Sanchi – Madhya Pradesh
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Sanchi is situated in the state of Madhya Pradesh in India. It lies at a distance of approximately 52 km from the capital city of Bhopal and 10 km from Vidisha. The major attractions of Sanchi include a number of Buddhist stupas, monasteries, temples and pillars. All these structures date back to somewhere between 3rd century BC and 12th century AD. The Mauryan emperor Ashoka founded all the stupas at Sanchi in the honor of Lord Buddha. They have the distinction of being included by UNESCO in its list of World Heritage Sites.
Sanchi, about 10 kilometre south-west of Vidisha on the Ventral Railway and 70 kilometre from Bhopal, the capital of Madhya Pradesh, is one of the most sacred Buddhist shrines in India. The term Stupa (Pali: Thupa) means a heap or mound. In Buddhism, the term is generally applied to monuments over the relics of the Buddha and His disciples and other distinguished persons. The Stupas are of three kinds: Sarika Stupas raised over body relics; Uddesika Stupas built as commemorative monuments; and Paribhogika Stupas erected over the articles, like the bowl, the sanghati etc. used by Lord Buddha. The earliest and the grandest Stupa which survives till today, is the Great Sanchi which was initially built by Asoka.
The Asoken Stupa was extendively damaged by the opponents of Buddhism following the break-up of the Mauryan Empire in 185 B.C. However, it was soon rebuilt by the devout Buddhists of Vidisa, and others in the country. While reconstructing , its scope was enlarged to nearly twice its previous size.
The elaborately carved four gateways (torana) weer added by the devotees in the first century B.C. As the inscriptions reveal, top architrate of the South Gateway was the gift of one Ananda, who was the foreman of the artisans of King Satakarni, a former member of the Satavahana dybasty. The south pillar of the West Gateway and the middle archirtrate of the South Gateway were the gifts of the same person, one Balamitra, the puplic of Aya-Chuda. Nagapriya, a native of kurara, was the donor of both south pillar of the East Gateway and north pillar of the West Gateway.
The last addition made to the Great Stupa was in about A.D. 450 when four images of the Buddha, each seated under a pillarded canopy were installed against the walls of the Stupa facing the four entrances. Around the Great Stupa, grew a grand complex of Stupas, temples, pillars and monasteries covering a period of about 150 years from the 3rd century B.C. to A.D. 12th century.
From 13th century onward, the Sanchi shrines fell on bad days and were deserted by the Buddhists. In due course, they were engulfed by jungle and completely forgotten till they were discovered by General Taylor in 1818, who found Stupa 1,2 and 3 intact. In the following years, however, these monuments were damaged to a large extent by the archaeologists and treature-hunters. In 1822, the Great Stupa was opened up by the Assistant Political Agent in Bhopal, from top to bottom on one side, thus leaving a great breach which led to the collapse of the West Gateway and a part of the enclosing balustrade. The excavations by Cunningham and F.C. Maisey in 1851 also damaged the Stupas. Meanwhile, the Asoken pillar was broken into pieces by a local Zamindar.
An effort to repair and restore the Great Stupa was made by Major Cole in 1881 who succeeded in filling in the breach in the dome of the Stupa and setting up its fallen West and South Gateway and a part of its railing. However, the major part of the exploration and restoration work was done by Sir John Marshal, Director General of Archaeology in India who, between the years 1912 to1919 undertook large scale exploration, restoration and reconstruction work, and also consecutively numbered the incomparable monuments.
Besides the Great Stupa on the plateau, there are as many as fifty Stupas, pillars, temples and monasteries. Stupa 2 and monastery 51 are on the western slope on a ledge of the rock lower than theMain Terrace.
However, the most magnificent as well as the largest one of these is the "Great Stupa of Sanchi". One of the best-preserved stupas, it is also the oldest of the existing structures in India, dating back to the Buddhist period. Encircling the Great Sanchi Stupa is a railing, with four carved gateways, each facing one of the four directions. It is believed that these gateways were carved around 100 AD. All the stupas at Sanchi, Madhya Pradesh, have a unique feature of not having any images of Lord Buddha in human form.
Instead, Buddha has been illustrated symbolically, in the form of inanimate figures. The figures include wheels (representing his teaching), his footprints, empty throne etc. However, the figure that is most extensively used consists of a lotus flower. In Buddhism, lotus has a special meaning attached to it. It is both a beautiful decoration as well as a religious symbol. Buddhists believe that, like lotus grows from mud to produce a beautiful white blossom, people can also emerge from the mud of materialism into sunlight.
The exquisite carvings on these stupas depict a world where humans and animals live in perfect harmony with each other. The gateways of all the stupas have carvings that portray a number of incidents from the life of the Buddha as well as his previous incarnations as Bodhisattvas described in Jataka tales. Then, you have the male and female tree spirits adorned on the stupa gateways. The female tree spirits symbolize fertility and are used by Buddhists as welcoming figures.
Sanchi, about 10 kilometre south-west of Vidisha on the Ventral Railway and 70 kilometre from Bhopal, the capital of Madhya Pradesh, is one of the most sacred Buddhist shrines in India. The term Stupa (Pali: Thupa) means a heap or mound. In Buddhism, the term is generally applied to monuments over the relics of the Buddha and His disciples and other distinguished persons. The Stupas are of three kinds: Sarika Stupas raised over body relics; Uddesika Stupas built as commemorative monuments; and Paribhogika Stupas erected over the articles, like the bowl, the sanghati etc. used by Lord Buddha. The earliest and the grandest Stupa which survives till today, is the Great Sanchi which was initially built by Asoka.
History
Sanchi appears to have been chosen by Asoka for constructing a Stupa because of his happy association with Vidisa, the borth place of Devi, his consort, who was the daughter of a local Buddhist merchant. The original Stupa was about 60 feet in diametre at the base, approximately hemisphere in shape with a raised terrace surrounding its base and a crowning pinnacle. Mahendra, Asoka’s son is said to have embarked on his mission to Sri Lanka after worshipping at the Sachi shrine atop the Chetiya Giri Hills.The Asoken Stupa was extendively damaged by the opponents of Buddhism following the break-up of the Mauryan Empire in 185 B.C. However, it was soon rebuilt by the devout Buddhists of Vidisa, and others in the country. While reconstructing , its scope was enlarged to nearly twice its previous size.
The elaborately carved four gateways (torana) weer added by the devotees in the first century B.C. As the inscriptions reveal, top architrate of the South Gateway was the gift of one Ananda, who was the foreman of the artisans of King Satakarni, a former member of the Satavahana dybasty. The south pillar of the West Gateway and the middle archirtrate of the South Gateway were the gifts of the same person, one Balamitra, the puplic of Aya-Chuda. Nagapriya, a native of kurara, was the donor of both south pillar of the East Gateway and north pillar of the West Gateway.
The last addition made to the Great Stupa was in about A.D. 450 when four images of the Buddha, each seated under a pillarded canopy were installed against the walls of the Stupa facing the four entrances. Around the Great Stupa, grew a grand complex of Stupas, temples, pillars and monasteries covering a period of about 150 years from the 3rd century B.C. to A.D. 12th century.
From 13th century onward, the Sanchi shrines fell on bad days and were deserted by the Buddhists. In due course, they were engulfed by jungle and completely forgotten till they were discovered by General Taylor in 1818, who found Stupa 1,2 and 3 intact. In the following years, however, these monuments were damaged to a large extent by the archaeologists and treature-hunters. In 1822, the Great Stupa was opened up by the Assistant Political Agent in Bhopal, from top to bottom on one side, thus leaving a great breach which led to the collapse of the West Gateway and a part of the enclosing balustrade. The excavations by Cunningham and F.C. Maisey in 1851 also damaged the Stupas. Meanwhile, the Asoken pillar was broken into pieces by a local Zamindar.
An effort to repair and restore the Great Stupa was made by Major Cole in 1881 who succeeded in filling in the breach in the dome of the Stupa and setting up its fallen West and South Gateway and a part of its railing. However, the major part of the exploration and restoration work was done by Sir John Marshal, Director General of Archaeology in India who, between the years 1912 to1919 undertook large scale exploration, restoration and reconstruction work, and also consecutively numbered the incomparable monuments.
Besides the Great Stupa on the plateau, there are as many as fifty Stupas, pillars, temples and monasteries. Stupa 2 and monastery 51 are on the western slope on a ledge of the rock lower than theMain Terrace.
However, the most magnificent as well as the largest one of these is the "Great Stupa of Sanchi". One of the best-preserved stupas, it is also the oldest of the existing structures in India, dating back to the Buddhist period. Encircling the Great Sanchi Stupa is a railing, with four carved gateways, each facing one of the four directions. It is believed that these gateways were carved around 100 AD. All the stupas at Sanchi, Madhya Pradesh, have a unique feature of not having any images of Lord Buddha in human form.
Instead, Buddha has been illustrated symbolically, in the form of inanimate figures. The figures include wheels (representing his teaching), his footprints, empty throne etc. However, the figure that is most extensively used consists of a lotus flower. In Buddhism, lotus has a special meaning attached to it. It is both a beautiful decoration as well as a religious symbol. Buddhists believe that, like lotus grows from mud to produce a beautiful white blossom, people can also emerge from the mud of materialism into sunlight.
The exquisite carvings on these stupas depict a world where humans and animals live in perfect harmony with each other. The gateways of all the stupas have carvings that portray a number of incidents from the life of the Buddha as well as his previous incarnations as Bodhisattvas described in Jataka tales. Then, you have the male and female tree spirits adorned on the stupa gateways. The female tree spirits symbolize fertility and are used by Buddhists as welcoming figures.