imported>Soumya-8974: removed Category:Jammu and Kashmir; added Category:Baramulla district using HotCat

2020-12-10T14:45:42Z

removed Category:Jammu and Kashmir; added Category:Baramulla district using HotCat

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{{Use dmy dates|date=March 2017}}
{{Use Indian English|date=March 2017}}
[[File:Buddhist tope baramula1868.jpg|thumb|upright|Stupa ''Jayendra Vihar'' near Baramulla, during excavations in 1869]]
[[File:British Museum Asia 17 (cropped).jpg|thumb|upright|Terracotta head of the Buddha, probably from Ushkur (7th–8th century CE)]]
'''Ushkur''' is an ancient [[Buddhism|Buddhist]] site near [[Baramulla]] in [[Jammu and Kashmir (union territory)|Jammu and Kashmir]], [[India]].

Baramulla is located on the [[Jhelum]] river around 55 km from the capital city [[Srinagar]]. It was an important trading centre during [[British Raj|British rule]], as it formed the western entrance to the [[Kashmir Valley]]. "The town of ''Huṣkapura'' is undoubtedly the modern ''Uṣkűr'', situated opposite to Varămul (Skr. Varāhamūla, ''vulgo'' Bāramūla) on the left bank of the Vitastā where the latter leaves the Valley of Kaçmlr."<ref>"Notes on Ou-k'ong's account of Kaçmir." [[Aurel Stein]]. 1896, p. 7.</ref>

== History ==
Ushkur was called Hushkapur in ancient times. Hushkapur was said to have been founded by King [[Huvishka]] of the [[Kushan dynasty]]. The Buddhist Kushans ruled parts of [[Afghanistan]] and northern India, including Kashmir, during the first three centuries CE. The Chinese monk [[Xuanzang]] spent a night here in 630 CE on his way to the main centres of Kashmir;<ref>''On Yuan Chwang’s Travels in India''. [[Thomas Watters]]. 1904-05. London, Royal Asiatic Society. Reprint, Delhi, Munshiram Manoharlal, 1973, I, 258,</ref> he described Ushkur as a flourishing centre of Buddhism. It was also visited by the Chinese Buddhist monk [[Wukong (monk)|Wukong]] in 759 CE.<ref>"Notes on Ou-k'ong's account of Kaçmir." [[Aurel Stein]]. 1896, p. 7.</ref>

The site has several [[stupa]]s. A stupa was found and excavated in the 1870s. [[Henry Hardy Cole]]'s ''[[Archaeological Survey of India]]'' report<ref>'Illustrations of Ancient Buildings in Kashmir'</ref> of 1869 claimed, "The locality which includes the remains of a Monastery is called the 'Jayendra Vihar', and the erection is assigned by local tradition to one 'Praverasena' in A.D. 500." Excavations have unearthed the remains of several finely-modelled [[terracotta]] heads in the [[Gandhara]]n style, which are displayed in the [[British Museum]] and others.<blockquote>General CUNNINGHAM, ''l. c.'', p. 100, states that Rev. G. W. Cowie who visited Uṣkũr on his behalf (probably in 1865), found there a 'Buddhist Stūpa quite instact' [sic - read 'intact']. It was not destined to remain so much longer. In the summer of 1891 when I first visited the spot, I found there only a mass of shapeless débris covering the site of what was once the Stūpa referred to. According to the villagers' statements the mound had been dug into years ago by some 'Sahib's' orders. He appears to have found there some relics and in the course of his excavations to have levelled the structure to the ground. I have not been able to trace any report of this "exploration".<ref>"Notes on Ou-k'ong's account of Kaçmir." [[Aurel Stein]]. 1896, pp. 7-8, n. 6.</ref></blockquote>

==Footnotes==
{{Reflist}}

==References==
* "Notes on Ou-k’ong’s account of Kaçmīr." M. A. Stein. In: ''Philosophisch-Historische Klasse'' - Sitzungsberichte der Akademie der Wissenschaften, Vol. 137. Wien. 1896, 32 pp.

{{coord missing|Jammu and Kashmir}}

[[Category:History of Kashmir]]
[[Category:Baramulla district]]

Ushkur - Revision history

imported>Soumya-8974: removed Category:Jammu and Kashmir; added Category:Baramulla district using HotCat