwestern division.
Ganndhāra is also thought to be the location of the mystical Lake Dhanakosha, the birthplace of Padmasambhava, the founder of Tibetan Buddhism. The bKa' brgyud (Kagyu) sect of Tibetan Buddhism identifies the lake with the Andan Dheri stupa, located near the tiny village of Uchh near Chakdara in the lower Swat Valley. A spring was said to flow from the base of the stupa to form the lake. Archaeologists have found the stupa but no spring or lake can be identified.
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