WAKSAW-Uddiyana Archaeological Alliance

08/26/2026

📰❗️Did you know: the famous site in Swat, Bazira-Barikot, is now on the UNESCO tentative list!

We are very excited to share the news that Barikot is now on the UNESCO tentative list. Raise your hand if you've ever visited the breathtaking site Brikot 🙋

Bazira-Barikot preserves a long and continuous record of urban occupation, ritual practice and craft production in the Swat Valley from at least the 2nd millennium BCE through the Early Historic, Kushan and Kushano-Sasanian phases into the Late Historic and early Islamic periods. Its historical depth is extraordinary. It is one of the earliest urban centers in the Swat Valley. The citadel at Bazira-Barikot was famously captured by Alexander the Great in 327 BCE, linking the site directly to world history and the spread of Hellenistic culture into South Asia.

Its continuous occupation reflects uninterrupted cultural development and resilience across centuries. The site’s cultural and religious significance is equally profound. Bazira contains remains of Buddhist sanctuaries and stupas, integral to the Gandhara civilization, which played a pivotal role in spreading Buddhist art and philosophy across Asia. Excavations have also revealed Brahmanical temples from the Shahi period, demonstrating the coexistence and transition of religious traditions. Later Islamic monuments further enrich the site’s layered heritage, making Bazira-Barikot a microcosm of South Asian religious and cultural history. It illustrates the interchange of human values through the fusion of Hellenistic, Buddhist, Hindu, and Islamic traditions.

For the full article, see: https://whc.unesco.org/en/tentativelists/7034/

08/06/2026

Ever wondered how Gandhari language and Karoshthi script work? Follow us to read some Gandhari together!

07/22/2026

Ever wondered how scholars, such as archaeologists and epigraphists, could study historical facts from a few lines inscriptions? Here is an example of how the agnatic lineage of the Odi Dynasty was reconstructed:

Follow us and to learn more!

07/12/2026

Initiated and inspired by the renowned Italian orientalist, Indologist and scholar of East Asian studies, Giuseppe Tucci (1894–1984), the Italian Archaeological Mission in Pakistan has been excavating and studying the heritage of the Swat Valley for seventy years. In 2025, the Italian Archaeological Mission in Pakistan celebrated his 70th anniversary.

As a proud partner and sponsor, WAKSAW was honored to be a part of its cause and witnessed its 70th anniversary.

Please enjoy a short clip on the commemoration of the Italian Archaeological Mission in Pakistan's 70th Anniversary on Oct 25, 2025, Swat Valley.

06/29/2026

Do you know what a stūpa typically looked like in early India? Do you know what the famous Senavarma inscription talks about? Read our post to find out more!

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06/23/2026

Today, in , we would like to introduce you to another of our attendees of the Winter School, Joseph La Rose. Joe is a PhD candidate, research affiliate, and Sanskritist at Rangjung Yeshe Institute in Kathmandu; he would like to share his experience and thoughts about the program with you:

"I was absolutely humbled by the kindness and generosity of all those I met during my time in the WAKSAW winter school in Pakistan in January 2025. From fellow academics and students to the vast number of locals who kept us fed, housed and secure, all were unfailing in their care. Other participants have very capably captured the various ways in which this trip was transformative, and I cannot hope to improve upon their glowing descriptions of the time we spent in Pakistan.

The only point I might add is that the Buddhist sites we visited in Gandhara offered a truly special opportunity for practice, where the power of place was undiminished by the centuries they have passed as archaeological "ruins" and modern-day objects of study. It's impossible to convey here the effect that spending time among these sites can have. At each of the sites I was able to spend a few minutes practicing—circumambulating the remains of stupas, reciting some Buddhist prayers, and offering flowers. For this first opportunity to travel to Pakistan I will always be grateful to Yali, the founder of WAKSAW, Professor Ghani, and the many other organizers and hosts.

Since this first visit, I had the opportunity to return in May 2026 for the Third International Conference on the Buddhist Heritage of Pakistan, where I presented a paper on the Gilgit manuscripts, received valuable feedback, met old friends and made new ones, and left further humbled and inspired. At least two more future visits are in the planning stages."

—— Joseph La Rose

Here are some of the photos that Joe would like to share with you. Among which, you’ll see his pencil case, aka Mr. Bear, enjoyed the trip and made friends just as Joe did.

06/16/2026

Join us tomorrow!

Join us next Wednesday for the last online seminar in this academic year!

The Padmasambhava, Uḍḍiyāna, and Tibet seminar series applies interdisciplinary approaches to the person of Padmasambhava, in history, myth, and ritual. Additional focuses are the regions of Kashmir, Uḍḍiyāna, and Tibet, and their mutual religious, intellectual, cultural, political, and economic interactions through the ta***ic era.
Website: https://thsc.web.ox.ac.uk/padmasambhava-uddiyana-and-tibet-seminar-series

Wednesdays, 5–6 PM, UK time.
On Zoom: https://bit.ly/treasureseminar
No registration required.

17th June, Adam Krug: “The Oḍiyāna Mahāmudrā Lineage: Textual Communities and the Construction/Reconstruction of Institutional Identities.”

Abstract: This talk will begin with an introduction to the Grub pa sde bdun that touches upon their importance to Indic Buddhist traditions, their transmission to Tibet in the mid-eleventh century, and the role that they played in the Karma Kagyü’s formulation of a practical canon of Indian Mahāmudrā Works (phyag chen rgya gzhung) at the turn of the sixteenth century. The presentation will then focus on the preservation of a hagiographic tradition among the Drikung Kagyü identifying the Grub pa sde bdun as a textual record for the transmission of the Oḍiyāna Mahāmudrā lineage. It will conclude with a discussion of how this history of the formulation and transmission of the Grub pa sde bdun invites a shift in our own approach as scholars toward understanding Buddhist textual traditions as active participants in the creation and continuation of Buddhist communities and institutions.

Bio: Adam Krug (PhD UC Santa Barbara 2018) is an Associate Translator with 84000: Translating the Words of the Buddha. He is the author of The Seven Siddhi Texts (Grub pa sde bdun): Mahāmudrā Instructions from the Oḍiyāna Mahāsiddhas (Wisdom, 2025), a study and annotated translation of an early practical canon of seven works composed by seven Indian mahāsiddhas that is recognized in Tibet as the seminal corpus of Indian Mahāmudrā Works (phyag chen rgya gzhung). Adam has published a number of scholarly articles and has produced numerous translations through his work with 84000 spanning the textual genres of sūtra, dhāraṇī, kriyātantra, yogatantra, and yoginītantra. His current work for 84000 is focused on the “Perfection of Wisdom” and “Mantra” sections of The Supreme Primordial Ta**ra (Dpal mchog dang po; Śrīparamādya). He is also currently preparing for publication a study in two parts on the Indian yogin Buddhagupta’s transmission of two Tārāyoginītantras to the Tibetan scholar Tāranātha.

06/14/2026

In today’s , we would like to introduce you to Kanata Kawasaki !

Kanata is a graduate student at the International College for Postgraduate Buddhist Studies in Tokyo, Japan. His research focuses on Gāndhārī Buddhist manuscripts, especially the Robert Senior Collection, a second-century Gāndhārī manuscript written in the Kharoṣṭhī script.

For Kanata, participating in the winter school was not only an opportunity to encounter the archaeological and cultural world of Gandhāra, but also a chance to reflect more deeply on the language, manuscripts, and people behind the texts he studies.

Kanata writes:

“Walking through archaeological sites, seeing inscriptions, sculptures, stupas, and monasteries in person, and listening to lectures by leading scholars allowed me to feel the historical depth behind the manuscripts I study.

What moved me most was the realization that every small fragment of text belongs to a much wider world.

Thanks to Yali and the WAKSAW, the winter school became a rare place where philology, archaeology, art history, and friendship came together. I learned not only about Gāndhārī manuscripts and Gandhāran Buddhism, but also about collaboration, generosity, and the joy of studying with companions from different parts of the world.

I came to Pakistan as a student of Gāndhārī texts, but I left with a much broader sense of what it means to study them through places, objects, people, and shared experiences.

I am deeply grateful for this experience, and I hope to return to Pakistan again and again.”

Kanata would like to share with you some of his favorite moments!

P.s. Kanata loves meeting the locals and hanging out with them! And he is a big traveller. If you ever spot him again in Pakistan, come and say hi!!

Interested in such stories? Follow our account and for more!

Want to participate in our future activities like Kanata did? Follow us to stay tuned! We will post our updates here!

06/11/2026

Join us next Wednesday for the last online seminar in this academic year!

The Padmasambhava, Uḍḍiyāna, and Tibet seminar series applies interdisciplinary approaches to the person of Padmasambhava, in history, myth, and ritual. Additional focuses are the regions of Kashmir, Uḍḍiyāna, and Tibet, and their mutual religious, intellectual, cultural, political, and economic interactions through the ta***ic era.
Website: https://thsc.web.ox.ac.uk/padmasambhava-uddiyana-and-tibet-seminar-series

Wednesdays, 5–6 PM, UK time.
On Zoom: https://bit.ly/treasureseminar
No registration required.

17th June, Adam Krug: “The Oḍiyāna Mahāmudrā Lineage: Textual Communities and the Construction/Reconstruction of Institutional Identities.”

Abstract: This talk will begin with an introduction to the Grub pa sde bdun that touches upon their importance to Indic Buddhist traditions, their transmission to Tibet in the mid-eleventh century, and the role that they played in the Karma Kagyü’s formulation of a practical canon of Indian Mahāmudrā Works (phyag chen rgya gzhung) at the turn of the sixteenth century. The presentation will then focus on the preservation of a hagiographic tradition among the Drikung Kagyü identifying the Grub pa sde bdun as a textual record for the transmission of the Oḍiyāna Mahāmudrā lineage. It will conclude with a discussion of how this history of the formulation and transmission of the Grub pa sde bdun invites a shift in our own approach as scholars toward understanding Buddhist textual traditions as active participants in the creation and continuation of Buddhist communities and institutions.

Bio: Adam Krug (PhD UC Santa Barbara 2018) is an Associate Translator with 84000: Translating the Words of the Buddha. He is the author of The Seven Siddhi Texts (Grub pa sde bdun): Mahāmudrā Instructions from the Oḍiyāna Mahāsiddhas (Wisdom, 2025), a study and annotated translation of an early practical canon of seven works composed by seven Indian mahāsiddhas that is recognized in Tibet as the seminal corpus of Indian Mahāmudrā Works (phyag chen rgya gzhung). Adam has published a number of scholarly articles and has produced numerous translations through his work with 84000 spanning the textual genres of sūtra, dhāraṇī, kriyātantra, yogatantra, and yoginītantra. His current work for 84000 is focused on the “Perfection of Wisdom” and “Mantra” sections of The Supreme Primordial Ta**ra (Dpal mchog dang po; Śrīparamādya). He is also currently preparing for publication a study in two parts on the Indian yogin Buddhagupta’s transmission of two Tārāyoginītantras to the Tibetan scholar Tāranātha.

06/08/2026

Have you heard about the founding myth of the Odis? Read our post if you haven't!