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.


Chandana Wijekoon |
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.
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