Jandiala Temple, exquisite place for Buddhists

INTRODUCTION

An old temple recognized for its Ionic columns is located at Jandiala, close to Taxila, Pakistan. Jandiala temple is situated 630 meters to the north of Sirkap’s northern entrance. John Marshall’s Archaeological Survey of India investigated the Temple in 1912–1913. According to some, it’s the most Hellenic construction discovered in Pakistan yet.

STRUCTURE

This temple has a strong similarity to traditional Greek temples. The temple’s façade is made of plaster that has remnants of its original construction, which is composed of limestone and kanjur. In Gandhara, kanjur—a porous kind of sedimentary stone—is utilized. Massive sandstone stones are used in the construction of some enormous columns and pillars.

The temple is categorized as semi-classical. Its layout resembles a Greek temple in essence, with opisthodomos, pronaos, and naos in the rear. In the manner of a Greek style in arrangement, two anta walls surround the two Ionic columns at the front.

 The outside wall of the temple appears to have featured openings or doors in a pattern resembling the perimeter design (peripteral design) of a Greek surrounding row of columns. The Temple measured around 45 by 30 meters.

On the other hand, other writers believe that the strong wall with stairs inside the Temple, which is located between the naos and the opisthodomos, was built to support a ziggurat, similar to those seen in Zoroastrian or Magian temples.

besides the capital of Pataliputra (3rd century BCE), Ionic architecture is largely nonexistent on the Indian subcontinent, with the exception of one pillar in Ahin Posh that appears to be more Parthian than really Hellenistic.

 It appears to have vanished together with the decline of the Greek presence directly in India, to be replaced only by the many examples of Corinthian art found in the Indo-Corinthian capitals of Gandhara.

LOCATION

The ruins of Jandiala Temple, one of the most unusual structures in Central Asia, are situated at Jandiala, around 1.5 kilometers from Sirkap’s north entrance. Presumably designed as a Zoroastrian temple, the structure closely resembles the model of classical Greek temples, with an entrance supported by four Ionic columns and a central shrine.

The Jandiala temple is a unique structure that is connected to the ruins of the Taxila valley. It is located in the northern region of the Taxila Museum, situated near the Taxila Engineering University on Khanpur Road. This temple was built in the first century AD under the orders of Parthian ruler Gendu Firo for fire worshippers.

A platform which is almost 40ft higher from the earth, 150ft in length and 80ft in width with double floor building and an iconic design for pillars 4 in front and 4 in back connecting with the porch to the hallway and a beautiful plinth in the hallway. Probably the plinth was used to place a fire pit in there. The hallway has corridors on three of its sides and stairs on the back side of the hallway which leads you to the second floor and there is a separate place for priests for worshiping rituals.

HISTORY:

The Jandiala temple dates back to the 1st century BC, standing on an artificial mound, north of Sirkap City.

Taxila, home to several Buddhist sites, is regarded as the birthplace of Buddhist civilization. However, not many are aware that the Jandiala shrine, a Zoroastrian shrine, is located in the center of the enormous Buddhist civilization.

The Parthian ruler was greatly impressed by the bravery of Alexander, the Greek king, particularly during the fight between Alexander and King Porus. As a tribute to these achievements, Gendu Firoz ordered the artists to carve a copper plate in memory of Alexander’s bravery and place them in the walls of the hallway of the Jandiala temple for exhibition.

The artists prepared a total of 22 plates, each measuring 4 feet by 4 feet. Decades later, the shelves where the copper plates once rested remain empty. There is a possibility of finding a few copper plates After digging a few feet of the temple’s parts, conducting research presents an opportunity to unearth numerous concealed discoveries and valuable insights.

Apollonius, also known as Tyana may have visited the Jandiala Temple when he traveled around the subcontinent in the first century BC.

Taxila is roughly the size of his city and it was walled in a way similar to Greek towns. There was also the royal home of the personage that presided over the Porus kingdom at the time. They observed a temple in front of the wall that was about a hundred feet in size, built of stone and covered in plaster. Inside the temple was a shrine that was rather tiny in comparison to the enormous temple that is encircled by columns, but it was nevertheless noteworthy. For onto every one of its walls were attached bronze plaques describing the adventures of Porus and Alexander.”

CONSTRUCTION

The Jandiala Temple’s Ionic capitals appear to be a rather mild and provincial replication of the Ancient Temple. Still, the wall moldings and the bases have a very simple style. Dowels are also used to precisely attach the drums. All of this points to work that may have been completed directly by Greeks or under Greek direction.

The main shrine has a rectangular floor plan, although the wall is made of solid masonry with punched window apertures rather than the typical collonade seen in Greek temples. A series of steps behind the main shrine leads to a platform where, most likely, a Parthian fire sanctuary formerly stood in the first century B.C.

Given that Hellenic culture dispersed over the region during Alexander the Great’s conquest in the early centuries B.C., the Greek influence is not surprising.

CONCLUSION

The Jandiala Temple is Ionic in its appearance. This temple has a strong similarity to traditional Greek temples and is a unique structure that is connected to the ruins of the Taxila Valley. The temple is categorized as semi-classical. Its layout resembles a Greek temple in essence, with opisthodomos, pronaos, and naos in the rear.