Tirtha Atlas

The sacred geography of the Indic world — every site mapped, dated, storied, and cited.

3031 sites15 countries4 traditions30 centuries
Ancient · Jain · Pakistan

Kunala Stupa

Taxila, Punjab · 33.7504°, 72.8305°

Kunala, son of emperor AshokaKushanStupa and monastery complex
Sacred since
100 CE
first attestation / structure
Standing structure
2nd c. CE
Kushan

History & significance

A ruined stupa and monastery on a hill about 200 metres south of Sirkap at Taxila, named for Kunala, the son of Ashoka. Tradition credits its building to emperor Samprati in honour of his father, and Xuanzang recorded that pilgrims suffering from diseases of the eye came here in hope of a cure.

Sthala katha — the traditional account

What follows is the temple’s own traditional account, transmitted through liturgy and local memory. It is recorded here as tradition, not as attested history.

Kunala is said to have been blinded through the jealousy of a queen, and afterwards reunited with his father and treated by a physician at Taxila.

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Sources

coordinates: wikipedia-2026-08-28 · sources retrieved 2026-08-26 · dynasty page: Kushan