Mankiala
| Mankiala | |
|---|---|
| Village | |
|
Mankiala Stupa | |
  Mankiala | |
| Coordinates: 33°15′55″N 73°08′37″E / 33.2652°N 73.1436°E | |
| Country |
 Pakistan |
| Province | Punjab (Pakistan) |
| District | Rawalpindi |
| Time zone | PST (UTC+5) |
Mankiala (also known as Manikyala and Manikiyala) is a village in the Potohar plateau, Punjab near Rawalpindi, Pakistan, known for its Mankiala Stupa - a Buddhist stupa. It is located some 50 km from Islamabad, beyond Rawat Fort.[1] The name Mankiala is said to be derived from Raja Man or Manik.
Mankiala Stupa
Mankiala Stupa is a Gandhara era stupa built to memorialize the place where, according to legend, Buddha sacrificed some of his body parts to feed seven hungry tiger cubs.[1]
History
It was built in the reign of Kanishka (128-151 AD).[1] 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.
The stupa's relic deposits, all now in the British Museum, 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.[2]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.[1]
