Manikyala Stupa

The Manikyala Stupa or Mankiala Stupa is a Buddhist stupa near the village of Tope Mankiala, in the Pothohar region of Pakistan's Punjab province [1]. The stupa was built to commemorate the spot, where according to the Jataka tales, an incarnation of the Buddha called Prince Sattva sacrificed himself to feed seven hungry tiger cubs [1]. The stupa was discovered by Mountstuart Elphinstone, the first British emissary to Afghanistan [1]. Mankiala stupa's relic deposits were discovered by Jean-Baptiste Ventura in 1830 [1]. The relics were then removed from the site during the British Raj, and are now housed in the British Museum [1]. The stupa has not been restored since 1891, and remains largely abandoned [1]. The stupa features a large defect in its mound, which was created by plunderers [1].