Uddian (RE: Kafirs)

[Stephen Hodge]

Yashwant Malaiya wrote:

> Can you mention why you think Oddiyan/Uddian was not located in
> the Swat valley?

I posted to Indology (10/11/99) a while back some reasons why I think
it is unlikely that the "tantric" Oddiyana was located in the Swat
Valley -- if you are intersted, could you check the Indology archives,
pls.

> "The Indo-greeks" by Narain (1957) mentions that it was the country
> between Suvastu and Gauri rivers.

Yes, the Chinese also were well aware that there was a place in the
Swat Valley region which they understood and transliterated as
"udyaana" in the sense of "parkland" -- recording the local belief
that the area was a parkland belong to Ashoka.  They were sometimes
resident there as it was an important route into India -- there are
detailed Chinese accounts of the region for the C7th & 8th.  These
records are always ignored by people who want to locate the "tantric"
Oddiyana there.

> You can find both in the Historical Atlas of South Asia.

Based on the received idea -- I would not place much value on this at
all.

> There is a chapter on Uddiyan in "Holy Places of the
> Buddha" (Dharma Publishing 1994).
All secondary material, again working from the assumption that the
"tantric" Oddiyana is there.  No independent research.

> It quotes Dominico Facenna, "A Guide to Excavations in Swat",
> 1964, mentioning that a Buddhist community may have lived there
> during 13-14th cent.

Possibly as a result of later Tibetan missionary activities, as Chris
Fynn mentioned yesterday.

I have no problems with your subsequent comments.

Best wishes,
Stephen Hodge