The Tradition of Buddhist Narrative Illustration in the Swat Valley

Abstract

The Swat valley has an important role in the development of Buddhist art. The religious imageries and biographical scenes of the Buddha were carved in stone that embellished the sacred buildings and were replicated as a standard schema of architectural decoration. With its turbulent political and social history, the region was not only graced with several religious constructions all over the valley but also expanded biographical story of the Buddha almost to length of its completion by introducing fresh scenes during their respective turns of each ethnic and political group. The material excavated by archaeologists records the political, social and religious history. Based on these cultural material and extensive studies, this paper investigates the evolution and development of narrative art in the Swat valley. The results show that biographical narrative illustrations extended through the ages help in understanding Buddhist iconography in cultural preferences and innovative approaches of visual story-telling.