As a Traveller, when you step into Takshashila, you will experience a different world that existed in the 5th century. When you come here, you will feel that Lord Buddha, Alexander of Macedonia, Emperor Ashoka and Emperor Kanishka are all present in front of you.
Takshashila was captured by Sikandar (Alexander) in 327 BC and later came under the rule of the Maurya Dynasty. During the reign of King Ashoka, the city touched the pinnacle in terms of development. Thereafter Takshashila witnessed the most creative period of Gandhara rule. Over the next 200 years Takshashila became a center of great learning. But as it is the law of creation for everything to eventually perish, the Buddhist monasteries and many stupas at Takshashila were largely destroyed by the Hephthalites (nomadic confederacies in Central Asia) and the city never flourished thereafter.
Exploring Takshashila is a great experience in itself. You will find Gandhara sculptures, endless images of Lord Buddha and the amazing ruins of Takshashila. The ruins are well preserved. You can see beautifully designed streets, houses, stupas and grand palaces etc. here.
Historically, Takshashila is a place of great importance to Hindus and Buddhists and is currently an important archaeological site. Before partition, Takshashila was located in India, but now it is in Rawalpindi District of Punjab, Pakistan. Takshashila is one of the best tourist destinations in Pakistan. In the 1920s, Takshashila was excavated by Sir John Hubert Marshall (British archaeologist), who was the Director General of the Archaeological Survey of India (1902–31) at the time of the excavations.
The ruins of Takshashila can be divided into three parts or large cities and these parts belonged to different time periods. The oldest city site of Takshashila is Bhir Tila, which dates back to the 6th century BC. Its irregular roads make it look very ancient. The city of Sirkap, located above the Tamara River, was built in the 2nd century BC. It is a well-planned city. The roads here are wide and the fortifications look very strong and impressive. The Kushan rulers built the last city, Takshashila, which is located in Sirsakh. Although it has not been fully excavated, it is still a well-built city.
In addition, there are many structural remains of Takshashila, including the Jandiyal and Pippala temples, the Mohra Moradu and Jauliyan monasteries, and the Kuna Stupa. But it seems that they are still waiting for further excavation.
It usually takes less than a full day to visit all these historical sites. But if you can arrange a stay, also visit the Dharmarajika Stupa, located about three kilometers from the Takshashila Museum. This stupa also has a main building, a monastery area and several small temples. During the excavation, many gems, gold and silver coins were unearthed from this place, which are now kept in the Takshashila Museum.
Related Legends
Various historical discoveries have found that Takshashila may date back to the period of 5th century BC. According to the Indian epic Ramayana, the city of Takshashila got its name from the word Taksha. Taksha was the son of Bharat and Mandavi. Bharat was the brother of Lord Rama. It is believed that Taksha was the founder of the city of Takshashila and the first ruler of the Taksha Khanda Empire.
But there is another story behind Takshashila, which was told by Damodar Dharmanand Kosambi. According to this story, this name is closely related to Takshak, which means 'carpenter' in Sanskrit. In ancient India it was another name given to the Nagas.
Takshashila is described in the Buddhist literature Jataka, which was written in Sri Lanka around the 5th century. In this text, Takshashila is mentioned as the capital of the Gandhara kingdom and a great center of learning.
Then there came Faxian, a Chinese monk who visited Takshashila in 450 AD and his travels are mentioned in his writings. Another famous Chinese monk, Hiuen Tsang, also visited Takshashila during his visit to India in 630-643 AD.
Famous Takshashila University
The city was very popular because of Takshashila University, a famous center for education in ancient India. The ruins of the university now lie twenty miles from the modern city of Rawalpindi. At the time the university was functional, around 10,500 students from different parts of India and around the world studied there. In this university, more than sixty different subjects were taught, including science, medicine, mathematics, astronomy, music, philosophy, religion, etc. But in this university medicine study was the most advanced. In the university, the student got admission at the age of sixteen. Although this university was not as integrated as the University of Nalanda, Bihar, students used to stay here along with their teachers to receive education. Students either paid for their stay there or provided services to the teacher and his family.
Chanakya (Kautilya) was an advisor to Chandragupta Maurya and a teacher in this university. Takshashila provided many brilliant minds like Panini (the great Sanskrit grammarian), Chandragupta Maurya (the great ruler), Kautilya (Chanakya) and Charaka (a popular physician of ancient India), to India.
Taxila (Takshashila) was famous as a Buddhist center during the reign of Ashoka. During his reign, Ashoka built several roads for trade and a main road connected Takshashila with Pataliputra.
Takshila Museum
Apart from the ruins, there is the Archaeological Museum, Taxila Museum, a must visit place. A collection of coins, gems, jewellery, safes and many other artefacts are displayed here. But the main attraction of the museum is the stone and plaster – an exquisite Gandhara sculpture. Apart from this there is also a magnificent collection of different forms of Lord Buddha.
If you want to visit Taxila, take a taxi for a day, as the entire site is really huge. You can also take a local guide, as the guide can point out attractive features and also explain the historical importance of the place.
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