Buddhist and Dardic [3]heritage of Swat

Although it is generally accepted that Tantric Buddhism first developed in Swat under King Indrabhuti, there is an old and well-known scholarly disputeas to whether Uddiyana was in the Swat valley, Orissa or some other place.Padmasambhava (flourished eighth century AD), also called Guru Rimpoche, Tibetan Slob-dpon (teacher), or Padma ‘byung-gnas (lotus born), a legendary Indian Buddhist mystic who introduced Tantric Buddhism toTibet, is credited with establishing the first Buddhist monastery here.

According to tradition, Padmasambhava was native to Udyana (now Swat in Pakistan).^[4] Padmasambhava was the son of Indrabhuti, king of Swat in the early eighth century AD. One of the original Siddhas, Indrabhuti flourished in the early eighth century AD and was the king of Uddiyana in the Kabul valley. His son Padmasambhava is revered as the second Buddha in Tibet. Indrabhuti's sister, Lakshminkaradevi, was also an accomplished siddha of the 9th century AD.^[5]

Ancient Gandhara, the valley of Pekhawar, with the adjacent hilly regions of Swat and Buner, Dir and Bajaur was one of the earliest centers of Buddhistreligion and culture following the reign of the Mauryan emperor Ashoka, in the third century BC. The name Gandhara first occurs in the Rigveda, which is usually identified with the region^[6]

Buddha heritage in the Swat Valley

The Swat museum has footprints of the Buddha, which were originally placed for devotion in the sacred Swat valley. When the Buddha ascended, relics (personal items, body parts, ashes etc.) were distributed to seven kings, who built stupas over them for veneration.

Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh visit to Swat Valley 1961-1962

The Harmarajika stupa atTaxila and Butkarha (Swat) stupa at Jamal Garha were among the earliest Gandhara stupas. These were erected on the orders of King Ashoka and contained the genuine relics of the historic Buddha.^{[citation needed]} The Gandhara school is credited with the first representations of the Buddha in human form, symbolically as the wheel of the law, the tree, etc.^{[citation needed]}

Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh visit to Swat Valley 1961-1962

As Buddhist art developed and spread outside Gandhara, Gandharan styles were imitated. In China the Gandhara style was imitated in bronze images, with gradual changes in the features of these images over the passage of time. Swat is celebrated throughout the Buddhist world as the holy land of Buddhist learning and piety. Swat was a popular destination for Buddhist pilgrims. Buddhist tradition holds that Buddha came to Swat during his incarnation as Gautama Buddha and preached to the people here.

At one time, the Swat valley was said to have 1400 stupas and monasteries, which held as many as 6,000 gold images of the Buddhist pantheon. Archaeologists have found more than 400 Buddhist sites, covering an area of 160 km² in Swat valley alone. Among the important excavations of Buddhist sites is Butkarha-I, containing original relics of the Buddha. A stone statue of Buddha stands in the village Ghalegay.^{[citation needed]} There is also a big stupa in Mohallah Singardar Ghalegay.