The Sacred Rocks of Hunza or Haldeikish are one of the earliest sites of Petroglyphs along the ancient silk route. It is a cultural heritage site in Gilgit-Baltistan,

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 ...

. The carvings on the rocks dates back to the 1st Millennium AD. The rock is situated on a top of a hill which lies in east to the

Hunza River Hunza River ( ur, ) is the principal river of Hunza in Gilgit–Baltistan, Pakistan It is formed by the confluence of the Chapursan and Khunjerab ''nalas'' (gorges) which are fed by glaciers. It is joined by the Gilgit River and the Naltar ...

. The site is on the main

Karakoram Highway The Karakoram Highway ( ur, , translit=śāhirāh qarāquram; known by its initials KKH, also known as N-35 or National Highway 35 ( ur, ) or the China-Pakistan Friendship Highway) is a national highway which extends from Hasan Abdal in ...

(KKH) in between

Ganish village Ganish (also Ganesh) is a village in Pakistan. It is the oldest and first settlement on the ancient Silk Road in the Hunza Valley, and is the site of various ancient watchtowers, traditional mosques, religious centers, and a reservoir. It is ...

and

Attabad Lake Attabad Lake ( ur, ) is a lake located in the Gojal region of Hunza Valley in Gilgit−Baltistan, Pakistan. It was created in January 2010 as the result of a major landslide in Attabad. The lake has become one of the biggest tourist attra ...

. The rocks were once able to be approached by well-worn stone steps and contained a series of Buddhist cave shelters but with this mountainous areas extreme weather and the ravages of time they have fallen with only a few being preserved. The rocks are one of the major tourist attractions in Gilgit-Baltistan,

Location

The sacred rocks (Haldeikish) are situated between the

hunza river Hunza River ( ur, ) is the principal river of Hunza in Gilgit–Baltistan, Pakistan It is formed by the confluence of the Chapursan and Khunjerab ''nalas'' (gorges) which are fed by glaciers. It is joined by the Gilgit River and the Naltar ...

ands the

Karakorum highway The Karakoram Highway ( ur, , translit=śāhirāh qarāquram; known by its initials KKH, also known as N-35 or National Highway 35 ( ur, ) or the China-Pakistan Friendship Highway) is a national highway which extends from Hasan Abdal in ...

and a five minutes drive from the

UNESCO The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization is a specialized agency of the United Nations (UN) aimed at promoting world peace and security through international cooperation in education, arts, sciences and culture. It ...

enlisted village of

Ganish Ganish (also Ganesh) is a village in Pakistan. It is the oldest and first settlement on the ancient Silk Road in the Hunza Valley, and is the site of various ancient watchtowers, traditional mosques, religious centers, and a reservoir. It is l ...

. Near to the town of Karimabad in

Hunza Valley The Hunza Valley ( bsk, , Wakhi: '; ur, ) is a mountainous valley in the northern part of the Gilgit-Baltistan region of Pakistan, formed by the Hunza River, bordering Ishkoman to the northwest, Shigar to the southeast, Afghanistan's Wa ...

. The rock is 180 metres in length and 9 metres at their highest point, the Sacred Rocks of Hunza consist of four main boulders with two stages/Portions of rock engravings and carvings. It is easily accessible from the

which connects Pakistan with China. It is an isolated rock which is further divided into two portions.

Haldeikish

The name Haldeikish translates to ‘a place of many male Ibex’, with engravings of Ibex scattered along the rock faces, a message to all travellers that wild Ibex were plentiful in this area. Haldeikish has thousands of petroglyphs in Bactrian , Sogdian,

Kharoshti The Kharoṣṭhī script, also spelled Kharoshthi (Kharosthi: ), was an ancient Indo-Iranian script used by various Aryan peoples in north-western regions of the Indian subcontinent, more precisely around present-day northern Pakistan and e ...

Tibetan Tibetan may mean: * of, from, or related to Tibet * Tibetan people, an ethnic group * Tibetan language: ** Classical Tibetan, the classical language used also as a contemporary written standard ** Standard Tibetan, the most widely used spoken dial ...

Chinese Chinese can refer to: * Something related to China * Chinese people, people of Chinese nationality, citizenship, and/or ethnicity **''Zhonghua minzu'', the supra-ethnic concept of the Chinese nation ** List of ethnic groups in China, people of ...

and

Brahmi Brahmi (; ; ISO: ''Brāhmī'') is a writing system of ancient South Asia. "Until the late nineteenth century, the script of the Aśokan (non-Kharosthi) inscriptions and its immediate derivatives was referred to by various names such as 'lath' ...

written by the Silk Routes 'many' travellers. These petroglyphs show the diverse cultural exchange that once passed through the Hunza region and help us to understand the history of this entire region from the first millennium CE.

Specifications

The Sacred Rock is divided into two portions, an upper portion and a lower one. Both the portions carry carvings on them which are basically inscriptions and images from Pre-Historic era. There used to be many Buddhist shelter caves in ancient times which later collapsed or fell over the time only some being preserved.

Upper Portion

The upper portion of the rock consist of inscriptions which are carved in Sogdian, Kharosthi, Brahmi, Sarada and Proto Sarada languages. The names of the Emperors of the Kushan Empire

Kanishka Kanishka I (Sanskrit: कनिष्क, '; Greco-Bactrian: Κανηϸκε ''Kanēške''; Kharosthi: 𐨐𐨞𐨁𐨮𐨿𐨐 '; Brahmi: '), or Kanishka, was an emperor of the Kushan dynasty, under whose reign (c. 127–150 CE) the empire ...

and

Huvishka Huvishka (Kushan: Οοηϸκι, ''Ooēški'', Brahmi: ', '; Kharosthi: 𐨱𐨂𐨬𐨅𐨮𐨿𐨐 ', ') was the emperor of the Kushan Empire from the death of Kanishka (assumed on the best evidence available to be in 150 CE) until the successio ...

appear in these inscriptions. The name of the Trukha King Ramadusa is also mentioned in inscriptions which are carved in the

Brahmi script Brahmi (; ; ISO: ''Brāhmī'') is a writing system of ancient South Asia. "Until the late nineteenth century, the script of the Aśokan (non-Kharosthi) inscriptions and its immediate derivatives was referred to by various names such as 'lath' ...

Lower Portion

The lower portion is engraved by the images of

Ibex An ibex (plural ibex, ibexes or ibices) is any of several species of wild goat (genus ''Capra''), distinguished by the male's large recurved horns, which are transversely ridged in front. Ibex are found in Eurasia, North Africa and East Africa ...

es. These ibexes are shown in different situations, including being hunted. The carvings also contain Horned-Human deities playing with the ibexes. The carvings of the Ibexes are a proof of the ibex being an animal which holds cultural importance to Buddhists as well as to the region in ancient times. One of the carvings also shows the image of an ancient Chinese King. Some carvings show a Tibetan styled Stupa.

Inscription mentioning Chandragupta II

The inscription mentioning Chandragupta II of

Gupta empire The Gupta Empire was an ancient Indian empire which existed from the early 4th century CE to late 6th century CE. At its zenith, from approximately 319 to 467 CE, it covered much of the Indian subcontinent. This period is considered as the Gold ...

reads ''Chandra Sri Vikramaditya conquers’' with a date corresponding to 419 AD. If Chandra is identified with Chandragupta, it appears that Chandragupta marched through the

Punjab region Punjab (; Punjabi: پنجاب ; ਪੰਜਾਬ ; ; also romanised as ''Panjāb'' or ''Panj-Āb'') is a geopolitical, cultural, and historical region in South Asia, specifically in the northern part of the Indian subcontinent, comprising a ...

, and advanced up to the country of the Vahlikas, that is, Balkh in present-day Afghanistan. The Sanskrit inscriptions at the Sacred Rock of Hunza, written in Gupta script, mention the name Chandra. A few of these inscriptions also mention the name Harishena, and one particular inscription mentions Chandra with the epithet "Vikramaditya". Based on the identification of "Chandra" with Chandragupta, and Harishena with the Gupta courtier

Harishena Harishena () was the last known ruler of the Vatsagulma branch of the Vakataka dynasty The Vakataka dynasty () was an ancient Indian dynasty that originated from the Deccan in the mid-3rd century CE. Their state is believed to have extende ...

, these inscriptions can be considered as further evidence of a Gupta military campaign in the area. However, this identification is not certain, and Chandra of the Hunza inscriptions could have well been a local ruler.

Preservation

The Sacred Rock of Hunza is a Cultural Heritage Site of Pakistan and is currently well preserved but still some the carvings carrying inscriptions are effected due to aging. There were many Buddhist shelter caves which fell over time and only few being preserved. Commissioner of Northern Areas of Pakistan and Director of Archaeology are responsible for the preservation of the site, both acting under the

Government of Pakistan The Government of Pakistan ( ur, , translit=hakúmat-e pákistán) abbreviated as GoP, is a federal government established by the Constitution of Pakistan as a constituted governing authority of the four provinces, two autonomous territorie ...

. Due to recent flooding in

the site faces extreme danger in future.

References

Bibliography

* * {{Cultural heritage sites in Gilgit-Baltistan , state=autocollapse Archaeological sites in Gilgit-Baltistan History of Gilgit-Baltistan Tourist attractions in Gilgit-Baltistan Sacred rocks