Shotorak monastery, at Kuh-i Pahlawan,

Kapisa Province Kapisa (Pashto/Dari: ) is the smallest of Afghanistan's thirty-four provinces and is located in the north-east of the country. It has an estimated population of 496,840 people and an area of , making it the most densely populated province apa ...

, is an ancient monastery located in modern

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 bord ...

. It was positioned together with Paitava 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. Ac ...

, 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 ...

. Beautiful sculptures of Buddhist donors in Kushan dress are known from this site. 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. File:Buddha triad monk layman Guimet MG21157.jpg, Shakyamuni and devotees. File:Miracle at Shravasti Guimet MG18692.jpg, Maitreya's paradise, Shotorak, 2-3rd century CE. File:Afghanistan, adoraz. del turbante e girali di vite, regione di kapiça, monastero di shotorak, II-III sec..JPG Afghanistan, pennacchio con animale fantastico, regione di kapiça, monastero di shotorak, II-III sec..JPG Afghanistan, grande miracolo di sravasti, regione di kapiça, monastero di shotorak, II-III sec..JPG Afghanistan, punto d'appoggio con leone, regione di kapiça, monastero di shotorak, II-III sec..JPG Afghanistan, framm con predicaz. di buddha dipankara, regione di kapiça, monastero di shotorak, II-III sec..JPG

References

Kapisa Province Buddhist monasteries in Asia Buddhism in Afghanistan {{Buddhism-stub