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| Home > Indian Sculptures > Buddhist Sculptures > Sanchi Stupa
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| | Sanchi Stupa
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 Sanchi is famous for the Grand Stupa built by king Ashoka. This stupa at Sanchi is focal point of the long area of around 91 -meter-high turf and trees surrounding hills. Certainly, it marks an important stage in the evolution of Indian architecture & history of sculpture. The great Stupa is of 36.5 meters in diameter and almost 16.5 meters high. Continuous series of balustrades are found as encircling the entire structure, also giving the structure an unique look. It depicts the scenes of incarnation of Buddha as Bodhisattva has provided the principal inspiration for the sculptors.
The gateways that were carved intricately hold the greatest attention of visitors & fascinate them about the artistic skills. The gateways are total four in numbers are basically ornamented torans. These torans are built at the cardinal points in front of the entrances. The Satvahana ruler, Satkarni, erected these in the period of around 3.5 BC.
The structure of each torans is consisting of two upright pillars of nearly 34 feet high.
The two richly carved pillars, rise to be crowned by carved lions, elephants and dwarfs, from these is the famous Ashoka lions are now, the official seal of India.
About Gateways
The additions in the architectural glory of the remarkable stupa, the elaborate and richly carved four gateways or torans are built.
The eastern gateway is primarily showing the depiction of Buddha`s journey towards enlightenment. Here the young prince Siddhartha Gautama is of prime concern. When Siddhartha Gautama was leaving his father`s Palace and setting off his journey towards enlightenment, is shown. The carvings of western gateway depict the scenes from the seven incarnation of the Buddha.
The northern gateway is crowned by a wheel of law, illustrates the miracles associated with the Buddha as told with some of exaggeration in the Jatakas.
And the last & the most important is the southern gateway. It is the oldest among all and reveals around the facts of the birth of Gautama in series rich carvings with dramatically woven scenes. It also depicts the first sermon given by the Buddha at Sarnath.
Place of Sanchi is crowned by a group of structures of stupas, monasteries, temples and pillars that are dating from 3rd Century BC to the 12th Century AD. The place of Sanchi is considered as an ancient seat of Buddhist learning and place of pilgrimage for his followers. And certainly the glory of the Sanchi can still be still experienced through its complex architecture & carving. Mainly Buddhist legends found its expression in the rich sculptures at Sanchi.
One of the important things of attention is that the Buddha is not represented at all through figures at Sanchi . But instead through various symbols of his teachings he is described, as it was the tradition in the early period of Buddhism. The flower of lotus represents the birth of Buddha, the big tree signifies his enlightenment, the Wheel represents his first sermon and the Stupa finally represents his nirvana or salvation.
The footprints and the throne are used to denote the Buddha`s presence.
Unfortunately, Sanchi was virtually forgotten after the 13th Century to the 1818. In 1818 a British Officer of General Taylor named made rediscovery of it. When it was rediscovered half of the structure was buried and well preserved. Later in 1912, officials of Archaeology ordered for the restoration work at the site.
Some of the important monuments in Sanchi:
Great Stupa No 1: The stupa is 36.5 mtrs. in diameter and 16.4 mtrs.high. It is considered as one of the oldest stone structures in India. The massive hemispherical dome of the stupa stands majestically in surrounding.
Stupa No 2: It is constructed in dating back to the 2nd century BC. In fact, it stands at the very edge of the hill but the most striking feature of it is - the balustrade carved in hard stones that surrounds all the structure.
Stupa No 3: It is situated at the northeast side of the great stupa. In stupa, at the inner most chambers the relics about the two famous disciples of the Buddha that is Sariputra and Mahamogalana were found. As one of the mark of the special religious significance, the hemispherical dome of the stupa is kept crowned with an umbrella of polished stone. Only one gateway is provided in its architecture. This structure is constructed during the period of 150-140 BC.
Ashokan Pillar is also famous for carvings. It is situated just right to the southern gateway. Actually it is known as Ashokan pillar, as it was erected by Ashoka in the 3rd century. It is the four lion heads stump or pillar. This pillar is displaying all the characteristics of monoliths like exquisite proportion with polished touch & succinct instructions. From many centuries, it is exposed to the weather but still its metallic glow is remained. Though, very much similarities are found in the intricately carved pillar of Sarnath, the lions did not support a "Wheel of Law" i.e. The Dharmachakra
Gupta Temple: A temple, built in the 4th Century AD, it is in the condition of ruins now. According to some historians, it is one of the earliest known examples of temple architecture in India. It is characterized by a simple flat roofed chamber & a pillared porch constructed at front.
Temple 18: It is a chaitya hall, situated just in front of the Southern Gateway of the Great Stupa. It is comparatively recent built around 7th Century A.D. The style of architecture of this hall closely resembles with the rock-cut chaitya halls at Karla Caves in Maharashtra.
The Monastery and Temple 45:It is built during the period of 7th and 11th centuries, more developed styles of architecture are marked from it. The doorways of this construction are ornamented, with the image of Buddha in an oval Halo.
Great Bowl: As the name suggests the bowl is gig in size. It is carved out of one block of stone & believed to be contained the food that was distributed amongst the monks of Sanchi.
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