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INTRODUCTION
Taxila valley occupies land situated between the two main rivers of Pakistan, Indus and Jhelum, known as Sind Sagar Doaab. On the world map Taxila Valley lies between north latitudes 33° 42' 30" and 33° 50' and east longitudes 72° 53'45" and 72° 59'. Average height of the valley from sea level is 530 meter and spreads over an area of about 375 square kilometres.
The valley derives its name from the historic city of Takshasila or Taxila. In the puranic verses the name is spelt as Takhasila or Takshasila in the prakrit epigraphs, but in the Besnagar inscription of the Greek ambassador Heliodorus it is spelt Takkhasila (Dani, (Dani, 1986:10). The present spelling Taxila was the abbreviated form used by Greeks and Romans and from them commonly adopted by European writers(Marshall, 1951). The correct Sanskrit spelling is Takshasila. Al-Beruni is the only scholar who gives the Persian equivalent of Takshasila as Mar-i-Kala(Sachau, 1888:302 as referred by Marshall, 1951). The name in its corrupt form is still survives in the name of the southern hills of Margalla.
The literal meaning of the word Tafaha in Sanskrit is to cut or to split and s ila means stone, rock or hill. It is because of this literal meaning of the two composite words that Marshall suggested: "It is not unlikely that Takshasila signified the city of cut stone Beai, 1884 ppl38; Marshall 1951). The faithful Chinese pilgrims, attributed the name Takshasila with Tathagata, according to the Hiuen-Tsang's accounts: "This is the spot where Tathagata formerly dwelt when he was practising the discipline of a Bodhisattva; he was then the king of a great country and was called Chen-ta-Io-po-la-po (Chandraprabha); he cut off his head, earnestly seeking the acquirement of Bodhi" Beai, 1884pp:138;Marshalll951.
HISTORICAL CONTEXT
These favorable and hospitable geographical and climatic conditions of the ancient Taxila attracted the Man, since pre historic times. The earliest known settlement of the Taxila valley is Sarai Khola which yielded a cultural sequence from late Neolithic to the Iron Age i.e. 1. Neolithic period (4000 to 2800 BC), 2. Bronze Age Culture (2800 -1500 B.C.) and Late Bronze and Early Iron Age Culture (1000 B.C.) (Halim 1972 11 12). This discovery pushed back the history of the region...