Oddiyana

Oddiyana, also Uddiyana, was a historical region which is considered important in the development and spread of Vajrayana Buddhism. In Tibetan Buddhist traditions, it is viewed as a Beyul, a legendary heavenly place.‘Uḍḍiyāna and Kashmir’, pp 265-269 ‘The Śaiva Exegesis of Kashmir’, in Mélanges tantriques à la mémoire d’Hélène Brunner. Tantric Studies in Memory of Hélène Brunner, Collection Indologie 106, EFEO, Institut français de Pondichéry (IFP), ed. Dominic Goodall and André Padoux, 2007.)
Padmasambhava, an eighth-century Buddhist master and founder of the Nyingma school, is believed to be born in Oddiyana. He had a crucial role in introducing Buddhism to Tibet. Siddha Garab Dorje, the founder of Dzogchen school, is also associated with this region. Oddiyana. Oddiyana was also known as “the paradise of the Ḍākinīs" in some traditions.

 Location 
Many Western scholars identify Oddiyana as the Swat Valley in present-day Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Pakistan. Alexis Sanderson, after reviewing different views, suggests that it might have been near Kashmir, with the modern Swat Valley as a likely central point. Udyāna, meaning "garden" or "orchard" in Sanskrit, is mentioned as north of Peshawar along the Swat River. 

According to the 8th-century Korean monk Hye Cho, Udyana was a mountainous Buddhist region, and after visiting Gandhara, he traveled north, arriving in Udyana, then continued northeast to Chitral. Faxian noted similarities in food and clothing between Udyana and the Indo-Gangetic Plain.

John Reynolds suggests that Oddiyana is the name of a much wider geographical area than the Swat Valley alone, one embracing parts of Pakistan, Afghanistan, and even Western Tibet (Zhang Zhung)."John M. Reynolds: The Golden Letters. Snow Lion, Ithaca, New York 1996, S. 211–212. Along the same line of thinking, Herbert V. Guenther suggests the region of Sogdiana, today corresponding to regions of Tajikistan, Uzbekistan and Turkmenistan, as the location of Oddiyana.Cfr. Herbert V. Guenther, Wholeness Lost and Wholeness Regained. Forgotten Tales of Individualism from Ancient Tibet.  Albany, 1994, While professor Lokesh Chandra has argued that Oddiyana was located further in South India.Oḍḍiyāna: A New Interpretation. In: M. Aris, Aung San Suu Kyi: Tibetan Studies in Honour of Hugh Richardson. Warminster, 1980, S. 73–78.

An alternate theory places its location in what is now the modern Indian state of Odisha. Though this theory has not been accepted by scholars.

 In Tibetan Buddhism 
In Tibetan Buddhist traditions, Oddiyana is considered a vital source of tantric teachings, with a rich history of flourishing Buddhist tantra. Many Tibetan Buddhist lineages, including Dzogchen founded by the siddha Garab Dorje, trace their roots to this region. It's believed that the first Vajrayana teachings were given by Gautama Buddha in Oddiyana, and important tantric texts like Mahayoga and Anuyoga were revealed there.Wallis, Christopher D. (2013). Tantra Illuminated: The Philosophy, History, and Practice of a Timeless Tradition. pp. 211-282. Mattamayura Press. 

In Tibetan Buddhist literature, Oddiyana is described as having multiple kings named Indrabhuti. Additionally, it is sometimes equated with Shambhala, a mystical land inhabited by Ḍākinīs, beyond reach for ordinary mortals. In the 'Seven Line Prayer' of Padmasambhava, Oḍḍiyāna is referred to as ཨོ་རྒྱན (o rgyan) in Tibetan.

 References 

Category:Gandhara
Category:Buddhism
Category:Historical regions of Pakistan
Category:History of Pakistan
Category:Buddhism in Pakistan
Category:Tibetan Buddhism