Gandhāra was a land that is now situated partly in Afghanistan and mainly in Pakistan. In the last centuries BCE it was a focul point for Buddhism, through which the religion travelled into Central Asia, China and beyond. It was also one of the three main centres of Buddhist art at the time: Gandhāra, Mathura and Amarāvatī, and produced some of Buddhism’s most iconic images.
This film, which was made for German TV and dubbed into English, is a short overview of the region and its contribution to Buddhism. It features photographs of some of the Buddhist artworks, maps, and computer-generated recreations of monasteries and cities that prevailed in the area.
If you do not know much about Gandhāra or its contribution to Buddhism this will be a good short introduction that should whet your appetite to know more. Pakistan particularly is keen to develop their Buddhist heritage as a tourist attraction, and more people are in fact visiting the country these days.
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to see an album of screenshots click here
We never divided Gandahar between two lands. Ghandahara Civilization is an ancient part of the history of Ariana – Afghanistan, from Helmand to Kandahar, and Peshawar to Chitral.