The Ancient Buddhist Capital of Punjab, Taki also named Asarur (2018)

Following the footsteps of Alexander Cunningham 

Date of visit: - March 08, 2018

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Reference is taken from the book ‘The Ancient Geography of India’ by Sir Alexander Cunningham.

A few years back, I read notes of Sir Alexander Cunningham on Asarur the probable ancient Buddhist capital in Panjab before the Muhammadan period, which was visited by famous Chinese pilgrim Huen Tsang in 633 AD.

I want to visit this site of great historical importance for quite some time but know very little about the exact location of this place.  However, with this incomplete information about the location, I decided to visit Khanqah Dogran to find this site. Fortunately able to find it after a few hours of wandering and with help of a local's guidance. 

The View of Mound

Sir Alexander Cunningham was known as the father of the Archaeological Survey of India which he founded and served as the first director between 1861 to 1865. He spent sixty years in India in the Army and achieved distinction as an archaeologist and scholar of the ancient history and geography of India.

Cunningham was a keen student of Huen Tsang and Fa Hein(Chinese monks who came to India in the 7th and 5th centuries CE, respectively, in search of Buddhist scripture) and decided to retrace the journey of Huen Tsang to identify every single place mentioned by him.

His book, ‘The Ancient Geography of India’ refers here to India's Buddhist period up to the seventh century CE, during which time Buddhism was the subcontinent's dominant religion. In this work, he draws on material ranging from the campaigns of Alexander the Great to the travels of the seventh-century Buddhist pilgrim Huen Tsang, who recorded much about India's geographical, political, religious, and cultural landscape.

A mound near the modern village of Asarur (Now Khangah Dogran tahsil of Gujranwala District, Punjab has been identified by Cunningham as the site of the ancient capital of Panjab. It is visited by Hiuen Tsiang in 630 AD.

The city was then one of great importance and is said by the Chinese pilgrim to have been 3 miles in circuit, a measurement which agrees well enough with the ruins still existing. The antiquity claimed for the place is confirmed by a large number of bricks, 18 by 10 by 3 inches, which are found all over the ruins, and by the great numbers of Indo-Scythian coins discovered after heavy rain. Its history therefore indeed reaches back to the beginning of the Christian era. The ruins consist of an extensive mound, 15,600 feet, or nearly 3 miles, in the circuit. The highest point is in the northwest quarter, where the mound rises to 59 feet above the fields. This part, which Cunningham takes to have been the ancient palace, is 600 feet long and 400 feet broad, and quite regular in shape. It contains an old well, 21 feet in diameter, which has not been used for many years and is now dry. The place is surrounded by a line of large mounds about 25 feet in height, and 8,100 feet, or \\ miles, in the circuit, which were the strongholds or citadel of the place. The mounds are round and prominent, as the ruins of large towers or bastions. On the east and south sides of the citadel, the mass of ruins sinks to 10 and 15 feet in height, but it is twice the size of the citadel and is no doubt the remains of the old city.

The Mound where once citadel present 

Clearly can see old bricks in mound walls

Old Bricks of the Buddhist Era

Old Bricks of the Buddhist Era at the mound 

Debris at Mound

Another picture of Debris

Another Scene of Mound from fields

Mound

Mound

Mound

Mound

Most of  part of mound now converted into fields and residential areas of the village

Mound

An unknown Shrine was constructed on top of the Mound

Another view of Mound

There are no visible traces of any ancient buildings, as all the surface bricks have been long ago carried off to the neighboring shrine of Ugah Shah at Khangah Masrur on the road from Lahore to Pindf Bhattian; but among the old bricks forming the surrounding wall of the mosque, Cunningham found three molded in different patterns, which could only have belonged to buildings of some importance.

Mosque constructed of old bricks extracted from Ancient Mound. The mosque is not in used now

Another view of Mound 

View of Mosque from Inside

Another view of the Mosque 

Another View of Mosque 

Another View of Mosque 

Another View of Mosque 

He found also a wedge-shaped brick, 15 inches long and 3 inches thick. This must have been made for a stupa, or a well, but most probably for the latter, as the existing well is 2 1 feet in diameter. The modern village of Asarur contains only forty-five houses. At the time of Hiuen Tsiang's visit, there were ten monasteries, but very few Buddhists and the mass of the people worshipped the Brah- maniacal gods. North-east of the town, at 10 //, or nearly 2 miles, was a stupa of Asoka, 200 feet in height, which marked the spot where Buddha had halted, and which was said to contain a large number of his relics. This stupa General Cunningham identifies with the little mound of Salar, near Thatta Saiyidan, just 2 miles to the north of Asarur.

Hanuman Mandir Walled City Lahore (2020)

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HANUMAN MANDIR WALLED CITY LAHORE

Date of Visit of Site

2^nd February 2020

Title

HANUMAN KA MANDIR

Purpose

Hindu Worship Place

Location

Walled City Lahore, Inside Masti Gate

 Fatimah Jinnah College

On Jamdaran Gali

Year of Construction:  Unknown

Prior to the partition of British India in 1947, the Hindu community constituted the second-largest population in Lahore. During that time, the city had not expanded significantly beyond the periphery of the walled city of Lahore (WCL) and was home to numerous Hindu temples. However, in the present day, most of these temples and their adjacent properties have been illegally occupied. 

One such temple, named 'Hanuman ka Mandir,' is located inside 'Masti Gate' on 'Jamdaran Gali,' near Moti Bazaar. Hanuman, a prominent character from the Hindu epic Ramayana, was a Brahmachari (a lifelong celibate) and one of the Chiranjeevi. He is also mentioned in various other texts, including the epic Mahabharata and the Puranas.

Finding the location of this temple without a local guide can be quite challenging, as the main entrance is concealed behind the shops of the adjacent shoe market. A small stairway-like entrance leads to the structure of a two-story temple. Unfortunately, the current condition of the temple is deteriorated, and there is a risk of it collapsing at any time. The floor level of the temple is still four to five feet higher than the street level, indicating that it was constructed on a raised platform. On three sides of the temple, one can still observe rooms built using traditional Lahori bricks. After the partition of British India, not a single family remained in the walled city, and these rooms were left abandoned and occupied by impoverished families who had migrated from the other side of the border.

The structure comprises a single-story square "Sanctum," which was designed to house the deity. In the corners of the sanctum, squinches were constructed, filled with extended flower bouquet elements made of lime. However, these squinches have deteriorated over time. Surrounding the sanctum, there is an open assembly hall for devotees, known as "Ayatana" in Hindu terminology.

Above the square sanctum, the main temple features a curvilinear spire, commonly found in northern Indian shrines (Latinas). The construction of the curvilinear spire utilized smaller dimension bricks, which differ from those used on the ground floor of the temple.

One intriguing architectural feature of this temple is the construction of the Ardha Mandap (entrance porch), which has a small spire on its roof, resembling the pattern of the main spire.

A crowning ornament, known as "amalaka" in Hindu terminology, is missing from the top of the shikara. This ornament supports the embedded spire, which may have been gold-plated during the initial construction phase.

The temple is adorned with seven rathas, referred to as "saptaratha" in Hindi.

 On the external walls of the temple, one can observe double facet vertical offset projections, known as "ratha" in Hindu temple architecture. These rathas ascend from the base of the temple towards the superstructure. The corners of each ratha touch imaginary circles on the temple's plan centered on the murti (sacred image) in the sanctum. The sides of the rathas align along the primary horizontal axis of the temple.

These rooms must be used by devotees for dining and executing other religious activities.

Diji ji Takri (Mound) Kotdiji, Khairpur (2020)

KOT DIJI ARCHAEOLOGICAL SITE 

February 23, 2020
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The ancient site at Kot Diji was the forerunner of the Indus Civilization. The occupation of this site is attested already at 3300 BCE.

Situated fifteen miles south of the Town of Khairpur KotDiji is the earliest known ruin of the great Chaleolithic Civilization of the Indus Valley. Excavation at the prehistoric mound of Kot Diji has dismissed the long-held view that” the Indus Valley Civilization was a static an uninspired monument of ultra-Conservation.

In 1946 Sir Mortimer Wheeler discovered a distinct glass of ceramic below the defenses at Harappa which he considered of an insignificant nature and belonging to some alien people. The excavations conducted by Dr. F.A. Khan at Kot Diji proved that the “alien pottery below the massive defenses at Harappa, in fact, belonged to a distinct pre-Harappan Culture”.

The ancient Kot Diji comprised a citadel where the ruling class lived and an outer part of the city that was the dwelling of the common populace. Today the main axis of the 40 feet high mound runs from east to west and measures 600 feet in length and about 400 feet in breadth. 

Excavations, both vertical and horizontal, on the top and the eastern slope of the mound have provided a complete cross-section of the Kot Diji site, revealing valuable information about the cultural sequence, and the art and architectural details of the occupation phases. The excavations extend the prehistoric chronology by 300 years beyond the date of the beginning of Harappa.

The few upper layers of vertical digging represent a typical mature phase of the Indus Valley Civilization contemporary to the Harappan Culture. The underlying 17 feet thick cultural accumulation is separated from the superimposed Harappan levels by a thick layer of Charred material suggesting a holocaust and a temporary discontinuity in the chronology of the settlement. The levels of occupation below this plane represent the older culture of Kot Diji, distinguished by a peculiar type of ceramic industry.

In the upper levels of Kot Doji excavation the general characteristics of the pottery and their designs are the same as observed in the Harappan pottery, possibly with a few minor differences, but the typical Harappan pottery, possibly with a few minor differences, but the typical Harappan steatite seals and terracotta human and animal figurines are very rare only one steatite seal depicting the “unicorn” was found and three terracotta female (mother goddess) and a dozen of bull figurines were recovered.

Below the layer of charred material, the cultural finds represent the Kot Diji culture. The most distinctive feature of the pottery in these layers are the fine thin body, short beaded or slightly everted rim, fugitive, broad band round the neck in red, brown, sepia or warm black one to three inches wide, painted on a cream or dull red slip. It is wheel made and has no visible affinity with the normal Harappan were higher in texture, form, or decoration.

Small finds from the Kot Dijian level are very rare. Still, they provide evidence of a highly developed culture, and compared with the Harappan specimens, they show superiority in technical skill.

Excavation has clearly revealed the evidence of settled conditions when the Kot Dijians manufactured well-finished pottery and built their houses in mud bricks. The people of Harappan borrowed some of the decorative designs and motifs on pottery from the Kot Dijians and above and they learned they are of fortification from the Kot Dijians to which their fortified cities, Harappan and Mohenjodaro bear witness.

Jhukar-Jo-Daro (2020)

22 February, 2020

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Text taken from web

Jhukar-Jo-Daro is an archaeological site where Jhukar Phase was explored and it has been recorded that Harappan Phase came after or it is followed by Jhukar Culture. Some historians have revealed that Jhukar Phase partly covers or overlaps with the Harappan Phase but obviously persists much later. The remains of the late Harappan culture of the Chalcolithic period were discovered here at Jhukar-Jo-Daro.

The historical archaeological site of Jhukar Jo Daro – one of Larkana’s most significant ancient sites – is in danger of destruction as villagers nearby have started releasing sewage water into the ruins and sowing of paddy crops which has caused waterlogging and salinity issues.

Villagers of Mitho Dero said that during the rainy season, several old artifacts are found by the residents including gold coins which are either kept by them or are sold due to no knowledge of their importance. They said former Prime Minister Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto had ordered excavation but the work was left incomplete. They said they have sent many applications to the concerned higher authorities for building boundary wall around the Daro but no action has been taken. They also demanded preservation and excavation work so that hidden treasures could be revealed.

According to records, Jhukar Jo Daro is spread over a total of 33.39 acres of land, adding that he had written to Revenue Department to carry out demarcation..

The ancient Jhukar Jo Daro is located near village Mitho Dero on Indus Highway, about 10 kilometers away from Larkana and approximately 25 kilometers from the World Heritage monuments of Mohenjo Daro. No boundary wall has been constructed by Sindh Culture, Tourism, and Archaeology Department due to which habitual land grabbers have occupied its precious land.

No museum has so far been established by the Sindh Government to preserve Jhukar Jo Daro’s artifacts. The total area of Jhukar Jo Daro is estimated to be 1300 x 830 ft and consists of two parts; A and B, and distance between both parts is about 300 ft. This site was excavated and explored in 1928 by known archaeologist N. G. Majumdar but it was also seen previously by R. D. Banerji in 1918 who was of the view that there were signs of Buddha Stupa at the place.

Majumdar excavated both A and B areas and found rare artifacts. He presumed that these discoveries have some connections with other historical civilizations. He also discovered walls made of Katcha (mud) bricks which consisted of about 50 rooms which were cleaned. He found copper coins, stamps, and other valuables after the rooms were excavated. The flooring of the rooms was made of mud and with pucca bricks of the same size as those of Mohenjo Daro.

He also found a well that was also made of pucca bricks. Majumdar was sure that Jhukar Jo Daro had some connection with other such ancient sites including Mohenjo Daro, Harrapa. The pots found from this site have roping signs which are different from those excavated from Mohenjo Daro. He also found a statue of an ox, goat, and a pig. Moreover, he found toys including the wheels of an ox-cart. Majumdar mentioned names of all the materials which he discovered during an excavation in his book ‘Excavation in Sindh‘.

Ghanta Ghar, Sukkur (2020)

Ghanta Ghar - the clock tower is one of the most important landmarks in the city. Located in the center of the city, it is surrounded by Victoria Market, Mehran Markaz, hotels, and shopping malls. A Hindu businessman, Seth Wadho Mal Nebhau Mal Manjhari, constructed the tower to mark the silver jubilee of King George V. It was inaugurated by the then Collector of Sukkur, UM Mirchandani, in 1937.

It is 90 feet high with four clocks that marked the passage of time on four sides. Once upon a time, the sounds of the tower’s bells resounded throughout the city especially at night, when life slowed down and the buzz of daily life muted.

In 1937, it stood tall and alone with nothing but Victoria Market for the company but as time wore on, more and more buildings cropped up. Victoria Market, though, continues to stand in solidarity with the tower, still supplying poultry, vegetables, and fruits to people in Sukkur and adjoining areas.

In the early 1950s, around eight shops were constructed right around Ghanta Ghar, an affront to its colonial majesty. With more business and less attention to repair, the clock continued to be worn down. Finally, around 15 years ago the then municipal corporation of Sukkur decided to take charge. They demolished these shops and carried out the necessary repairs and renovation. An iron fence was put up around the tower to discourage encroachments. However, all four clocks of the tower have been stolen, leaving it vacant and silent.

Ghanta Ghar has always been at the center of things. Protests are staged outside it and religious parties host their events there as well.

Princess of Hope, Hingol national Park, Baluchistan (2020)

Princess of Hope is a natural rock formation that manifests a princess looking beyond horizons (maybe for hope). The sea breeze coming from the Arabian Sea has worked for many years an expert craftsman to carve this beautiful sculpture. Princess of Hope stands high in the mountain range along with Makran Coastal Highway.

The entire landscape is covered with gorges and mountains of mud and rock. Climatic changes, rain and strong winds coming from the sea have transformed these rocks into nicely sculpted objects – the Princess of Hope is just one of them.

The formation of Princess of Hope is so perfect that it appears to be a masterpiece of a skilled artisan who has made no mistake in transforming this rock into a princess. The name Princess of Hope was given by Hollywood actress Angelina Jolie on her visit to this area