1 50 HISTORY OF THE PANJAB.
2 great Buddhist kings, were to be seen on the Panjab frontier. He spent
3 fourteen months in the ancient town of Chinapati, ten miles, according to
4 General Cunningham, west of the Bias, where Kanishka, the royal founder
5 of Northern Buddhism, had kept his Chinese hostages. The pilgrim, who
6 has left a full and interesting record of his travels, traversed the Panjab and
7 reached the mouths of the Ganges. He met with both Hindu and Buddhist
8 temples, but subsequently Hindu revivals, headed by various reformers, re-
9 sulted in the gradual overthrow of Buddhism and its final extinction,
10 between 700 and 900 A. D.
11 cp naeiinow nae: In Spiti, in the Kangra District, the only religion at the present day
12 aie is Buddhism. In Lahoul the religion is essentially Buddhism, and Buddhist
13 monasteries are maintained. In the higher parts of Pangi, in Chamba, the
14 Laménism of Thibet prevails. In the valleys of Bhagd and Chandra
15 Buddhism is the dominant faith. Except in these hill territories, Buddhism
16 is a defunct religion in the Panjab.
17 Buddhism attained its greatest extent and influence in India under the
18 Asoka, the Buddinst. Benevolent reign of Asoka, or Priyaddsi, grandson of Chandragupta, who
19 hing. ascended the throne of Magadha in 275 Bc. His kingdom extended from the
20 mouth of the Ganges on the east to the Indus on the west. He wasa man
21 of singular ability, and possessed great powers of observation. Renouncing
22 the Hindu faith, he became a convert to Buddhism, and by his zeal extended
23 _ tue anesionnts the doctrines of his new faith by sending political missions to China, Thibet,
24 ; Burma, Siam, Ceylon, Cambodia and Java. He maintained friendly re-
25 lations with the sovereigns of Greece, Syria and Egypt, and introduced
26 the useful sciences and arts of those countries into his own. He had a
27 _llty rack an ewe great taste for architecture and sculpture and his monumental remains, rock
28 and cave temples, monasteries and pillars, to this day bear testimony
29 to the excellence of his character, his public spirit and wisdom, and are the
30 admiration alike of linguists, paleographists and historians, to whom they
31 unfold forgotten chapters of history. They are scattered from the Bay of
32 Bengal and the southern slopes of the Vindhia mountains to the Khaibar
33 Pass, beyond the Indus, One of these is the rock of Kaptirdagarhi in
34 Eusafzai, forty miles from Peshdwar, discovered by General Court, the
35 inscriptions on which were deciphered by the traveller Masson, about fifty
36 years ago. The great Asoka tolerated Hinduism and preached peace and
37 iar among men. His inscriptions, which are more interesting than
38 t we of Darius, the son of Hystaspes, inculcate maxims of moral excellence
39 2 ure and afford indubitable proof of the noble soul of their author.
40 ee eee as follows :—* For those who differ from him in creed, that
41 peels oHowing his example, may with him attain eternal salvation.”
42 her contains the following ordinance :—“ He desires that all unbelievers
43 may everywhere dwell (unmolested i ene Sat
44 and Gu GiL Meliacon ested) as they also wish for moral restraint
45 anc purity of disposition. For men are of various constitutions and desires.” *
46 This rook inscrip-
47 tis
48 F JAINISM IN THE PANJAB.
49 ainism i - :
50 Buddhien aac epoaking, & compromise between Hinduism and
51 ane oven oe Gee A € one hand, it condemns sacrifices, denies the
52 punishment through al ee eee Hindu doctrine of immunity from
53 no importance to the ie ce and the invocation of gods, and attaches
54 it, on the other hand es observed for the repose of the spirits of the dead
55 ee and, recognises the priestly institutions of the Brahmins,
56 ular edict, v
57 uilled dict, v1, and Rock edict, i aye z
58 d the Corpus Inscriptionum Indicarum Sal % e work of General Alexander Cunningham,
59 » Vol, i.
60 Sri Satguru J agjit Singh Ji eLibrary NamdhariElibrary@ gmail.com