A Guide to Taxila

There remain to be noticed only three more of these ancient Buddhist settlements: one, at Bhallar, that was once world-famous, the other two, at Lālchak and Bādalpur, of relatively little interest.

BHALLAṚ STŪPA

The Bhallaṛ Stūpa occupies a commanding position on the last spur of the Sarḍa hill, which bounds the Haro valley on the north, and is situated at the side of the Havelian Railway, about five miles from Taxila station and half a mile north of the Haro river. According to Hsüan Tsang, it was originally built by the Emperor Aśoka to commemorate the spot where the Buddha in a previous existence had made an offering of his head, but if ever Aśoka erected a monument here, no trace of it is now discoverable. The existing stūpa dates back no further than the early medieval period. Like the Kunāla Stūpa on the opposite side of the valley, it stood on a lofty oblong base, ascended on its eastern side by a broad flight of steps. The body of the superstructure above this base consisted, as usual, of a drum and dome surmounted by one or more umbrellas. The drum, which is strikingly high in proportion to the diameter of the monument, was divided into six or seven tiers, diminishing in size from the bottom upwards and decorated with rows of decadent Corinthian pilasters, friezes and dentil cornices. The northern half of the stupa has entirely fallen, and on this side the relic chamber, which was set near the top of the drum, is now exposed to view. In the courtyard of the stūpa, numerous chapels and other monuments have been excavated, and some massive walls of a spacious monastery have come to light on the east of the courtyard. It was in this monastery, says Hsüan Tsang, that Kumāralabdha, the founder of the Sautrāntika School, composed his treatises, and in the courtyard of the stūpa that a miracle took place not long before his time. A woman afflicted with leprosy came to worship at the stūpa and, finding the court all covered with litter and dirty, proceeded to cleanse it and to scatter flowers around the building. Thereupon her leprosy left her and her beauty was restored.