Gandharan

The Peshawar Museum is one of the most popular museums in south East Asia especially for its Buddhist sculptures from Gandhara Period (2nd century BC to 6th century). The ground floor of the museum is dedicated to Gandharan art and history. Buddha statues of various sizes welcome the visitors. From small to large to enormous, the entire floor is adorned with these statues. British historians and antiquity hunters dug out places where the history of Buddha was buried, and carried the evidence in the form of statues and stone-carved panels to be stored here. Buddha’s whole life story has been told through these stone panels, as carving pictures on stone was among the most effective ways to preserve history in that age. Each carved stone panel is briefly described in Urdu and English on a plaque nailed beside it. One can get a thorough understanding of the story of Buddha – from the dream that Buddha mother had before his birth, to his death and post-death ceremonies from stone panels. Gandharan gallery contains statues of Buddha in a variety of meditation poses. A model of a stupa (a worshipping structure around which Buddhists meditate) is also present in the Peshawar museum. This place occasionally welcomes Buddhists from around the world, who come to Peshawar especially to witness and worship these brilliantly preserved statues.