PESHAWAR, Sept 12: Stories of Buddha were first written in Peshawar after the rise of Mahyana Buddhism in Gandhara during the reign of emperor Kanishka and were carved in stone by various sculptors.

This was stated by former director of the Peshawar Museum Professor Fidaullah Sehrai, an expert on the Gandhara civilisation, at a gathering of Japanese tourists at a local hotel on Wednesday.

He said that the stories became popular in Gandhara and inspired sculptors to carve Buddha’s statues in stone for worship.

Professional sculptors worked day and night to produce such statues which were bought by wealthy people who donated them to monasteries for placing them in the niches for worship.

The smaller narrative panels were fixed to the main body of the votive stupas with iron nails and hooks, he added.

He said the life-size images of Buddha and Bodhistavas installed in chapels were painted and dressed in the yellow, orange and saffron robes. Buddha’s characteristic smile and eyes attracted the attention of pilgrims and worshippers in monasteries.

Mr Sehrai said that not only the professional sculptors but even the students of the monasteries were taught the art of carving to produce images of Buddha and Bodhistava on the stone of under construction monasteries.

That way, the work of carving and construction of monasteries were done at the same time and this was widely praised.

He said immense financial and material assistance was provided to monks and monasteries by kings, members of royal families, wealthy merchants and traders.

It contributed to the progress of Gandhara art and crafts. Thus something like art galleries came into being where the statues and sculptural rendering of stories about Budha were displayed.

These statues and carvings are like the modern-day documentaries depicting various events in sequence, Prof Sehrai said.