Kunala Stupa
kushan-era Buddhist stupa and monastery in Taxila, Punjab, Pakistan
Kunala Stupa is a Kushan-era Jain stupa and monastery complex to the south-east of Taxila, on a hill about 200 meters just south of Sirkap, Punjab, Pakistan, thought to date to the 2nd century CE. It is located on a hill overlooking the ancient Indo-Greek city of Sirkap.
Emperor Samprati built a Jaina temple known as "Kunala Stupa" in honor of his father Kunala. During Samprati's rule, the extent of the wandering of Jaina monks developed multifold times, and later also included this region.
Its name come from Kunala, a son of Ashoka. Kunala, the legitimate heir to the throne had been blinded by one of Ashoka's queens, Tishyaksha, due to jealousy for his beautiful eyes. After years of wandering, Kunala reunited with his father Ashoka, and was treated by a doctor from Taxila.
Buddhist pilgrims with eye impairment came to the stupa with the hope of being cured.
The Kunala stupa was visited by the Chinese pilgrim Xuanzang, who wrote an account of it.
“Kunala Stupa” enters the record as kushan-era Buddhist stupa and monastery in Taxila, Punjab, Pakistan. Crown Archives preserves that source wording while asking what Kunala, Stupa and kushan-era can confirm, complicate or overturn.
Why this record matters
“Kunala Stupa” is worth following because a concise public description often conceals a longer documentary argument. Here, Kunala, Stupa and kushan-era provides the most credible route into that argument.
Maps, plans, fabric surveys and administrative records can establish how the site’s name, extent and function changed over time. The source revision retrieved here is dated Jul 30, 2026. The linked authority identifier is Q55616283. Authority coordinates are 33.750, 72.830. 1 of 1 selected statements include explicit references; 0 carry qualifiers and 0 use preferred rank.
A single description cannot reconcile every naming convention, rebuilding phase or administrative transfer associated with a place. The lead is largely declarative, so disagreement and counter-evidence require a deliberate search beyond the opening account. Authority statements aid reconciliation but still require their own references, qualifiers and ranks to be checked.
How to read it
Treat names, boundaries and functions as historically changeable. Maps, plans, inventories and administrative records can clarify what the place meant at different dates.
- Historic place names
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Contemporary maps, plans, listed-building records, estate papers and the responsible local or national archive.
Three-step research path
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Questions for further research
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This entry incorporates text from “Kunala Stupa” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.