The Manikyala Stupa (Urdu: مانكياله اسٹوپ) is a Buddhist stupa near the village of Tope Mankiala, in the Pothohar region of Pakistan's Punjab province. The stupa was built to commemorate the spot, where according to the Jataka tales, an incarnation of the Buddha called Prince Sattva sacrificed himself to feed seven hungry tiger cubs.
The stupa is said to have been built during the reign of Kanishka between 128 and 151 CE. An alternate theory suggest that the stupa is one of 84 such buildings, built during the reign of Mauryan emperor Ashoka to house the ashes of the Buddha. It is said that Emperor Kanishka used to visit this stupa often to pay respects to Buddha during his campaigns.
The stupa was discovered by Mountstuart Elphinstone, the first British emissary to Afghanistan, in 1808 - a detailed account of which is in his memoir 'Kingdom of Caubul' (1815).The stupa contains an engraving which indicates that the stupa was restored in 1891.
15 сен 2024
