Now, Taxila (in Sanskrit Takshashila, literally meaning City of Cut Stone or Rock of Taksha) is a small town situated about 32km north-west of Islamabad, but the ancient settlement was a noted centre of learning at least several centuries BC, and continued to attract students from around the old world until its destruction in the 5th century by the Huns. Generally, a student entered Takshashila at the age of sixteen. The Vedas, the ancient and the most revered Hindu scriptures, and the Eighteen Silpas or Arts, which included skills such as archery, hunting, and elephant lore, were taught, in addition to its law school, medical school, and school of military science. Situated at the pivotal junction of India, western Asia and Central Asia, Taxila also illustrates the different stages in the development of a city on the Indus that was alternately influenced by Persia, Greece and Central Asia. It is a vast serial site, that includes a Mesolithic cave and the archaeological remains of four early settlement sites, Buddhist monasteries, and a Muslim mosque and madrassa.
Read more »