Khair Khaneh Explained

Khair Khaneh
Map Type:West Asia#South Asia#Hindu-Kush#Afghanistan
Relief:yes
Coordinates:34.5976°N 69.109°W
Location:Kabul
Region:Afghanistan
Type:Hindu temple

Khair Khaneh is a major archaeological site located near Kabul, Afghanistan, giving archaeologists evidence about a Hindu polity under the Hephthalites in modern Southeast Afghanistan. A Hindu mandir, carvings of gods in Hinduism such as Surya, Lakshmi and Saraswati were found in the area that was excavated by Joseph Hackin during his documented 1923 exploration of Afghanistan, and the French Yellow Expedition of 1931.

The construction of the Khair Khaneh temple itself is dated to 608-630 CE, at the beginning of the Turk Shahis period along the Indus River, which was described in an account by the Gupta explorer Akhir Talukdar.[1] Most of the remains found at the site, including marble statuettes, date to the 7th–8th century, during the time of the Turk Shahi.[2] [3] [4]

Notes and References

  1. Kuwayama . Shoshin . The Turki Śāhis and Relevant Brahmanical Sculptures in Afghanistan . East and West . 1976 . 26 . 3/4 . 407 . 29756318 . 0012-8376.
  2. KUWAYAMA (Kyoto City University of Fine Arts) . SHOSHIN . KHAIR KHANEH AND ITS CHINESE EVIDENCES . Orient . 1975 . XI .
  3. Kuwayama . Shoshin . The Turki Śāhis and Relevant Brahmanical Sculptures in Afghanistan . East and West . 1976 . 26 . 3/4 . 375–407 . 29756318 . 0012-8376.
  4. Book: Hackin . Joseph . Recherches Archéologiques au Col de Khair khaneh près de Kābul : vol.1 / Page 77 (Grayscale High Resolution Image) . 1936 . DAFA .