Cultures and Religions of the Himalayan Region

Andrew Hall
Middle School Social Studies
Community Day Charter School, Lawrence, MA

History of Gandhara

Buddhist Art

Resources for Teachers

Gandhara is strategically situated along major trade routes linking India, China, Tibet and Western Asia. Some Eastern European countries also had direct and indirect contact with the region. This intersection of cultures also brought a host of different conquerors and rulers over the centuries.

Gandhara was dominated from the 6th to 4th centuries BC by the Achaemenid Dynasty of Iran. Alexander the Great led his conquering army through the region around 330 BC and established Greek outposts in the region. With Alexander came settlers, traders, craftsmen and Hellenistic culture. The influence of this Hellenization persisted for centuries but the Greek outposts were eventually overrun by indigenous nomadic peoples.

Buddhism arrived in the region resulting from the intense missionary activities of the Emperor Ashoka (273-232 BC). Ashoka, informally known to western audiences as the "Buddhist Constantine", established Buddhism as the state religion in his kingdom. Ashoka is known for encouraging the conversion of large areas of India, Pakistan, Afghanistan and other regions to Buddhism.

Ashoka built large shrines, monasteries and other images in the name of Buddhism. Gandhara was an area that embraced Buddhism and began to pioneer the iconographic tradition that is prevalent throughout the Buddhist world. Gandharan artisans were the first Buddhists to portray the Buddha in human form, not just in symbolic iconography that was used up to this point.

Images of Buddha's, Bodhisattva's and other Buddhist representations began to emerge from the region and the Gandharan School of Art began to expand its sphere of cultural influence. The cities of Taxila, and Peshawar were famous for their Greco-Indian Buddhist art.

The Gandhara school incorporated many motifs and techniques from classical Roman art, including vine scrolls, cherubs bearing garlands, tritons, and centaurs. And yet, what singled this form out was its strict adherence to the basic Indian iconographic details. Interestingly, this is a remarkable feature of the Buddhist art throughout the continent. It incorporates local elements to fuse into the local culture.

The standing Buddha is an example of the success of the Gandharan School. Buddha's face takes on features closely resembling the images of Apollo in the Greek and Roman world. His robes resemble that of a Greek or Roman statesman. The figure on the right, made around the 2nd century shows a Gandharan style Standing Buddha figure.

With the subsequent waning of Buddhism in the region as well as the arrival of the White Huns in the 5th century AD, Buddhism began to lose its grip on the region. The area became Islamicised and the Gandharan Art school ceased to produce Buddhist works of art.

Gandhara has taken it's place in history as one of the most important and influential regions in the formation of Buddhism as a major world religion. The first Indian Buddhist texts that have been discovered are from Gandhara. Mahayana Buddhism, a later reform movement is said to have its origins in Gandhara. Padmasanbhava, one of the early founders of Tibetan Buddhism is supposed to have been born in the Gandharan region. It is Buddhist art that owes an incredible debt to the Gandharan school and the visual reminders of Gandharan influence still remain.