Jaulian ( ur, جولیاں; meaning ''Seat of Saints'') is a ruined
Buddhist
Buddhism ( , ), also known as Buddha Dharma and Dharmavinaya (), is an Indian religion or philosophical tradition based on teachings attributed to the Buddha. It originated in northern India as a -movement in the 5th century BCE, and ...
monastery dating from the 2nd century
CE, located in
Taxila, in
Pakistan
Pakistan ( ur, ), officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan ( ur, , label=none), is a country in South Asia. It is the world's fifth-most populous country, with a population of almost 243 million people, and has the world's second-lar ...
.
Jaulian, along with the nearby monastery at
Mohra Muradu
Mohra Muradu ( ur, ) is the place of an ancient Buddhist stupa and monastery near the ruins of Taxila, in the Punjab province of Pakistan. The ancient monastery is located in a valley and has views of the surrounding mountains. The monks coul ...
, form part of the
Ruins of Taxila
Taxila or Takshashila (; sa, तक्षशिला; pi, ; , ; , ) is a city in Punjab, Pakistan. Located in the Taxila Tehsil of Rawalpindi District, it lies approximately northwest of the Islamabad–Rawalpindi metropolitan area an ...
– a collection of excavations that were inscribed as a
UNESCO World Heritage Site
A World Heritage Site is a landmark or area with legal protection by an international convention administered by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO). World Heritage Sites are designated by UNESCO for ...
in 1980.
Location
Jaulian is located on a hill 100 metres above the nearby modern village of Jaulian. The cities of
Rawalpindi and
Islamabad
Islamabad (; ur, , ) is the capital city of Pakistan. It is the country's ninth-most populous city, with a population of over 1.2 million people, and is federally administered by the Pakistani government as part of the Islamabad Capital ...
are approximately 35 km and 45 km to the southeast, respectively and situated near Khanpur Taxila road; a picnic place near Khanpur Dam. Jaulian is located near the
Mohra Muradu
Mohra Muradu ( ur, ) is the place of an ancient Buddhist stupa and monastery near the ruins of Taxila, in the Punjab province of Pakistan. The ancient monastery is located in a valley and has views of the surrounding mountains. The monks coul ...
monastery, and the ancient Taxilan city of
Sirsukh
Sirsukh ( ur, سر سکھ) is an ancient city that forms part of the ruins at Taxila, near the modern day city of Taxila, Punjab, Pakistan.
City
The city of Sirsukh is said to have been founded during the Kushan era after 80 CE, and is the last ...
. Moreover, Piplan Remains, Badalpur Stupa and Jinnah Wali Dheri Stupa are nearby places.
History
Jaulian was built in the 2nd-century CE – around the same time as the nearby
Mohra Muradu
Mohra Muradu ( ur, ) is the place of an ancient Buddhist stupa and monastery near the ruins of Taxila, in the Punjab province of Pakistan. The ancient monastery is located in a valley and has views of the surrounding mountains. The monks coul ...
Jaulian, along with the rest of
Ancient Taxila, was devastated in the 450s CE during the invasion of the
White Huns, and later abandoned. Subsequent rulers, such as the Hun King ''
Mihirakula
Mihirakula (Gupta script: , ''Mi-hi-ra-ku-la'', Chinese: 摩酰逻矩罗 ''Mo-hi-lo-kiu-lo''), sometimes referred to as Mihiragula or Mahiragula, was the second and last Alchon Hun king of northwestern region of the Indian subcontinent betwee ...
'', persecuted the region's Buddhists,
and the site never recovered.
Excavations
The ruins at Jaulian are situated on a hill top, and consist of: a main central stupa, 27 peripheral smaller stupas, 59 small chapels displaying scenes from the life of
Buddha
Siddhartha Gautama, most commonly referred to as the Buddha, was a wandering ascetic and religious teacher who lived in South Asia during the 6th or 5th century BCE and founded Buddhism.
According to Buddhist tradition, he was born in L ...
, and two
quadrangles around which monastic living quarters were arranged. The form and building of Jaulian is similar to that of the nearby
Mohra Muradu
Mohra Muradu ( ur, ) is the place of an ancient Buddhist stupa and monastery near the ruins of Taxila, in the Punjab province of Pakistan. The ancient monastery is located in a valley and has views of the surrounding mountains. The monks coul ...
.
[
]
Main stupa
The main stupa at Jaulian was much smaller than that of Mohra Muradu or the Dharmarajika Stupa
The Dharmarajika Stupa ( ur, ), also referred to as the Great Stupa of Taxila, is a Buddhist stupa near Taxila, Pakistan. It was built over the relics of the Buddha by Ashoka in the 3rd century BCE. The stupa, along with the large monastic c ...
,[ and is badly damaged. It was extensively coated in stucco plaster, as are almost all the sculptures and architectural details.][ Despite the use of an easily moldable material, the quality of decoration at Jaulian is considered to be less impressive than that of Mohra Muradu.][ The original plaster is preserved at some places.
The main stupa is surrounded by 21 smaller "votive stupas" that contained religious iconography – though some posit that some of the votive stupas were actually built as tombs for revered monks. The statues located in the votive stupas are mostly preserved; though a number of have been removed and are housed in museums.the original fabric of the main stupa itself which stands in the middle of the upper court
A statue of Buddha in a votive stupa with a hole in the navel was called the "Healing Buddha". Pilgrims would put their fingers in the icon's navel, and pray for cures of various ailment. A 5th century inscription preserved under the statue shows that it was given by a friar ''Budhamitra Dharmanandin''.]
Monastery
The monastery at Jaulian is similar to that of nearby Mohra Muradu
Mohra Muradu ( ur, ) is the place of an ancient Buddhist stupa and monastery near the ruins of Taxila, in the Punjab province of Pakistan. The ancient monastery is located in a valley and has views of the surrounding mountains. The monks coul ...
.[ Jaulian monastery was a two-level building that contained 28 students' rooms on the first floor, and 28 more on the second floor. The two levels are connected by stone stairs which are still preserved. Some of the rooms contain preserved statues of the Buddha. Each room had a ]niche
Niche may refer to:
Science
*Developmental niche, a concept for understanding the cultural context of child development
*Ecological niche, a term describing the relational position of an organism's species
*Niche differentiation, in ecology, the ...
to hold lamps, and a window offering a source of fresh air and natural light. The windows were designed to be narrower at the outer edge, of and larger at the inner edge in order guard against wild animals. The rooms were plaster
Plaster is a building material used for the protective or decorative coating of walls and ceilings and for moulding and casting decorative elements. In English, "plaster" usually means a material used for the interiors of buildings, while "re ...
ed and decorated with plasterwork and paintings.
As was common at other large monasteries in the Gandhara region such as Takht-i-Bahi
Takht-i-Bahi ( Persian/ ur, , translation=throne of the water spring), is an Indo-Parthian archaeological site of an ancient Buddhist monastery in Mardan, Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa, Pakistan. The site is considered among the most important relics of Bu ...
and Dharmarajika
The Dharmarajika Stupa ( ur, ), also referred to as the Great Stupa of Taxila, is a Buddhist stupa near Taxila, Pakistan. It was built over the relics of the Buddha by Ashoka in the 3rd century BCE. The stupa, along with the large monastic c ...
, a section of the monastery was set aside specifically for the production of Buddhist manuscripts, typically on birch
A birch is a thin-leaved deciduous hardwood tree of the genus ''Betula'' (), in the family Betulaceae, which also includes alders, hazels, and hornbeams. It is closely related to the beech- oak family Fagaceae. The genus ''Betula'' contains ...
bark,[ a highly perishable material.
The monastery further contained a large pool that was used for washing, and a kitchen. A stone for grinding spices is well- preserved at the site, as well as two stone mills that were used to grind grains.
]
Gallery
Image:Jaulian_taxila.jpg, A view of the Jaulian ruins
Image:JaulianTomb.JPG, A votive Stupa at Jaulian
Image:JaulianNavel.JPG, "Healing Buddha," Buddha with a navel hole
Image:JaulianInscription.JPG, An inscription under a statue at Jaulian
Jaulian Monastery foreigner.jpg, Devotee in foreign dress (Indo-Scythian
Indo-Scythians (also called Indo-Sakas) were a group of nomadic Iranian peoples of Scythian origin who migrated from Central Asia southward into modern day Pakistan and Northwestern India from the middle of the 2nd century BCE to the 4th centur ...
)
Image:JaulianStairs.JPG, Stairs to the second floor
Image:JaulianWindow.JPG, The window of a students room
Image:JaulianPool.JPG, The pool for ritual washings
Jaulian Stupa A11 reliquary.jpg, Stupa-shaped reliquary from Jaulian
Image:JaulianMill2.JPG, A mill for grinding grains
Image:JaulianTaxilaSilverReliquaryAndContent.jpg, A silver reliquary recovered from Jaulian, now on display at the British Museum
The British Museum is a public museum dedicated to human history, art and culture located in the Bloomsbury area of London. Its permanent collection of eight million works is among the largest and most comprehensive in existence. It docum ...
Taxila map.jpg, Jaulian is located to the northeast of Sirkap
See also
* List of archaeological sites and monuments in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa
References
External links
Google images of the site
{{Cultural heritage sites in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa , state=expanded
Buddhist monasteries in Pakistan
Former populated places in Pakistan
World Heritage Sites in Pakistan
Ruins in Pakistan
Ruined abbeys and monasteries
Archaeological sites in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa
2nd-century Buddhism
2nd-century religious buildings and structures