UpdateBot at 15:45, 11 March 2022

2022-03-11T15:45:54Z

New page

{{infobox settlement
| official_name = Mankiala <br> {{nq| مانكياله}}
| name =
| settlement_type = Village
| image_skyline = Mankiala Stupa.JPG
| imagesize = 250px
| image_alt =
| image_caption = [[Mankiala stupa]] is located in the nearby village of Tope Mankiala
| image_map =
| mapsize = 150 px
| map_alt =
| map_caption =
| pushpin_map = Pakistan#Punjab Pakistan
| pushpin_relief = yes
| pushpin_label_position = 
| pushpin_map_alt =
| pushpin_mapsize =
| pushpin_map_caption =
| coordinates = {{coord|33.448129|N|73.243588|E|region:PK_type:city|display=inline, title}}
| subdivision_type = [[Country]]
| subdivision_name = {{flag|Pakistan}}
| subdivision_type1 = [[Subdivisions of Pakistan|Province]]
| subdivision_name1 = [[Punjab (Pakistan)]]
| subdivision_type2 = [[Subdivisions of Pakistan|District]]
| subdivision_name2 = [[Rawalpindi District|Rawalpindi]]
| population_total =
| population_as_of = 1998
| population_est =
| pop_est_as_of =
| population_footnotes =
| area_total_km2 =
| elevation_m =
| population_density_km2 =
| leader_title =
| leader_name =
| leader_title1 =
| leader_name1 =
| area_code =
| area_code_type = [[List of dialling codes of Pakistan|Calling code]]
| timezone1 = [[Pakistan Standard Time|PST]]
| utc_offset1 = +5
| website =
| footnotes =
}}
[[Image:Manikiala Hoard - British Museum.jpg|thumb|250px|Relic deposits from the [[Mankiala stupa]] in the [[British Museum]]]]

'''Mankiala''' ({{lang-ur| مانكياله }}; also known as '''Manikyala''' and '''Manikiyala''') is a village in the [[Potohar plateau]], Punjab near [[Rawalpindi]], [[Pakistan]], known for the nearby '''[[Mankiala stupa]]''' - a [[Buddhist]] [[stupa]] located at the site where, according to legend, [[Gautama Buddha|Buddha]] sacrificed some of his body parts to feed seven hungry tiger cubs.<ref name="Islamabad Tourist Treasures Pg 1"/>

==Location==
Mankiala is located 36 km southeast of [[Islamabad]], Mankiala stupa is located in the village of Tope Mankiala, near the place name of Sagri, 2nd near village of [[Dhakala]] and 3rd near village of [[Sahib Dhamyal]]. It is 36 km southeast of Islamabad, and near the city of Rawalpindi. It is visible from the nearby historic [[Rawat Fort]].<ref name="Islamabad Tourist Treasures Pg 1">Islamabad Tourist Treasures, Government of Pakistan, Islamabad Pg 1</ref> It is situated along the ''[[Kallar Syedan]]'' Road.

==Etymology==
The town is said to be named after ''Raja Man'' or ''Manik'', who is said to have built the village's stupa during the Buddhist era.<ref name=Punjab>{{cite book|title=Punjab District Gazetteers: Rawalpindi District (v. 28-A)|date=1907|page=34|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ODBuAAAAMAAJ&q=rawalpindi+name&pg=PA37|access-date=16 June 2017}}</ref>

The village is said to have been previously known as ''Manikpur'' or ''Maniknagar'', and was capital of the ancient Hindu ''[[Rakshasa]]s''.<ref name=Punjab/> However, archaeological evidence does not support the conclusion that Manikpur was the capital of the ''Rakshasas'',<ref name=Punjab/> and that the village's ruins were built during the Buddhist-era.<ref name=Punjab/>

==Background==
[[Mankiala Stupa]] is a [[Gandhara]] era stupa built in the nearby village of Tope Mankiala to memorialize the place where, according to legend, an earlier incarnation of [[Gautama Buddha|Buddha]] sacrificed some of his body parts or his entire body to feed seven hungry tiger cubs.<ref name="Islamabad Tourist Treasures Pg 1"/><ref>[[Golden Light Sutra]] 18.</ref>

==History==
[[File:KITLV 87969 - Unknown - Manikyala stupa at Rawalpindi in British India - 1897.tif|thumb|The stupa in 1897.]]
Mankiala dates from the Gandharan era, around 2000 years ago. The village had been previously described as the former grand capital of the mythological ''[[Rakshasa]]s'', though no archaeological evidence supports the theory of Mankiala serving as an ancient Hindu capital, and instead suggests that the area's ruins date from the [[Buddhist]] period.<ref name=Punjab/> The settlement during the Buddhist era may have consisted of approximately 2,000 homes, interspersed with monasteries and 15 stupas.<ref name=Punjab/> The archaeological site is believed to be on the same hillock where the modern village now stands.<ref name=Punjab/>

Mankiala's stupa was built in the reign of [[Kanishka]] (128-151 CE).<ref name="Islamabad Tourist Treasures Pg 1"/> The ancient settlement is believed to have been destroyed by fire,<ref name=Punjab/> though there is no indication that it was purposely destroyed.<ref name=Punjab/>

[[Mountstuart Elphinstone]], the first British emissary to [[Afghanistan]] chanced upon this stupa in 1808 AD and penned a detailed account in his memoir 'Kingdom of Caubul' (1815). According to an inscription on a stone the stupa was restored in 1891 by a regiment of the [[British Indian Army]]. Raja Usman was architect.

==Relics from stupa==
Mankiala stupa's relic deposits were removed from the site during British colonial rule, and are now housed in the [[British Museum]]. Many were found by [[Jean-Baptiste Ventura]] in 1830 between 10 and 20 metres below the top of the dome. They were at one stage owned by the celebrated antiquarian [[James Prinsep]].<ref>[https://www.britishmuseum.org/research/collection_online/collection_object_details.aspx?objectId=251886&partId=1&place=33154&plaA=33154-3-1&page=1 The British Museum Collection]</ref>

The mouth of the stupa has a gaping hole as a result of excavations by relic hunters in the past. It now has a barrier around it for safety reasons.<ref name="Islamabad Tourist Treasures Pg 1"/>

==Transportation ==
===Road===
Mankiala is located along the ''Kallar Syedan'' Road, which connects the city to [[Kallar Syedan]], and the [[N-5 National Highway]] that provides access to [[Islamabad]] and [[Rawalpindi]].

===Rail===
[[Mankiala railway station]] is served by the [[Karachi–Peshawar Railway Line]].

==See also==
*[[Takht Bahi]]
*[[Gandhara]]
*[[Taxila (modern)|Taxila]]

==References==
{{reflist|2}}
{{Gandhara|state=expanded}}
{{Neighbourhoods of Rawalpindi}}

[[Category:Populated places in Rawalpindi District]]
[[Category:Stupas in Pakistan]]
[[Category:Buddhist sites in Pakistan]]

Mankiala - Revision history

UpdateBot at 15:45, 11 March 2022