An expedition to the glorious Gandhara

Asirimath Gandharaya

Author: Chandana Wijekoon
A Godage publication
Reviewed by Trevor Ludowyke

Pakistan, an Islamic nation is home to a rich diversity of Buddhist treasures and takes pride in promoting religious tourism to areas where ancient civilisations left their mark. One may wonder if that was a myth. Buddhist civilisation in Pakistan? Buddhist statues in Pakistan? Perhaps we may recall the destruction of the famous Bamian statue in Afghanistan by the Taliban and wonder if Buddhist treasures could still be preserved in neighbouring Pakistan.

Many have only heard of Buddhist pilgrimages to India, to places such as Bodh Gaya where Prince Siddartha attained enlightenment, Kusinara where the Buddha attained Parinirvana or Lumbini in Nepal which is the birthplace of Prince Siddhartha. Buddhist pilgrimages to Pakistan is hardly heard of or mentioned in any of the tourism brochures promoting pilgrimages to Buddhist sites. The reason perhaps is because not many are aware of the numerous Buddhist ruins in Pakistan.

Buddhist art

Gadhara is one such treasure house that lies in the northwest of Pakistan and eastern Afghanistan. One would hardly believe that some of the unique Buddhist art could have originated there. Well, seeing is believing! So, that's what Chandana Wijekoon did. He set foot on the land of Pakistan on invitation by the High Commission of Pakistan in Sri Lanka and engaged in an exploratory journey in search of Buddhist ruins on the soil of an Islamic land. He wasn't disappointed. His expedition enabled him not only to see for himself these ruins of Buddhist art but also to engaged in an exchange of views with officials of the museums who explained in great detail the historical significance of these artifacts.

Expedition

The book titled Asirimath Gandhara (translated as The Glory that was Gandhara) written in Sinhala by Chandana Wijekoon is the result of his expedition. This is Chandana's second publication connected with Pakistan as he also wrote the Sinhala translation of an English book titled Lahore Fort – Pakistan's Glorious Heritage written by Pakistan Archaeological specialist Mahannad Ilyas Bhatti (1st Ed 2002).

In his new book the author explains to the reader in great detail the legacy of Gandharan Buddhism and its remarkable art. As you take his new book into your hands the reader's attention is immediately drawn to the cover picture which displays one of the most unique Buddhist sculptures found in Gadhara.

The author starts by exploring the ancient history of the Gandhara civilisation in his first chapter including its political history and goes on to explain the historical significance of the famous city of Taxila the once capital of Gandhara which was declared a UNESCO World Heritage site in 1980.

This extraordinary history makes Gandharan art of enduring importance to scholars of the east and the west particularly those pursuing Buddhist studies.

The second chapter expounds in great detail the uniqueness of Gandhara Buddhist art and more importantly the evolution of the Buddha statues and its development over a period of time and compares them with similar artefacts found in India and Sri Lanka.

According to this book, the Gandhara artists were highly influenced by Greco-Roman and Parthian art and sculpture. The reasons for these influences are explained in his introductory chapter where the author deals with the history of Gandhara and its ancient civilisation which consists of several traditions of art. These include the Mathura, Amarawathie traditions as well as the artistic traditions during the Guptha and Palasena periods.

Buddhist culture

His third and final chapter deals with the Gandhara as seen by the Fa-Hsien erudite Chinese Bhikkhu of the 4th century AD who traversed the lengths and breadths of Central Asia in search of Buddhist civilisations and wrote extensively on his expeditions and findings.

This chapter is very interesting as it takes the reader on a journey together with the Bhikkhu to those ancient Buddhist civilisation where both the Theravada and Mahayana Buddhism seemed to have co-existed. This chapter is full of information for the student of Buddhism on the evolution of Buddhist culture in the Asian region. This chapter is followed by two appendixes first of which is a collection of folk songs (Translated into Sinhala) expounding the beauty and glory of Gandhara and the next deals with the historical and Buddhist religious culture of Afghanistan and the significance of the Bamian Buddhist civilisation.

Several grey and white pictures of some of the treasures of Gandhara are also interspersed within the book which ends with a useful and informative list of related books.

Chandana Wijekoon is no stranger to the journalist fraternity nor to the discerning Sinhala readers, as he is a senior journalist who has shared his vast experiences primarily through good example as a mature and balanced journalist who strictly adheres to journalistic ethics and also published three invaluable books in Sinhala on the topic of journalism and mass media all of which are resourceful guidebooks to journalists of today. The publication of this book and his previous publication make this writer realise that although Chandana is not a historian or an archaeologist, he is a man of many parts.

As a senior journalist with several decades of experience behind him, Chandana has earned a reputation among readers as one of a rare breed among the esteemed members of the fourth estate, while as a writer he has excelled in communicating with his readers in a simple yet profound manner and has now done a wonderful job in sharing the wealth of his knowledge about the Buddhist treasures of Gandhara based on his personal expedition, it also reveals his latent talent of being an exciting historian and archaeology journalist. It is said that precious items come in small packages. This book certainly fits the bill; a treasuretrove for students of Buddhism and Buddhist culture, art and archaeology.

The writer holds a Master's degree in Development Studies and Public Policy and a Bachelors degree in Theology and Philosophy Rome.