Sphola Buddhist Stupa- Pakistan

Address

Sphola Buddhist Stupa- Torkham Hwy, Khyber Agency, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Pakistan

Diety

Buddha

Introduction

Sphola Stupa is a Buddhist monument located in the Khyber Pass, Federally Administered Tribal Areas of Pakistan. The monument located about 25 kilometers from Jamrūd is on a high rocky ledge and consists of a stone mound supported by a tiered base. Large sections of the stone have fallen away, particularly to the right of the mound.

Puranic Significance

The stupa is a 2nd century Buddhist monument in Zarai village near Jamrud. It is a reminder of the great Kushana Empire and Buddhism nexus which is often depicted in Gandhara artefacts. In fact, Gandhara sculptures were excavated at this very stupa and are now housed in the museum in Peshawar. This ruined stupa built of stones features a dome resting upon a three-tiered base. Sphola sits in a ravine located in Zarai village midway between Ali Masjid and Landi Kotal in the Khyber Pass. It is the most incomplete Buddhist monument in the Khyber Pass. It is a reminder of the great Kushana Empire and Buddhism nexus which is often depicted in Gandhara artefacts. Gandhara sculptures were excavated at this stupa and are now housed in the museum in Peshawar. Built of stones, it towers 50 feet above Khyber Road and the now-broken railway track, and runs roughly sixty feet in circumference. Though most of the stupa is structurally intact, sans protection or restoration, the vagaries of time has left it poorly. “Most of the damage to it has been at the hands of treasure seekers,” writes Tipu Muhammad Khan in his history book. The entire site of and around Sphola Stupa has been pillaged for what are surely priceless artefacts. Climate has also played its role in eroding chunks of the building.