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FEATURES | EASTERN HORIZON 49

Dharmaguptaka sect monastery library, in the ancient Mahayana, one of the three main existing branches of
city of Nagarahara. Buddhism. But according to Salomon, there is no reason
to believe that the phrase in question, amatraa bhoti
Similar to the Dead Sea Scrolls that altered our Mahayana [there are calls from the multitude], is related
knowledge of Judaism and early Christianity, this to Mahayana in Kharosthi orthography.
collection of twenty-nine scrolls promises to shed
light on a pivotal period in the history of Buddhism in The oldest scrolls
the subcontinent. The incomplete birch bark scrolls In 2003, the US Library of Congress received a scroll
discovered in a group of inscribed clay vessels are penned roughly two thousand years ago in Gandhara,
written in Gandhari Prakrit and Kharosthi script, date an ancient Buddhist province located in the present-day
back to roughly the beginning of the Christian period northern border regions of Afghanistan and Pakistan.
and i probably the oldest Buddhist writings ever This birch bark scroll, also known as the Gandhara
uncovered. scroll at the Library of Congress, is one of the oldest
Buddhist manuscripts in the world. Radiocarbon dating
In 1994, the British Library received over eighty places its formation somewhere between the first
fragments of Gandharan manuscripts from the first century BCE and the first century CE, which makes
half of the 1st century CE, including twenty-seven birch it an outstanding example of the recently unearthed
bark scrolls. Preserved in clay jars, these birch bark Gandhari Buddhist literature.
texts are believed to have been discovered in ancient
monasteries in western Pakistan, the area of Gandhara. Only a few hundred Gandharan manuscripts are
A team of curators and scholars has been attempting to currently known to experts around the world. Not only
decipher the documents and numerous volumes have are these the oldest Buddhist manuscripts in existence,
been published. As the manuscripts were composed in but also the oldest manuscripts from the greater South
Gandhari using Kharosthi script, these are sometimes Asian region. This literature provides significant insight
referred to as Kharosthi manuscripts. into the early history and evolution of Buddhism.

Gandhara and its glory
At the height of its glory, Gandhara was home to a
succession of affluent and powerful kingdoms. It
became one of the world’s most important Buddhist
centres and a conduit for transmitting Buddhism from
India to China and other parts of Asia. Despite Gandhara
being an important interaction point between India and
the West, and having found significant archaeological
evidence of Gandhara’s thriving culture, no recorded
proof of its literary and religious canon existed before
this discovery.
What the scrolls contain

The collection contains a variety of literature, Gandhara emerged as important cultural crossroad of
including the Dhammapada, Buddha’s teachings such Greek, Iranian, and Indian traditions, more than two
as the Rhinoceros Sutra, avadanas and purvayogas, thousand years ago. Numerous rulers and dynasties
commentaries and Abhidharma texts. An inscription ruled the region, including Alexander the Great (mid-
on a jar and some literary evidence relates the texts 4th century BCE), the Mauryan emperor Ashoka (mid-
to the Buddhist school of Dharmaguptaka. On a semi- 3rd century BCE), and the Kushan emperor Kanishka
related note, the Gandharan text of the Rhinoceros Sutra I (127–150 CE). Between the reigns of Ashoka and
contains the word Mahayana, which some identify with Kanishka I, Gandhara became an important centre for