Archaeology of Lahual Region, Himachal Pradesh
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Archaeology of Lahual Region, Himachal Pradesh Ankush Gupta1 1. Department of Ancient Indian History, Culture and Archaeology, Panjab University, Sector 14, Chandigarh – 160 014, Punjab, India (Email: [email protected]) Received: 30 July 2019; Revised: 13 September 2019; Accepted: 20 October 2019 Heritage: Journal of Multidisciplinary Studies in Archaeology 7 (2019): 867-874 Abstract: Lahaul is a subdivision of Lahual and Spiti is a district, located in the state of Himachal Pradesh, situated between 31° 44' 57'' and 32° 59' 57'' north latitude and between 76° 46' 29'' and 78° 41' 34'' east longitude. Lahaul is an important center of Tibetan Buddhism. Tibetan Buddhism is also known as Vajrayana Buddhism or Tantric Buddhism. Tibetan branch of Buddhism was introduced in Lahaul in the ninth and tenth century through Tibet. There some Buddhist Sculptures and carvings at various places in Lahaul region, belonging to the early Buddhism. These carvings and sculptures are heritage of Buddhist history of the region. These sculptures are located on the route, which was used both by the travelers or missionaries in the ancient times. It is difficult to say, how and when Buddhism introduced in the region, but these sculptures are the proof that, the region of Lahaul was under the influence of Buddhism prior to 9th-10th century. Present paper is mainly focus on the literary and archaeological evidence to trace the introduction of Buddhism in Lahaul and Spiti. Keywords: Archaeology, Buddhism, Lahual, Rinchen Zangpo, Padmasambhava, Monasteries, Sculptures Introduction Lahaul is a sub-division of Lahual and Spiti is a district, located in the state of Himachal Pradesh, situated between 31° 44' 57'' and 32° 59' 57'' north latitude and between 76° 46' 29'' and 78° 41' 34'' east longitude. The total area of district is 13,833 square kilometers. It is the biggest district of Himachal Pradesh with least population. According to the 2011 census report Lahaul and Spiti district has a population of 31,528 (District Census 2011). Its borders meet with Ladakh and Baltistan of Jammu Kashmir State in the north, the international border of Tibet (China) and Kinnaur in the east, Kinnaur and Kullu in the south east, and Chamba and Kangra in the west. Geographically, Lahaul and Spiti are two different river valleys of Himachal Pradesh (Harcourt 1871) and in 1960 both regions were put together to form a district. Lahaul and Spiti is an important center of Tibetan Buddhism. Tibetan Buddhism is also known as Vajrayana Buddhism or Tantric Buddhism. It is one of three vehicles of Buddhism; other two are the Hinayana and Mahayana. Tibetan Buddhism was introduced in Lahaul and Spiti in the time of Rinchen Zangpo, which is further divided in sects and ISSN 2347 – 5463 Heritage: Journal of Multidisciplinary Studies in Archaeology 7: 2019 sub sects. There are four major sects of Tibetan Buddhism: Nyimgma, Kargyud, Sakya, Geluk. For the Buddhist people of Lahual and Spiti, these Gonpa or monasteries are the main cultural and religious centers. One can find many stupas, locally called at Chorten (Figure 1) on boundaries of each village. Some are hundred years old; some are renovated, and others are recently built by locals. Figure 1: Chorten or Stupas Figure 2: Sculptures, Keylong Figure 3: Carving on Rock, Kardang Tibetan branch of Buddhism was introduced in Lahaul in the ninth and tenth century through Tibet. The dominant Buddhist sect in the region is Kargyupa. But on the basis of some recent archaeological finding, that the Indian branch of Buddhism was introduced in the Lahaul valley through Zanskar prior to Tibetan Buddhism. The date 868 Gupta 2019: 867-874 of introduction of Buddhism in the valley can be pushed back to First and second century AD. It is difficult to say, how and when Buddhism introduced in the region. But, on basis of archaeological and literary evidence it is proved that adjoining region to Lahaul and Spiti was under the influence of Buddhism around 3rd century CE. The Mahavamsa and Dipavamsa prove that the great Mauryan emperor Asoka sent Buddhist missionaries under the leadership of Majjyantika (Wilhelm Geiger 1912) to Kashmir and adjoining area for the propagation of Buddhism. In 1909CE a Kharoshti inscription reported by Moravian missionary A.H Francke at Khaltse (1926). This inscription mentions the name of the Kushan ruler Wima Kadphises. In the first century AD king Kanishka hosted the fourth Buddhist council at Kundalvana and sent five hundred Buddhist missionaries to Tibet via Zanskar, for the propagation of Mahayana, a newly formed branch of Buddhism. According to literary evidence of Chinese travelers and numismatic sources, Kullu and Kangra region was under the sway of Buddhism (Samuel Beal 1969). There some Buddhist sculptures at various places in Lahaul region, belonging to the early Buddhism. These sculptures are mainly of Manjushri, Padampani, Maitreya Buddha and Sakyamuni Buddha. These sculptures are found from Lower Keylong, Kardang, Khangsar, Kolang and Gondala. Keylong and Kardang are situated in Ghar valley, Khangsar and Kolang are in Tod valley and Gondhla is in Tinan valley. Some of these sculptures are also published in the work of J.Hutchison and J.Ph.Vogel. List of Archaeological evidence in Lahaul valley: Figure 4: Damaged Sculpture, Kardang Figure 5: Damaged Sculpture, Kardang Lower Keylong: Keylong is the district headquarter of Lahaul subdivision. The sculptures (Figure 2) are standing in front of a house in lower Keylong. The location of the sculptures is North 32°.57`24``, East 77°02`28``. There are two free standing sculptures. One is around 7 feet in height and the other is 3.5feet. Locally it is known as Dusku. In local language of Lahaul region ‘Dus’ mean Stone and ‘ku’ mean Sculpture. According to the locals, it was brought by the ancestor of house from the hilltop of Keylong. The sculpture is carved from all side, showing different images on each face. One can identify the side carving of bigger sculpture with Manjusiri, front and back with Padmapani. The size of the sculpture also has carving of stupa. The other smaller 869 ISSN 2347 – 5463 Heritage: Journal of Multidisciplinary Studies in Archaeology 7: 2019 sculpture is not in good condition. It is difficult to date the sculpture, but on the basis of iconography it can be dated around 5-6th century CE or before. Kardang: Kardang is the ancient capital of Lahaul region. It is situated opposite to Keylong. One can reach Kardang from a wooden bridge on river Bhaga from Keylong. The Kardang village has one carving (Figures 3-5) on big live rock and two free standing sculptures. One of the free-standing sculpture is broken and the other one is buried under the ground and one can see only the upper part of it. The other rock carving on live rock is a majestic example of Buddhist art. The coordinates of the sculptures are North 32°.56`65``, East 77°01`93``. There are three individual Buddhist figure which are carved on live rock. The size of the carving is around 10x5 feet. It was difficult to identify the carving, as the features are faded. Figure 6: Sculpture, Khangsar Figure 7: Sculpture, Khangsar Khangsar: Khangsar is a village in the Tod valley, above the Keylong-Leh National highway, at the distance of 20 Km from Keylong. There are two rock carving (Figures 7 and 8) and one free standing sculpture (Figure 6) in Khangsar village. The free- standing sculpture is of Manjushri, located at 32º36'33.725"N 77º8'28.842"E. The 870 Gupta 2019: 867-874 sculpture of Manjushiri is 3 feet in height. The sculpture of Manjushri is blurred due to weathering, still one can identify it. He is shown holding a sword in one hand and in the other hand he is holding a lotus. The sculpture is ornamented with crown, earing and necklace. He is wearing a dhoti and a long garland. The other two carving are on different faces of a single, big live rock, standing in the private field of Khangsar resident. Out of these two carvings one is of Maitreya and another is unidentified figure which is standing with a devotee in anjali mudra. This Maitreya has two arms. The left is lowered alongside of the body and holding the neck of a vase. The right is uplifted and placed against the chest. The Maitreya is standing on lotus pedestal. The carving of Maitreya is ornamented, with crown and earing. He is wearing a dhoti, having a fold in the center. Dhoti is tied with an ornamented belt. The coordinates of these carvings are 32º36'32.245"N 77º8'27.046"E. Figure 8: Sculpture, Khangsar Figure 9: Buddha Sculpture Kolang Kolang: - Kolang is a village in the Tod valley, at the distance of 15 Km from Keylong. Kolang have a small free-standing sculpture of Buddha (Figure 9). The coordinate of the sculpture is 32º35'35.239"N 77º8'9.87"E. The sculpture of Buddha is shown in Buddha in dhyanmudra, sitting in padmaasana. The height of the sculpture is around 3 feet and it is located in the private field of Kolang resident. One can reach the sculpture 871 ISSN 2347 – 5463 Heritage: Journal of Multidisciplinary Studies in Archaeology 7: 2019 by trekking 200mtrs down the Khangsar-Kolang road toward Keylong –Leh national highway from the Kolang village. Figure 10: Buddhist Sculptures, Gondhla Figure 11: Gondhla Fort Gondhla: - Gondhla is a village in the Tinan valley of Lahaul, 18 Km from Keylong towards Manali, just below the Manali-Leh national highway. Gondhla is famous for its eight storey fort of wood and stone. It was built by the Raja Ram Singh of Kullu around 1700 CE.