the stupas – eternal remains

THE STUPAS – ETERNAL REMAINS
Sanchi Stupa
After attaining Enlightenment at Gaya, the Buddha gave his 1ST sermon in the deer park
[Mrigadav] at Sarnath [ancient Isipattana]. By doing this, he set the Wheel of Law into motion.
After his death his relics were derived into 8 parts & 8 stupas were constructed over them. Later
on, according to the Buddhist tradition, the Mauryan Emperor Ashoka, a devout Buddhist,
opened seven out of these eight stupas & then constructed 84000 stupas in one night. Some
built by him were seen & reported by the Chinese Travelers Fa Hien & Hiuen Tsang.
When the Shungas ruled over the Magadha Empire after the downfall of the Mauryans in 2ND
Century BC; there was a surge in stupa – building activity. The difference of course was that
patronage shifted from royalty to pious followers of the faith. Lay devotees donated generously
for the construction of stupas. They were the rich merchants, artisans, householders & even
monks & nuns. The architectural remains from this period include the ruins of the stupas at
Bharhut & Sanchi in Madhya Pradesh.
Bharhut is located 9 miles south of Satna Railway Station. This place was first discovered by
Alexander Cunningham in 1873. He collected all the fallen parts of the stupa lying at the site &
those parts which the villagers had taken away. He also excavated the place where the original
stupa was constructed & transported all the remains to the Indian Museum in Kolkata. Later, a
separate gallery of the remains from Bharhut was created. Cunningham thoroughly studied all
the available parts of the stupa & tried to reconstruct the original structure. The circular base of
the stupa was surmounted by the dome which in turn had a Harmika, crowned by a corbelled
member from which rose the umbrella.
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The stupa ay Bharhut was embellished by carvings of sculptures on both the sides of the railings
& the gateways. These sculptures narrated various Jataka tales & events from the life of the
narrative sculptures in them. This is one of the very few places in India where we find the
sculptures with label inscriptions in Brahmi Script & Prakrit Language.
Sanchi Stupa No.1 West Gateway
The creation of the narrative sculptures in stone was probably the first attempt of its kind in the
ancient period. The sculptures at Bharhut do not show Gautama in the human form. In fact, he
was not depicted in the Anthropomorphic form till the 1ST Century AD; in ancient Indian Art.
Before this, he was represented a stupa, Bodhi Tree & other images. Even thought most of the
sculptures of this stupa have been rearranged in the Indian Museum at Kolkata, some of them
have also been kept in other Museums.
One of the most famous monuments in India is the stupa at Sanchi, 68 Km. north of Bhopal in
Madhya Pradesh. Although there are nearly 50 monuments on the hill at Sanchi. Stupa 1 or the
Great Stupa is the most famous. As such, it has been given the status of a World Heritage
Monument by UNESCO. What we see today is actually the work of 1ST Century BC. As
mentioned earlier the core of this stupa was constructed in the 3RD Century BC. But later on in
around 2ND Century BC. This monument was enlarged to twice its original size. It was given a
stone encasing & the Wooden Railings were replaced by the Stone Railings. Later on, around 1ST
Century BC; four stone gateways were erected in four cardinal directions. All these gateways at
Sanchi are decorated with beautiful sculptures depicting the events from the life of Gautama
Buddha & numerous Jataka tales. The railings of this stupa are plain & instead of sculptures
they bear inscriptions that record the donations given by devotees towards the construction of
the stupa. The sculptures on the gateways have exquisitely beautiful carvings that have
withstood the ravages of time. It is believed that this stupa probably contained the relics of the
Buddha, which unfortunately were never recovered.
Stupas 2 & 3 are also important. The former contained the relics of senior Buddhist Monks.
Caskets containing their relics & their names written on the caskets have been found. However,
Stupa 3 contained relics of two of the foremost disciples of the Buddha, i.e. Sariputra [Pali –
Moggalana]. Alexander Cunningham found two relic caskets inside the stupa at the level of the
terrace. The lids of these caskets are still kept in the site museum at Sanchi.
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Sanchi Stupa No.3
Found in a dilapidated condition, this stupa was reconstructed by Sir John Marshall, Director
General of Archaeology. He took up the task of restoration during the years 1912 to 1919. In fact,
credit for the present conditions of almost all the monuments goes to him.
Another important monument, which has hardly been preserved today, is the stupa at
Amaravati, a small town in Guntur District of Andhra Pradesh. Here lie the remains of many
stupas constructed over a period of time. The main stupa was constructed in the 2ND Century BC.
As the remains of this great stupa were found in a scattered way, the exact appearance could not
be deciphered. So, on the basis of available sculptures depicting worship of the stupa, it was
reconstructed.
Buddha Carved On Stupa, Ajanta Cave No.19
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These stupa were constructed from 2ND Century BC to 3RD Century AD. Most of the sculptures
that were recovered from the site were taken to London & have been stored in the Amaravati
Gallery at the British Museum. These beautiful sculptures are excellent examples of the southern
style of sculpting. It influenced the art of the later period in South India & can be seen at
Jaggayyapeta, Nagarjunikonda etc. The sculptures on the stupa at Amaravati not only depict the
Buddha in the symbolic form but also in the human form. But the sculptures with the Buddha in
the human form were created after the 1ST Century AD. The scenes in the sculptures narrate
Jataka tales, various events from the life of the Buddha & many Yaksha – Yakshis. Along with
this the various medallions depicting lotus flowers & creepers are counted as some of the most
beautiful sculptures from ancient India.
Great Stupa, Sanchi. Yakshi, detail of Eastern Gateway
As there was a strong tradition of making stupas all over the country, the North Western parts of
the country, known as the Gandhara [Pakistan] & Bactria [Afghanistan] regions, were no
exceptions to it. Huge stupas were constructed at Takshashila [Pakistan], Guldara
[Afghanistan], Shah-ji-ki-Dheri [Pakistan], Loriyan Tangai [Pakistan] & many other places. This
region was constantly under the control of foreign rulers from 2ND Century BC. Their influence is
clearly seen in the art which flourished under them. The sculptures that were produced in this
region bear a strong resemblance to the art of the Greco-Roman world. The human figures in the
sculptures resembled Europeans & mainly depicted events from the life of the Buddha and
various Bodhisattvas [a person who is in the process of attaining the Buddhahood]. The stupas
in this region were a little different in appearance. They had a square base, then the medhi &
over it was the dome of the stupa. It was surmounted by the usual Harmika & the Chhatravali.
The base of the Buddha made in stone or sometimes in stucco [clay, husk & lime].
Gradually, stupas moved from representing Mahaparinirvana of the Buddha or sometimes his
venerable disciples to far smaller votive forms which were probably used for ritual purposes.
However the practice of constructing stupas remained popular in around 5TH Century AD.
Instead of constructing massive stupas, it was preferred to have many miniature stupas in the
monastic complex. Later on, the convention of making shrines or temples housing the image of
the Tathagata became more popular. But the practice of making the stupa did not end. Hence
after 5TH Century AD; we find both the shrines as well as the stupas constructed in the monastic
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complexes. Sometimes it is also seen that the image of the Buddha was carved on the face of the
stupa. Cave 19 & 26 at Ajanta & Cave 10 at Ellora are excellent examples of this variety.
Even though stupas of various sizes continued to be constructed, the meaning & connotation of
the architecture did not change. It continued to remind us of the Liberation of Buddha, the
Enlightened.
Sanchi Stupa No.1 East Gateway
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