Mendhar Tehsil
|
Mendhar (Jammu and Kashmir) Mendhar (Dharamsal) (جموں و کشمیر ( درمسال |
|
|---|---|
| Tehsil | |
 Mendhar (Jammu and Kashmir)
Mendhar (Jammu and Kashmir)
|
|
| Coordinates: 33°36′N 74°07′E / 33.60°N 74.11°ECoordinates: 33°36′N 74°07′E / 33.60°N 74.11°E | |
| Country |
 India
|
| State | Jammu and Kashmir |
| District | Poonch |
| Languages | |
| • Official | Urdu اردو |
| • Other | Gojri, Pahari |
| Time zone | IST (UTC+5:30) |
| PIN | 185211 |
| Telephone code | 911965 |
| Vehicle registration | JK-12 |
Mendhar (Urdu:تحصیل مینڈھر) is a tehsil in the Poonch district of the Indian state of Jammu and Kashmir. It is located in the foothills of Pir Panjal range within the Himalayas. Mendhar Tehsil headquarters is Mendhar town. It is located 60 km towards South from District headquarters Poonch and 210 km from State winter capital Jammu.
As per the "History of India" by R.K Mukherji and "2500 years of Budhism" by P.V Bhapat one Greek Governor Menander I (known in Indian Pali sources as Milinda (165 BC-130 BC) was the ruler of Punjab. Mendhar also included the western foothills of PirPanchal that formed part of his kingdom. Menander initially a Governor of the Greek empire had revolted and declared himself as an independent ruler. Since the entire population of Menander's kingdom were believers of Buddhism, hence, his interest in the faith became natural. He, however, had many questions in his mind about Buddhism. He interacted with a number of Buddhist scholars and monks seeking clarifications about his concerns regarding the faith but none could convincingly respond to his queries, the Malinda Panha. In the process he happened to meet a Buddhist monk by the name Nagasena who is believed to have answered all his questions. At the end of this discussion Menander became a disciple of Nagasena.
Mr. A Koul in his book 'Buddhism in Kashmir' writes that the discussion between Nagasena and Menander was held in the southern side of Kashmir valley about 20 yojans from the valley. P. V. Bapat writes that Menander had built a monastery in memory of his discussion with Nagasena and named it as Menander Vihara.
The famous book on Buddhism "Malinda Panha" written by King Menandra refers to his intimate knowledge of Kashmir and its surrounding areas. Jyotisher Pathic, a renowned writer of Jammu writes in one of his articles published in "Sheraza" Urdu that the discussion between Nagasena and Menandra was held is present Mendhar valley of Poonch. It is believed that the discussion between King Menandera and the monk took place at Sakhi Maidan, at site nearly 3 km north of Mendhar town, however, another account supported mostly by the local legend narrates that the meeting between Menander and Nagasena had held at Chhatral, a place nearly 10 km from the town. The legend further narrates that a memorial was later erect by the king at Chhatral known as "Dherra" which still stands so high bearing testimony to the historic event. The architecture of this structure is Indo-Greek in style and unique in look. It also believed that subsequent to it, King Menander constructed a monastery Menandra Vihara at Sakhi Maidan which served as a Buddhist center of learning for a long time to follow. Both these monuments have indistinguishable architectural similarities a tell the tales of thousands of years of rich history of the place. It is plausibly believed that the place was initially named as Menander Vihara which with the passage of time came to be known as Menander or Mendhar.
...
Wikipedia