Introduction

Chapters in this book

1. Front Matter i
2. Contents vii
3. Illustrations xi
4. Acknowledgments xii
5. Introduction 1
6. Prologue: Some Debating Points on Gandhāran Buddhism and Kuṣāṇa History 9
7. Archaeology
8. Recent Archaeological Research in Gandhāra: The New Evidence 41
9. Buddhist Presence in the Urban Settlements of Swāt, Second Century BCE to Fourth Century CE 60
10. Relic Shrines of Gandhāra: A Reinterpretation of the Archaeological Evidence 83
11. Texts
12. Pilgrimage Route Changes and the Decline of Gandhāra 107
13. New Manuscript Sources for the Study of Gandhāran Buddhism 135
14. Art
15. Bodhisattvas in Gandhāran Art: An Aspect of Mahāyāna in Gandhāran Buddhism 151
16. The Nature and Use of the Bodily Relics of the Buddha in Gandhara 183
17. Gateways to the Buddha: Figures under Arches in Early Gandhāran Art 210
18. A Gandhāran Relief with Two Scenes from Buddha’s Life 225
19. Local Crafts in Early Gandhāran Art 243
20. Ānanda and Vajrapāni: An Inexplicable Absence and a Mysterious Presence in Gandhāran Art 270
21. Design Diversity in Kaniska’s Buddha Coins 286
22. Contributors 303
23. Index 306