Sanchi - vivid memories

The place that I remember the most in MP is Sanchi. Sanchi is known for its Stupas, temples, monasteries and pillars dating from the 3^rd century B.C. to the 12^th century A.D. The most renowned of these monuments, the Sanchi Stupa 1, was originally built by, the Mauryan Emperor Ashoka, who was the then governor of Ujjayini. His wife Devi was the daughter of a merchant from the adjacent Vidisha.
Their son Mahendra and daughter Sanghamitra were born in Ujjayini and sent to Sri Lanka. They converted the King, Queen and the people of Sri Lanka into Buddhism.


Have any of you ever been to Sanchi?

I have been to Sanchi once. I remember seeing a Chunar sandstone pillar fragment which shines with the proverbial Mauryan polish. It lies near Stupa 1 and carries the famous edict of Ashoka that warns against schism in the Buddhist community.

Stupa 1 had been found empty. Relics of the two disciples of Buddha, which were enshrined in the adjacent Stupa 3, were carried away to England.

The nearby modern temple has a reliquary, which contains the remains of a Buddhist teacher belonging to another Stupa outside Sanchi.

The Sanchi hill rises in shelves with Stupa 2 situated on a lower shelf.

Stupa 1, Stupa 3, the 7^th Century temple no. 18 and the 5^th century Gupta Temple no. 17 are on the intermediate shelf. The crowning shelf has a monastery built on a later date. The balustrade that surrounds Stupa 2 is carved with an iconic representation of Buddha. It was added in the late 2^nd century BC, under the Satavahana rule.

The adjacent Gupta temple no. 17 was hailed by Sir John Marshall as one of the most rationally planned structures in Indian architecture. Though a small structure, it was an epitome of all the principles that went into the engineering of an Indian temple in the early medieval era.

The Buddha structures in the perambulatory surrounding Stupa 1 are not contemporary with the Stupa. They belong to the Gupta period in the middle of the 5^th Century AD.

The monastery and the temple with tall pillars, adjacent to Stupa1, and the temple, near the monastery, on the crowning shelf, illustrate the evolution of the architectural form after the 5^th century Gupta Temple.

Below the hill, the Archaeological Survey of India Museum has some of the earliest known stone sculptures in Indian art from the 3^rd to the 1^st century BC.

The famous Stupa No. 1 is the oldest stone structure in India.

The Stupa No. 1 is 36.5 meters in diameter and 16.4 meters in height. It has a massive hemispherical dome. The Stupa stands in eternal glory. The paved procession path around it has been worn into smoothness by thousands of pilgrims spanning over centuries.

After the Stupa No. 1, we saw the Eastern Gateway. It depicts the young prince, Gautam, leaving his father’s palace on his journey towards the achievement of enlightenment. It also depicts the dream that Gautam’s mother had before His birth.

The Western Gateway depicts the seven incarnations of Buddha.

The Northern Gateway depicts the miracles associated with Lord Buddha, as narrated in the Jataka tales. This gateway is crowned by, a wheel of law.

I liked your post. I remember these gateways vividly. The Southern Gateway portrays the birth of Gautam Buddha through a series of dramatically rich carvings.

I remember seeing the Stupa No. 2 standing at the very edge of the hill. Its most striking feature is the stone balustrade that rings it. The Stupa No. 3 is situated close to the great Stupa No.1. The hemispherical dome has a crown, which is a mark of its special religious significance. The crown is an umbrella of polished stone. The relics of Sariputta and Mahamogallena, two of the earliest disciples of Buddha, were found in the innermost chamber of this Stupa.

The Ashoka Pillar stands close to the Southern Gateway of the Great Stupa. I remember it for its exquisite structural balance and aesthetic proportions. It is one of the finest examples of Ashokan architecture.

I vividly remember the Buddhist Vihara. These are the auspicious relics of the Satdhara Stupa and are located a few kilometers away from Sanchi. The relics have been enshrined in a glass casket on a platform in the inner sanctum of this modern monastery.

We took many pictures. My brother took a fancy on the Great B o w l. This mammoth bowl was carved out in a block of stone. It used to contain food that was distributed amongst the monks of Sanchi.

The Gupta Temple in Sanchi is in ruins now. This fifth century AD temple is one of the earliest known examples of temple architecture in India.

After a visit to the temple site, we went to the Museum. This site museum is maintained, at Sanchi by, the Archaeological Survey of India.

I remember the lion capital of the Ashokan pillar and the metal objects used by the monks. These were discovered during excavations at Sanchi.

My father told that early Buddhist art has no finer expression than the “torana”s that surround the Great Stupa. The Buddha according to the early Buddhist art tenets is portrayed in symbols.

Yes, my father explained the symbols to me. The Lotus represented Buddha’s birth, the Tree represented His enlightenment, the Wheel was derived from the title of His first sermon, and the throne and the footprints epitomized His presence. The symbols have been sculpted with such inspired imagery and devotion that along with the surrounding figures they are regarded as the finest of all Buddhist “torana”s. They counter-balance the resolute solidity of the “stupa” they encircle.

The Four Gateways are the finest specimens of early classical art. They are carved with stories and anecdotes of Budhha’s worldly and sacred lives. They narrate incidents from the subsequent history of Buddhism.

My teacher said these four gateways formed the seedbed for the entire vocabulary and grammar of Indian art of the following ages.

Two touching stories that have been told on these portals are those of Prince Vessantara, who gave away his wealth, wife and children out of charity and compassion and of Lord Buddha who sacrificed his life as the monkey king to save his companions.

The inscriptions on the gateways carry names of donors from all over northern India. Special mention is made of the ivory workers of Vidisha who sculpted stone with the precision of jewelers.

Can any of you share some pictures of Sanchi?