Oddiyana

Oḍḍiyāna (Skt. Oḍḍiyāna; Tibetan: ཨུ་རྒྱན་, Wylie: u rgyan , Odia: ଓଡ଼ିଆଣ), a small country in early medieval India, is ascribed importance in the development and dissemination of Vajrayana Buddhism. It is conventionally placed in Pakistan's Swat valley although a case can also be made for its location in the Indian state of Odisha. Later Tibetan traditions view it as a legendary heavenly place inaccessible to ordinary mortals. Padmasambhava, the 8th-century Buddhist master who was instrumental in the introduction of Buddhism to Tibet, was believed to have been born in Oddiyana.

Location

The physical location of Oḍḍiyāna is disputed and open to conjecture. Possible locations that have been identified are: