Buddhism Part-3 Insights

Stupas

Location

Significance

• It was constructed in the 3rd century BCE by Ashoka.
• Bricks were used to construct the original construction. It was afterward covered with stone, vedica, and torana (gateway).
• The stupa has four entrances, with the southern one being the first to be completed. Others were added subsequently. The gateways are ornately carved and ornamented with statues.
• Since 1989, Sanchi Stupa has been a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

Dhamek stupa.

• Dhamek Stupa is a huge stupa in Sarnath, Uttar Pradesh,
• It was built in 500 CE to replace an earlier structure, together with numerous other monuments, commissioned by Ashoka in 249 BCE to commemorate the Buddha’s activities in this region.
• The Dhamek Stupa is supposed to be built on the site of Rishipattana, where after obtaining enlightenment, Buddha gave his first sermon to his first five Brahmin students, “revealing his Eightfold Path leading to nirvana.”

• The Amravati Stupa, also known as the Great Stupa of Amravati, is a damaged Buddhist monument.
• It was probably built in phases between the third century BCE and about 250 CE.
• The Archaeological Survey of India is in charge of safeguarding the site.
• The site’s notable sculptures are now housed at a number of museums in India and overseas, many of which are severely damaged.

• The Sungas adapted the Bharhut stupa, which was originally erected by Asoka.
• Unlike the Mauryas’ imperial art, the reliefs and figures in Bharhut stupa were provided by laypeople, monks, and nuns, according to inscriptions on the railings.
• As a result, it is considered one of the earliest instances of Maurya’s popular art.

• Nagarjunakonda is an ancient town that is now an island at Nagarjuna Sagar, west of the Amaravati Stupa, another notable historic landmark.
• Nagarjunakonda is home to the remnants of various Mahayana Buddhist and Hindu sanctuaries.
• It is one of India’s most important Buddhist sites, but it is currently nearly fully submerged beneath the Nagarjunasagar Dam.

• Piprahwa is most known for its archaeological site and excavations, which imply that it was the site of the Buddha’s ashes being handed to his own Sakya clan.
• The site contains a massive stupa, as well as the ruins of many monasteries and a museum.
• At the nearby Ganwaria mound, ancient residential complexes and temples were discovered.

• Sonari is the ancient monastic complex of Buddhist stupas’ archaeological site.
• Sonari, like Sanchi, is a Buddhist stupa complex with two major and five minor stupas.
• Alexander Cunningham uncovered two boxes carrying relics while excavating the stupas around 1850.