Purushapura (disambiguation)
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Purushapura is a ancient name of Peshawar, North-West Frontier Province, Pakistan.
[edit] History
Purushapura, Ghandara, Kashmir and parts of Punjab were the springboard for Buddhism to Afghanistan, parts of Iran and Central Asia and further to the north and to the east.
Purushapura present Peshawar, was one of the principal centres for the expansion of Mahâyâna Buddhism. Buddhist missionaries are thought to have be sent to Ghandara not long after the Parinirvâna of the Buddha . Buddhism was firmly rooted in this area under the reign of Emperor Ashoka, whose grandfather Chandragupta Maurya had already extended his imperial power in this western direction .
Ashoka himself was a viceroy at Taxila, a great ancient centre of Hindu and later Buddhist learning and trade that once flourished near Ghandara. After the decline of the Mauryas during the 2nd century BC, the Greco-Bactrians reasserted their powers and strengthened Buddhism (King Menandros/Milinda). Later the Greeks were suplanted by other peoples, including the Scythians and the Parthians. Afterwards came the Kushâns, a nomadic people originating from China. They built a great empire (from Chinese Turkestan into Afghanistan and northern India and as far as Lake Aral) and became later (after initial enemyship towards Buddhism) great supporters of Buddhism and built many monasteris and stûpas. Thus between the 1st and 3rd centuries AD, Buddhism blossomed in this vital part of the world. Its greates patron was King Kanishka (c. 78-101 AD).
