Dharmarājika Stūpa, Taxila
high-definition creative commons photographs from Dharmarājika Stūpa, Taxila together with further information.
use j/k or left/right arrow
to navigate through the photos below
The notes below are modified from the Taxila Museum website.
The oldest and largest Buddhist complex of Dharmarājika Stūpa is located on an eastern route along the Tamra stream, south of Hathial, about three kilometers from Taxila Museum. The name Dharmarājika was given because the stūpa was erected over the body relics of Gautama Buddha, the true Dharmarāja. Taxila was one of the many cities in the Maurya Empire which received a share of the holy relics from Ashoka. The stūpa was excavated from 1912-1916 by Mr. Ghulam Qadir under the directions of Sir John Marshall and from 1934-1936 by Mr. A. D. Siddiqui.
Several objects have been excavated from Dharmarājika Stūpa, all of which have been preserved and displayed at Taxila Museum. Among these the most remarkable finding was that of a reliquary in one of the side chapels containing a silver scroll, which records the enshrinement of Buddha relics at the Dharmarājika Stūpa. In 1917 a casket was found here which contained the relics of Lord Buddha. This was presented by the then viceroy of British India to the Buddhist Community of Ceylon and has since been enshrined in the Temple of Tooth at Kandy city in Sri Lanka.
Photographs by Leow Chai Yee
Edited and Described by Ānandajoti Bhikkhu
Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported License