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Paitava was a Buddhist monastery located in modern
Afghanistan, bodhisattva, regione di kapiça, monastero di paitava, II-III sec..JPG, Bodhisattva.
File:Miracle of Sravasti (detail)-6.jpg, Miracle of Sravasti (detail)
File:Miracle of Sravasti (detail)-4.jpg, Miracle of Sravasti (detail)
File:BuddhaWithHeraclesAndTychee.jpg, The Buddha with Heracles and Tychee (detail)
Afghanistan
Afghanistan, officially the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan,; prs, امارت اسلامی افغانستان is a landlocked country located at the crossroads of Central Asia and South Asia. Referred to as the Heart of Asia, it is bordere ...
. It was positioned together with Shotorak monastery around the city of Kapisa, 40 km north of Kabul
Kabul (; ps, , ; , ) is the capital and largest city of Afghanistan. Located in the eastern half of the country, it is also a municipality, forming part of the Kabul Province; it is administratively divided into 22 municipal districts. Acco ...
, which was the northern capital of the Kushan Empire
The Kushan Empire ( grc, Βασιλεία Κοσσανῶν; xbc, Κυϸανο, ; sa, कुषाण वंश; Brahmi: , '; BHS: ; xpr, 𐭊𐭅𐭔𐭍 𐭇𐭔𐭕𐭓, ; zh, 貴霜 ) was a syncretic empire, formed by the Yuezhi, i ...
. Beautiful sculptures of Buddhist donors in Kushan dress are known from this site. Several Kushan coins were found in the monastery, suggested an early Kushan occupation, but some of the Buddhist works, such as ''The Twin Miracle of Water and Fire'', may belong to the later period of the Kidarites
The Kidarites, or Kidara Huns, were a dynasty that ruled Bactria and adjoining parts of Central Asia and South Asia in the 4th and 5th centuries. The Kidarites belonged to a complex of peoples known collectively in India as the Huna, and in Euro ...
(320–467 CE).
Paitava was also 7 km from Begram
Bagram (; Pashto/ fa, بگرام) is a town and seat in Bagram District in Parwan Province of Afghanistan, about 60 kilometers north of the capital Kabul. It is the site of an ancient city located at the junction of the Ghorband and Panjshir V ...
. The monastery was visited by the 7th century Chinese pilgrim Xuan Zang
Xuanzang (, ; 602–664), born Chen Hui / Chen Yi (), also known as Hiuen Tsang, was a 7th-century Chinese Buddhist monk, scholar, traveler, and translator. He is known for the epoch-making contributions to Chinese Buddhism, the travelogue of ...
, who said it was near a large city named ''Si-pi-to-la-fasse'', the largest city in the Kapisa region.
Paitava, with Shorotak, have an artistic usage of representing the Buddha with fire emanating from the shoulders in the miracle of Sravasti
Shravasti ( sa, श्रावस्ती, translit=Śrāvastī; pi, 𑀲𑀸𑀯𑀢𑁆𑀣𑀻, translit=Sāvatthī) is a city and district headquarter of Shravasti district in Indian State of Uttar Pradesh. It was the capital of the an ...
, a feature also found on the effigies of Kushan kings on their coinage.
References
Buddhist monasteries in Asia Buddhism in Afghanistan {{Afghanistan-stub