Sanchi
Sanchi is a small village in Raisen District of the state of Madhya Pradesh. It is the location of several Buddhist monuments dating from the third century BCE to the twelfth century CE and is one of the important places of Buddhist pilgrimage. Today, around fifty monuments remain on the hill of Sanchi, including three stupas and several temples. The monuments have been listed among the UNESCO World Heritage Sites since 1989.
The ‘Great Stupa’ at Sanchi was originally commissioned by the emperor Ashoka the Great in the third century BCE. Its nucleus was a simple hemispherical brick structure built over the relics of the Buddha. It was crowned by the chatra, a parasol-like structure symbolising high rank, which was intended to honour and shelter the relics
The stupa as viewed from the Eastern gate. This is the main stupa at Sanchi. It is said to contain the relics of Gautam Buddha. The last time I visited this place (way back in 1995), tall grass had claimed its place on the muddy patchwork done on the stupa. This place has improved a lot since then.
This is the largest monastery at Sanchi. There are many other smaller monasteries in this place. All the others are worse than this though. This is the most well preserved one. Pretty good view the monks must have woken up to every day.
I was lucky enough to spot a few Tibetan monks who visited Sanchi the same day as I did. This is what the place must have looked like 2000 years ago when the monasteries were in good condition. Now all that is left of them is the base structure
Many incomplete/damaged stupas, temples and monasteries can be seen all over the campus. Some Hindu temples were also built in the vicinity of the main stupa. One of them had its base made out of stone and the upper structure was made of wood. The temple was destroyed in a fire.
Many such nicely carved blocks of stone are stacked here. This is only one such lot. These were probably found scattered all over the complex when this place was discovered. I saw a similar stack of rock sculptures at the Neelkantheshwar temple at Udaypur (yes Udaypur, MP not Udaipur, Rajasthan). Shall be posting those soon. My road to Udaypur (or the lack of it:P) was quite interesting. Will be posting the story too.
Mar 28, 2011 @ 02:53:28
Thank you for the fine series of images on the Sanchi stupa. I am doing research mapping the culture change of the early dynastic eras of Asia and the Americas. The iimages of the north and east gate were very helpful. I don’t suppose you have a closeup of the prince mahout and elephant on the columns of the east gate? That would be in more helpful.
You can find how I used your images in my blog: Pacific Ancient Voyagers: Maps in Four Dimensions. Thanks again for your fine series.
Jim Felton