The stupa is a Buddhist architectural structure that houses sacred Buddhist relics. It takes the form of a dome shaped mound and represents the Buddha's burial mound. Key components include a hemispherical dome supported by a square railing and central pillar holding triple umbrellas, symbolizing the Buddha, his teachings, and community. The entire structure is enclosed by a low wall with decorated gateways and surrounds a circular terrace.
The stupa is a Buddhist architectural structure that houses sacred Buddhist relics. It takes the form of a dome shaped mound and represents the Buddha's burial mound. Key components include a hemispherical dome supported by a square railing and central pillar holding triple umbrellas, symbolizing the Buddha, his teachings, and community. The entire structure is enclosed by a low wall with decorated gateways and surrounds a circular terrace.
The stupa is a Buddhist architectural structure that houses sacred Buddhist relics. It takes the form of a dome shaped mound and represents the Buddha's burial mound. Key components include a hemispherical dome supported by a square railing and central pillar holding triple umbrellas, symbolizing the Buddha, his teachings, and community. The entire structure is enclosed by a low wall with decorated gateways and surrounds a circular terrace.
architectural monuments, the Buddhist stupa (aka dagoba, chorten, pagoda) serves as a marker for a sacred space, a symbolic representation of the Buddha’s burial mound. Stupa a term used both in Pali and Sanskrit. The etymological meaning of the word is 'mound' or 'hillock' Definition Dome shaped structures used to house sacred relics of the monks and hence also known as relic shrines. In different South Asian countries it is called 'Chedi' which is synonimous with the Pali . In Chinese, it is called 'Pagoda'. History The Jains had the practice of building stupas. In the Vedic era, stupas were normally built on the mortal remains of the deceased. Stupa is a sacred architectural structure in Buddhist order. Buddhist stupa is regarded as the oldest religious form of architecture; and also as the symbol of the enlightenend mind of Buddha and the way to internalize it. In Buddhism, stupa represents the body of Goutam Buddha, his' words and his soul. The stupas built during emperor Ashoka are regarded as the oldest among the ones discovered till date. It is said that in the 3rd centruy BC, Ashok unearthed ashes from the initial stupas and distributed the ashes through building some thousand stupas across the Indian subcontinent to heighten the image of Buddhism and to give it a permanent imagery. In course of time, the eight places of the initial stupas became important and sacred places to the followers of Buddhism, thus places of funeral and devotional offering. With this, changes were taking place with the rituals of Buddhism. Starting with the 1st century BC, the stupas became unified with the hall of Chaitya. stupa became the symbol of Buddha and Buddhism and thus an object of worship. Along with this, Buddhist devotees used to build small and large stupas as their offerings while worshipping at the places of pilgrims. This kind of stupa was called Nibedan stupa. During the reign of Sunga dynasty (185-75 BC) the main building material of stupa was stone. The moon- shaped hemispherical Sunga dynastic Satchi stupa .it was built with stone in 2nd century BC. It is considered to be the oldest among the stupas that exist in good shape till date. It was built with bricks. In the early days, the stupas were like half-moon shaped mound or hillocks. This part used to be called 'Aundo‘. that stupas, as earlier examples of Buddhist architecture in Bengal, became wide-spread during the Mouryan era. The stupas found in Bengal are mostly small in size. Construction materials Earth materials convered with stone or bricksd .the plan evlevation and the basic structure all derived from the circle. Types Sarika stupa Raised over body relics. Paribhojika stupa Erected over the articles like the bowl the sanghati. Uddeshika stupa Stupa built as commemorative monument. Sanchi stupa It is located 40 km north east of bhopal and 10 km from besnagar and vidisha in the central part of the state of madhya pradesh. It was built by ashaka. The simple structure was damaged at some point during the 2nd century bce. This stupa is located on the top of the sanchi hill which raise about 100 m hight above the plain. This is oldest stone strucal in india. Descraption The building is 120 feet (37 metres) wide and 54 feet (17 metres) high. The central structure consists of a hemispherical dome (anda) on a base, with a relic chamber deep within. The dome symbolizes, the dome of heaven enclosing the earth. It is surmounted by a squared railing (harmika) that can be said to represent the world mountain. A central pillar (yashti) symbolizes the cosmic axis and supports a triple umbrella structure (chattra), which is held to represent the Three Jewels of Buddhism—the Buddha, the dharma(doctrine), and the sangha (community). A circular terrace (medhi), enclosed by a railing, surrounds the dome, on which the faithful are to circumambulate in a clockwise direction The entire structure is enclosed by a low wall (vedika), which is punctuated at the four cardinal points by toranas(ceremonial gateways). The toranas of the Great Stupa are the crowning achievement of Sanchi sculpture. Each gateway is made up of two squared posts topped by capitals of sculptured animals or dwarfs, surmounted by three architraves. All the elements are covered with relief sculpture depicting the events of the Buddha’s life, Jataka stories (about the Buddha’s previous lives), scenes of early Buddhism, and auspicious symbols. The names of donors are also inscribed, the most notable one being the ivory workers of Vidisha. Structural features The stupa done by symbolized the infinite space of the sky. The dom is called as anda. A hemispherical mound (anda) The anda’s domed shape recalls a mound of dirt that was used to cover the Buddha’s remains.. Consistent with their symbolic associations, the earliest stupas contained actual relics of the Buddha; the relic chamber, buried deep inside the anda, is called the tabena. Over time, this hemispherical mound has taken on an even grander symbolic association: the mountain home of the gods at the center of the universe. A square railing (harmika) The harmika (red highlights) is inspired by a square railing or fence that surrounded the mound of dirt, marking it as a sacred burial site. A central pillar supporting a triple-umbrella form (chattra) The chattra, in turn, was derived from umbrellas that were placed over the mound to protect it from the elements (purple highlights). The central pillar that holds the umbrellas has come to represent the pivot of the universe, the axis mundi along which the divine descends from heaven and becomes accessible to humanity. And the three circular umbrella-like disks represent the three Jewels of Buddhism, which are the keys to a true understanding of the faith: (a) Buddha; (b) dharma (Buddhist teachings or religious law); and (c) sangha (monastic community). Enclosure wall with decorated gateways (toranas) at the cardinal directions The wall — with its trademark three horizontal stone bars (in the top image) — surrounds the entire structure
A circular terrace (medhi) The terrace — surrounded
by a similar three-bar railing — supports the anda and raises it off the ground