Sirkap Stupas – Pakistan

Address

Sirkap Stupas – Taxila, Rawalpindi, Punjab, Pakistan

Diety

Trithankaras, Buddha

Introduction

Sirkap is a Group of Stupas ruins in the name of an archaeological site on the bank opposite to the city of Taxila, Punjab, Pakistan.

Puranic Significance

The city of Sirkap Stupa was built by the Greco-Bactrian king Demetrius after he invaded ancient India around 180 BC. Sirkap is also said to have been rebuilt by king Menander I. Buddhist stupas with strong Hellenistic decorative elements can be found throughout the Sirkap site (Stupa of the two eagles), a Jain temple and a Jain stupa, as well as a temple, indicating a close interaction of religious cultures. A Greek religious temple of the Ionic order is also visible at the nearby site of Jandial (650 meters (2,130 ft) from Sirkap), but there is a possibility that it may have been dedicated to a Zoroastrian cult. Round stupa One round Stupa is present at Sirkap. It is one of the oldest Stupas in the Indian-Subcontinent. It is assumed that this Stupa was uprooted and thrown to its present location by a strong earthquake in the 1st century AD. When the new city was built later, the Stupa was kept by building a protecting wall around it. Apsidal Temple The building that is known as the Apsidal Temple is the largest sanctuary of Sirkap, The Apsidal Temple consists of a square nave with several rooms, used by the Buddhist monks, and a circular room, which gives the building its apsidal shape. After the earthquake that destroyed the city in c. 30 AD, the Buddhist shrine was built in a spacious courtyard. The round part was probably in use for a small stupa, but no traces of it remain. Double-Headed Eagle Stupa A special Stupa at Sirkap is the so-called ‘Double-Headed Eagle Stupa’. The pilasters here are of a Greek design, “Corinthian columns”. In the middle arch, a Greek temple is shown; in the outer, a shrine of a Hindu design can be seen. On top of these sanctuaries, a Double-headed eagle is seated from which the name of the Stupa has been derived. This motive is rather odd, to say the least, as it is originally Babylonian. It seems to have spread to Scythia, and introduced in the Punjab by the Saka rulers.