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  • The Great Stupa at Sanchi Is One of The Most Important Buddhist Monuments Reflecting Gem of Buddhist Art and Architecture

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    The Great Stupa at Sanchi is one of the most important Buddhist monuments in India, located in Madhya Pradesh. It was originally commissioned in the 3rd century BCE by Emperor Ashoka and consists of a central chamber containing relics of the Buddha. Four gateways and a surrounding balustrade were later added. Considered an excellent example of Buddhist art and architecture over centuries, the Sanchi Stupa attracts many visitors and is a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

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    The Great Stupa at Sanchi is one of the most important Buddhist monuments in India, located in Madhya Pradesh. It was originally commissioned in the 3rd century BCE by Emperor Ashoka and consists of a central chamber containing relics of the Buddha. Four gateways and a surrounding balustrade were later added. Considered an excellent example of Buddhist art and architecture over centuries, the Sanchi Stupa attracts many visitors and is a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

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    The Great Stupa at Sanchi Is One of The Most Important Buddhist Monuments Reflecting Gem of Buddhist Art and Architecture

    Uploaded by

    sai thesis
    The Great Stupa at Sanchi is one of the most important Buddhist monuments in India, located in Madhya Pradesh. It was originally commissioned in the 3rd century BCE by Emperor Ashoka and consists of a central chamber containing relics of the Buddha. Four gateways and a surrounding balustrade were later added. Considered an excellent example of Buddhist art and architecture over centuries, the Sanchi Stupa attracts many visitors and is a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

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    The Great Stupa at Sanchi is one of the most important Buddhist

    monuments reflecting gem of Buddhist art and architecture. Located

    at Sanchi Town, Madhya Pradesh, India, this Stupa is the oldest stone

    structure in India that was built during the Mauryan period. Originally

    commissioned in the third century BCE by Emperor Ashok this huge

    hemispherical dome with a height of 12.2816.46 m (54.0 ft) consists

    of a central chamber where the relics of Lord Buddha are placed. Four

    ornamental gateways facing four directions and a balustrade

    surrounding the Stupa were later added in the first century BCE. A

    typical example of a Stupa and an excellent illustration of the

    development of Buddhist art and sculpture starting from the third

    century BC through the twelfth century AD, the Sanchi Stupa attracts

    hundreds of visitors from across the world. Enlisted as a UNESCO

    World Heritage Site since 1989, it is counted among the best

    conserved ancient Stupas of central India.


    FOUNDATION OF THE STUPA

    The foundation of the Buddhist vihara at Sanchi that includes the

    great Sanchi Stupa was laid by one of the greatest Indian Emperors,

    Ashoka of the Maurya Dynasty who reigned over almost the entire

    Indian subcontinent from c. 268 to 232 BCE. He commissioned

    construction of the Stupa here after redistributing the mortal remains

    of Lord Buddha so as to build several Stupas in different locations

    across India to spread Buddhism. The present hemispherical edifice is

    double in diameter of the original brick structure built by Ashoka,

    consisting of the relics of Lord Buddha. A chatra that is an umbrella

    like structure made of stone crowned the hemispherical brick structure

    that was surrounded by a wooden railing. Queen Devi, wife of

    Ashoka and daughter of a merchant of Vidisha, who was born in

    Sanchi, supervised the construction of this monument. A sandstone

    pillar, inscribed with Schism Edict by Ashoka as also with ornate

    spiral Brahmi characters from the Gupta period resembling conch

    shells referred as ‘Shankhalipi’ or ‘shell-script’ by scholars, was

    erected in the site. While the lower portion of it is still grounded, the

    upper portions are kept under a canopy.


    Sanchi Stupa is located on a hill top at Sanchi in Raisen district state

    of Madhya Pradesh. It is located 46 miles north east of Bhopal which

    is the capital of Madhya Pradesh.

    The city of Vidisha was on the trade route which connected the plains

    of the Ganga to The Western coast. It was also a great market place in

    the center of the vast Plains of Central India.

    At Sanchi Airtel Hill close to Vidisha are the earliest surviving

    Buddhist Stupas. Halfway up the hill is a stupa containing the remains

    of the prominent buddhists teachers of the Maurya period. The Vedica

    are made around the stupa dates to around 1000 BC.

    Buddhism grow rapidly while and after Lord Buddha’s time. It’s

    ideas and practices emerged through interaction with other traditions.

    Some of these interactions to form the generation of certain secret

    places which were attached with small shrines. Besides these places

    associated with Lord Buddha’s life and stupa’s containing his relics

    where also worshiped.


    Lumbini – Place of Birth.

    Bodh Gaya – Place where he attained enlightenment.

    Sarnath – Where Buddha delivered his first sermon.

    Kusinagara – Place where he attained mahaparinirvana or salvation

    Sanchi Stupa was built by Ashoka during the Mauryan Empire to

    spread the message of love and peace. It is the first built Stupas of all

    at Sanchi. Sanchi stupa is now a historic monument. It houses the

    relics of Buddha.

    It is situated on a hillock. There are many other stupas in the vicinity.

    But maximum of them are now in dilapidated condition. Our lion

    emblem has been taken from the ‘Ashoka Stambha’ located near the

    entry of the stupa. The entry gates are aligned in the four cardinal

    directions.

    It is made of sandstone blocks and some amount of bricks. Ashoka

    wanted to spread the message of love and peace far and wide. He

    became a follower of Buddhism. Hence he ordered the erection of

    such structures.
    It has an ornamented gateway called the ‘Torana’. The stupa cannot

    be entered. You can only walk around it. It is one of the biggest

    landmarks of Buddhism in India. The monument is placed on so high

    a hill that the top of the dome can be seen even from a distance. It is

    still standing in the same way fighting the test of time.

    The relics of budha are located in the nucleus of the hemispherical

    brick structure. The form has been given a round shape purposefully

    signifying the dust mound poured on a Buddha’s relics.

    There are different name assigned to the different structures

    The hemispherical dome is called the ‘anda’ – This structure was built

    to exemplify and illustrate the heap of soil that was used to bury the

    lifeless body of Lord Buddha. The ‘anda’ is a solid structure but

    contains the relics and actual remains of Lord Buddha.

    However, it is believed that different last remaining mortal relics of

    Lord Buddha are present in many of these Stupas inside their

    respective andas. The remains of lord Buddha present inside the andas

    have been archaeologically verified and corroborated by scientific

    methods.
    These remains are indeed of the great Buddist scholar Siddhartha

    Buddha. It is however believed that a few of them might have been

    misplaced or stolen due to exploitation over thousands of years by the

    followers of Buddha.

    Many of them have stolen relics because of their immense loging to

    be in contact with the mortal remains of their beloved teacher

    Buddha.

    The circum-ambulatory path all around is called the ‘pradakshina-

    path’ –

    Central pillar supporting triple discs- ‘chhatra’

    Entry gates are called the ‘toranas’ – The gateways to the stupas at

    sanchi are known as Torana. It is an exemplary work of art and

    architecture going hand in hand. These were built by the Satavahanas

    during 70 BC. The toranas are of a very unique nature and have an

    equally unique story behind their making.


    It is said that those toranas were not made by order of the royal

    dynasty but was built from the money collectively donated by the

    local people including farmers, businessmen, lawyers etc. The

    inscriptions on those toranas were also not decided by the rulers.

    The common people of the kingdom were given complete freedom to

    choose whatever was to be inscribed on them.

    The toranas are made in accordance with a unique design concept

    having two pillars supporting three parallel horizontal beams. The

    wheel of law is carved at the top while seven incarnations of Buddha

    are also present around it. The inscriptions also include pictorial

    stories that tell us about the life and times of the common people.

    The circulatory path is known as the -‘medhi’ – This is supposed to

    surround the anda which depics the central part of the stupa. This

    place is supposedly meant for circumambulation rituals.

    The square railing at the top- ‘harmika’ – This is a depiction of the

    sacred dome and is made of various writings carved on it.


    Conclusion

    The Sanchi Stupa is a UNESCO world heritage structure. Although

    there is no dedicated management team that looks after the

    maintenance of the structure, a wing of the Archaeological Survey of

    India, looks after its general care.

    The Ancient Monument and Archaeological Sites and Remains

    (AMASR) Act of 1958 and its Rules of 1959 and the Amendment and

    Validation Act of 2010 and the gazette notification of 1992 are

    responsible for providing the maintenance of this great historic site of

    human history and wisdom.

    The maintenance and timely restoration of landscaping of the area

    falls under the responsibility of the Municipality of Madhya Pradesh.

    Every year lots of tourists, both Indian as well as non-Indians visit the

    holy shrine to witness not only a divine and spiritual ambience but

    also to notice the exemplary work of architecture done thousands of

    years ago without any of the technology that is available to us today.


    It was built at a time when tools were limited and rare. Skill from hit

    and trial and an immensely towering vision were the only assets they

    had.

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