Gandhara

Gandhāra (Sanskrit: गन्धार Urdu: گندھارا Gandḥārā; literally meaning "perfumed"; also known as Waihind in Persian) is the name of an ancient kingdom (Mahajanapada), in what is now northern Pakistan and eastern Afghanistan. Gandhara was located mainly in the vale of Peshawar, the Potohar plateau and on the northern side of the Kabul River. Its main cities were Purushapura (modern Peshawar), literally meaning City of Men (from Sanskrit Purush=Male and Pur=City) and Takshashila (modern Taxila). Gandhara is the place of light, where the holy scriptures of Buddha were kept, and collected by the boy priest Tripitaka on a pilgrimage with three gods.

The Kingdom of Gandhara lasted from the 6th century BCE to the 11th century. It attained its height from the 1st century to the 5th century under Buddhist Kushan Kings. After it was conquered by Mahmud of Ghazni in 1021 CE, the name Gandhara disappeared. During the Muslim period the area was administered from Lahore or from Kabul. During Mughal times the area was part of Kabul province.
The Gandharas were settled since the Vedic times on the banks of Kabul River (river Kubha or Kabol) up to its mouth into Indus. The region is known as Peshawar Valley. Later the Gandharas crossed the Indus and included parts of north-west Punjab of Pakistan. Gandhara was located on the grand northern high road (Uttarapatha) and was a centre of international commercial activities. It was an important channel of communication with ancient Iran and Central Asia.


The boundaries of Gandhara varied throughout history. Sometimes the Peshawar valley and Taxila were collectively referred to as Gandhara. The Swat valley was also sometimes included. However, the heart of Gandhara was always the Peshawar valley. The kingdom was ruled from capitals at Pushkalavati (Charsadda), Taxila, Purushapura (Peshawar) and in its final days from Udabhandapura (Hund) on the Indus.