Buddhist delegations visit sacred sites in Gilgit-Baltistan

GILGIT: A delegation of Malaysian Buddhist pilgrims visited sacred Buddhist sites in Gilgit-Baltistan on Wednesday, where they performed religious rituals and prayers.

Sherbaz Gulbasti, a guide accompanying the delegation, told HUM News English that the group, consisting of 34 members including a monk, visited the Manthal Buddha Rock in Skardu. He said they offered prayers at the Buddhist sacred site.

Separately, a Thai Buddhist delegation also visited the Manthal Buddha Rock and performed their rituals. Zakir Baltistani, a Skardu journalist, told that the Thai delegation was on touristic trip in Skardu not specifically for performing pilgrimage however they did perform their rituals in the Sacred Buddhist site.

Located in Manthal village near Sadpara Dam, Manthal Buddha Rock is one of the most famous tourist attractions, as well as a significant historical and archaeological heritage site of the Baltistan region. Every year, many Buddhists and local tourists visit the site.

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According to a board erected by the Gilgit-Baltistan Tourism Department near the Manthal Buddha Rock, the “9th-century Buddha relief represents the late phase of the ‘Golden Era of Buddhism’ in the Upper Indus Valley between the eighth and tenth centuries. The Buddha relief on a large yellow rock shows a meditating Buddha surrounded by small Bodhisattvas and two standing Maitreya figures (future Buddhas).” The Manthal Buddha Rock site is protected under the Antiquities Act of 1975.

Gulbasti added that the delegation would also visit the Gilgit Kargah Buddha, along with other sacred Buddhist sites in Taxila, Swat, Takht Bahi, and Peshawar.

According to the Gilgit Baltistan Tourism, Sports, Culture, Archaeology & Museums Department website, Kargah Buddha, locally known as Yashani, is located in Kargah locality, nearly 9 kilometers away from Gilgit City.

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The Buddha statue is around 15 feet tall and 5 feet wide and is carved into a mountain at approximately 150 feet above the ground.

The sculpture is estimated to belong to the 4th century AD and was excavated and discovered by archaeologists in 1938–39. It depicts the figure of Buddha with the right hand on the chest and the left arm hanging straight down. According to Buddhist belief, the pose symbolises the message of peace.