Kashmir Smast. The Earliest Seat of Hindu Learning (2 volumes)
Publisher: Centre for Gandharan and Buddhist Studies, Ministry of Cultures, Islamabad
Published: 2018
Place of publication: Peshawar, Pakistan
Language: eng
Format: Hardcover
ISBN-13: 9789699270062
Description: This book focuses on an extensive archaeological investigation of the Kashmir Smast, a vast cave system also known as the 'Mahā Guhā'. It is proven that this site was the earliest known Hindu university and centre of learning in South Asia. Once an important centre for the Hindu deities Shiva and Bhīmā Devī (also known as Lajjā Guarī), the site's numismatic evidence suggests that it was a significant international place of pilgrimage for people of different faiths for many centuries. Studying the site's numismatic and epigraphic records provides unparalleled insight into the region's political history. The sophisticated urban planning evident in the hydraulic engineering is also notable. The presence of Han and Tang period coins, as well as evidence of the visit of the seventh-century Chinese pilgrim Xuanzang, confirms the site's significance and highlights its role in the exchange of knowledge along the Silk Road. Archaeological investigations at the Kashmir Smast site have also provided evidence of the early arrival of Muslims in the area. Alongside a description of the excavation process, the landscape, natural resources, and wildlife, the book presents results that have helped to reconstruct the political, economic, cultural, and religious landscape of Mahā Gandhara from the 2nd century BCE until the arrival of the Muslims and during the Hindu Shahi period. The Kashmir Smast area remained a sovereign, independent entity and exemplifies Gandhara's religious pluralism and political complexity at the time. This challenges earlier Buddhist-centric narratives of Gandhara by demonstrating how the site evolved from a cave network centred on the Hindu faith to become an independent political entity.