Umar Hayat Hussain
Nestled within the Himalayas is the verdant valley of Kashmir. Amidst the natural beauty all around, It is here that thoughts of men have turned into the thoughts of creation. Many religions have flourished here in the past before the advent of Islam. Since early times Kashmir has been renowed Brahmonical and Buddhist Philosophy. It is accepted generally that people of Kashmir long before the arrival of Brahmanism were followers of Naga cult which was seemingly a manifestation of animism.
Buddhism was introduced in Kashmir in 3rd century BC by Ashoka and became one of the most popular faiths of Kashmir. Buddhism in Kashmir entered its golden phase under the patronage of Kusanass especially king Kaniska. As a result, Kashmir became one of the most significant centres of Buddhist faith and practise. Many great Buddhist Scholars resided in Kashmir during this period. Who resided at sadarhadvaba (modern Harwan) The fourth Buddhist council was convened in Kashmir which shows the importance of Kashmir in the Buddhist faith.
On the outskirts of Srinagar in Harwan, lie the ruins of an old Buddhist Monastery. It is hard to imagine the importance of the site from its ruins. But this ancient monastery played a pivotal role in the history of Buddhism. It is here, that the 4th Buddhist council of the Mahayana (Sarvastivada) school of Buddhism was held sometime in the 1st or 2nd century CE, on the orders of the Kushana emperor Kanishka I. The conference decisions, amounting in all to 6.6 million words, were later recorded in 300,000 verses and were engraved on copper plates that were then deposited in stone boxes and buried under a huge stone pillar.
There appears to be a controversy between the Mahayana and Theravada schools whether the Fourth Buddhist Council was held in Kashmir or Aluvihara in Sri Lanka.
Theravada mainly practices the original teachings from Buddha. On the other hand, Mahayana is highly influenced by other eastern philosophies such as Taoism.
According to the Mahawamsa, the Aluvihara Buddhist Council, was held in the 1 century BCE and according the historical records of the Mahayana school, the Fourth Buddhist Council was held in Kashmir in the 1st century CE during the reign of King Kanishka.
The conference codified the Buddhist Sutras in the Sanskrit language. This conference also gave birth to the new School of Buddhism called the Mahayana Buddhism, which soon became widespread in Tibet, China, Burma, Japan and many other Far Eastern and Central Asian countries. As proposed in this conference, King Kanishka declared Mahayana Buddhism as the state religion of his empire.
Consequently it happened to be the most important and significant council in Buddhism producing desired objectives. It lasted for six months. Representatives and spokesmen from the world of Buddhism comprising Korea, China, Mongolia, Myanmar, Sri Lanka and even Iran participated in this council.
Religious scholars and men of spiritual merit from these countries journeyed to Kashmir to take part in this important parliament of Buddhism. It was presided over by the most famous Buddhist scholar Asho Ghosh.
Acharya Nagarjuna, a great Shahstri scholar, was present in this council who is believed to be the formulator of the world famous Shin theory.
Pandit R.C Kak while in charge of the archaeological department of Kashmir collected several inages of Buddha, Bodhisattvas, Buddhist gods and goddesses,fragments of stupas and railings and several earthen jars and pots, some of the large sized jars bearing inscriptions in the early Gupta characters. But his greatest discovery is the ruins at Harwan.
It is not known exactly when the Harwan monastery was built; though excavations reveal archaeological remains dating from 1st to 6th century CE. During this period, numerous Buddhist monasteries dotted Kashmir, with the ones at Harwan and Ushkur (Baramulla district) being the most prominent. Even the present Pari Mahal, near Srinagar, was once the site of one such Monastery.
There were many exquisite terracotta tiles which were found from here as well. Some of the exquisite tiles excavated from the site date back to the 4th Century CE. The upper tier also had a temple type round structure and a courtyard which was once covered with the same terracotta tiles found here. Behind this upper tier, lies what seems to be remains of more structures that are still to be excavated. It appears that the whole complex was once spread over the whole hillside.
The Harwan Monastery site holds great significance in the saga of the spread of Buddhism as it traveled into all directions from the place of its founding and Kashmir itself played a major role in it. A role which nowadays seems to have been forgotten.
The writer is PG in Mass Communication and Journalism from Kashmir University and has worked with many daily newsapers of the valley
