Charsadda
Charsadda is 17 miles from Peshawar. Situated in the productive and
well-watered Peshawar plain, with its enormous working buffalo and the
unique sight of tropical sugar cane and cold climate sugar beet growing
side by side.
The city was once known as Pushkalavati the Lotus City it was the capital
of the ancient kingdom of Gandhara from about the 6th century BC to the
2nd century AD Pushkalavati ensured the survival of the city as a center
for pilgrims until the 7th century AD though the capital was moved to Peshawar.
There are three places of interest to visit near Charsadda. These are:
Bala Hisar:
Excavated twice by Sir John Marshall in 1902 and by Sir Mortimer Wheeler
in 1958. Wheeler's vertical trench cuts down through the many layers of
mud stone and pottery to the bottom of one of the mounds Pushkalavati is
first mentioned in the Hindu epic story the Ramayana. When Bharata the
brother of Ramchandra conquered Gandharvadesa (Gandhara) and found two
cities. Taksha (Taxila) and Pushkala (Pushkalavati) named after his two
sons.
In about 516 B.C Gandhara became part of the seventh satrapy or province
of the Achaemenid Empire and paid tribute to Darius the Great of Persia,
until its overthrow by Alexander the Great in the 4th century B.C
The Indian Emperor Chandragupta Maurya rose to power and brought Gandhara
under his sway According to a popular tradition. Emperor Asoka built one
of his stupas as described by Hieun Tsang, the Chinese Buddhist pilgrim
in 630 AD
Hieun Tsang visited it and he refers to it as Po-Lu-Sha. According to
him it was 2 1/2 miles in circumference. A Brahminical temple to the east
and a monastery to the north which according to Buddhist legends was the
place where Buddha preached the Law. After Mahmud of Ghazni conquered the
area and converted it to Islam in 1026 AD. The name Gandhara disappeared
The Bactrian Greeks the scluptures Gandhara founded a new capital city
of Pushkalavati at what is now Shaikhan Dheri to the north east of Bala
Hisar on the other side of the river. One can see it from the top of the
mound. Only a small portion of Shaikhan Dheri has been excavated and no
effort has been made to label or preserve the excavations.
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Prang:
At the crossroads in the center of Charsadda turn night towards "Prang"
through the hundreds of acres of graves all decorated with black and white
stones in geometric patterns. There are several mounds in Prang - The debris
of thousands of years of occupation - all un-excavated. South of village
the River Swat joins River Kabul. In India near Allahabad at the confluence
of the Ganges and Jumna rivers is the sacred town of Prayag. Prang is probably
a corruption of Prayag, which indicates that perhaps this also was a sacred
city. The people of the area too feel likewise, which may be the reason
they bring their dead there for burial.
Shabqadr:
Shabqadr is a small town in Charsadda tehsil 17 miles north west of Peshawar.
Here is a fort built by the Sikhs called Sharkargarh. The town was burnt
by Mohmands in 1897 It has since been rebuilt
Bibi Syeda Dheri:
It is a site half a mile to the north of Umarzai village in Charsadda tehsil
here is a mound 60-ft high. Believed to be the site of the stupa erected
to commemorate the conversion by Lord Buddha of goddess Hariti who used
to devour children of the locality. There is also a shrine of a lady saint
Bibi Syeda. It is believed that a pinch of earth from the site is an effective
antidote in the case of small Pox.
Shar-i- Napursan:
Shar-i-Napursan is an archaeological site in Charsadda tehsil near the
village Rajan Excavations have unearthed two distinct settlements of the
Buddhist period and two of Muslim period. Coins of Manander, Hermaeous
and Kanishka have been unearthed.
Palatu Dheri:
It is another archaeological site near Charsadda tehsil. A mile from Shar-i-Napursan
A mound which contains the remains of a stupa, which according to Hieun
Tsiang, was built by one Deven and some coins which connect them both to
the first century AD have been unearthed Other finds include the image
of the goddess Kalika-devi. Three inscribed jars, which were presented
by some laymen to "the Community of the Four Quarters", are now in the
Peshawar Museum.
Kund:
Situated on the Right Bank of the Indus. 15 miles above Attock and four
miles to the Southwest of Lahore village in the Swabi Tehsil lies the ancient
and famous city Kund. The present village of Kund lies within the ruined
walls of the old fortifications which once accommodated the victorious
army of Alexander and through which successive invaders of India from the
Northwest have passed. A deathblow to the prosperity and importance of
the old city came with the diversion of the highway by the Mughals.
Within a radius of two miles around the village are remains of infinitely
greater archaeological importance and excavations would certainly prove
and unveil valuable discoveries worthy of the fame and past glory of the
great city. Which is thought to have been built by Alexander. Its grandeur
was depicted in the treasures of the Kushans, Muslims and the Brahman Princes
of Kabul. The two inscriptions recovered from the site also, confirm these
facts
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