Mankiala (; also known as Manikyala and Manikiyala) is a village in the Potohar plateau, Punjab near

Rawalpindi Rawalpindi is the List of cities in Punjab, Pakistan by population, third-largest city in the Administrative units of Pakistan, Pakistani province of Punjab, Pakistan, Punjab. It is a commercial and industrial hub, being the list of cities in P ...

Pakistan Pakistan, officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by population, fifth-most populous country, with a population of over 241.5 million, having the Islam by country# ...

, known for the nearby Mankiala stupa – a

Buddhist Buddhism, also known as Buddhadharma and Dharmavinaya, is an Indian religion and List of philosophies, philosophical tradition based on Pre-sectarian Buddhism, teachings attributed to the Buddha, a wandering teacher who lived in the 6th or ...

stupa In Buddhism, a stupa (, ) is a domed hemispherical structure containing several types of sacred relics, including images, statues, metals, and '' śarīra''—the remains of Buddhist monks or nuns. It is used as a place of pilgrimage and m ...

located at the site where, according to legend,

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 legends, he was ...

sacrificed some of his body parts to feed seven hungry tiger cubs.

Location

Mankiala is located 36 km southeast of

Islamabad Islamabad (; , ; ) is the capital city of Pakistan. It is the country's tenth-most populous city with a population of over 1.1 million and is federally administered by the Pakistani government as part of the Islamabad Capital Territory. Bu ...

, Mankiala stupa is located in the village of Tope Mankiala, near the place name of Sagri, 2nd near village of Dhakala and 3rd near village of Sahib Dhamyal. It is 36 km southeast of Islamabad, and near the city of Rawalpindi. It is visible from the nearby historic Rawat Fort.Islamabad Tourist Treasures, Government of Pakistan, Islamabad Pg 1 It is situated along the '' Kallar Syedan'' Road.

Etymology

The town is said to be named after ''Raja Man'' or ''Manik'', who is said to have built the village's stupa during the Buddhist era. The village is said to have been previously known as ''Manikpur'' or ''Maniknagar'', and was capital of the ancient Hindu ''

Rakshasa Rākshasa (, , ; ; "preservers") are a race of usually malevolent beings prominently featured in Hinduism, Buddhism, Jainism and Folk Islam. They reside on Earth but possess supernatural powers, which they usually use for evil acts such as ...

s''. However, archaeological evidence does not support the conclusion that Manikpur was the capital of the ''Rakshasas'', and that the village's ruins were built during the Buddhist-era.

Background

Mankiala Stupa is a

Gandhara Gandhara () was an ancient Indo-Aryan people, Indo-Aryan civilization in present-day northwest Pakistan and northeast Afghanistan. The core of the region of Gandhara was the Peshawar valley, Peshawar (Pushkalawati) and Swat valleys extending ...

era stupa built in the nearby village of Tope Mankiala to memorialize the place where, according to legend, an earlier incarnation of Buddha sacrificed some of his body parts or his entire body to feed seven hungry tiger cubs.

History

Mankiala dates from the Gandharan era, around 2000 years ago. The village had been previously described as the former grand capital of the mythological ''

s'', though no archaeological evidence supports the theory of Mankiala serving as an ancient Hindu capital, and instead suggests that the area's ruins date from the

period. The settlement during the Buddhist era may have consisted of approximately 2,000 homes, interspersed with monasteries and 15 stupas. The archaeological site is believed to be on the same hillock where the modern village now stands. Mankiala's stupa was built in the reign of

Kanishka Kanishka I, also known as Kanishka the Great, was an emperor of the Kushan dynasty, under whose reign (–150 CE) the empire reached its zenith. He is famous for his military, political, and spiritual achievements. A descendant of Kujula Kadp ...

(128-151 CE). The ancient settlement is believed to have been destroyed by fire, though there is no indication that it was purposely destroyed. Mountstuart Elphinstone, the first British emissary to

Afghanistan Afghanistan, officially the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan, is a landlocked country located at the crossroads of Central Asia and South Asia. It is bordered by Pakistan to the Durand Line, east and south, Iran to the Afghanistan–Iran borde ...

chanced upon this stupa in 1808 AD and penned a detailed account in his memoir 'Kingdom of Caubul' (1815). According to an inscription on a stone the stupa was restored in 1891 by a regiment of the

British Indian Army The Indian Army was the force of British Raj, British India, until Indian Independence Act 1947, national independence in 1947. Formed in 1895 by uniting the three Presidency armies, it was responsible for the defence of both British India and ...

. Raja Usman was architect.

Relics from stupa

Mankiala stupa's relic deposits were removed from the site during British colonial rule, and are now housed in the

British Museum The British Museum is a Museum, public museum dedicated to human history, art and culture located in the Bloomsbury area of London. Its permanent collection of eight million works is the largest in the world. It documents the story of human cu ...

. Many were found by Jean-Baptiste Ventura in 1830 between 10 and 20 metres below the top of the dome. They were at one stage owned by the celebrated antiquarian

James Prinsep James Prinsep (20 August 1799 – 22 April 1840) was an English scholar, Orientalism, orientalist and antiquary. He was the founding editor of the ''Journal of the Asiatic Society of Bengal'' and is best remembered for deciphering the Kharost ...

.The British Museum Collection
/ref> The mouth of the stupa has a gaping hole as a result of excavations by relic hunters in the past. It now has a barrier around it for safety reasons.

Transportation

Road

Nearest entrance to reach Mankiala stupa − Stupa is located along the ''G.T. Road ( "Sagri More"'' about more than one k.m. distance'')'', ''Sagri More'' on G.T Road and is about 7 k.m. from Rawat Fort . Mankiala Country-District Islamabad

Rail

Mankiala railway station is served by the Karachi–Peshawar Railway Line.

References

{{Neighbourhoods of Rawalpindi Populated places in Rawalpindi District Stupas in Pakistan Buddhist sites in Pakistan