Sanchi Buddhist Monuments

Dr.Sanjana p Souparnika

Sanchi Stupa is a Buddhist complex, famous for its Great Stupa, on a hilltop at Sanchi Town in Raisen District of the State of Madhya Pradesh, India. It is located 46 kilometres (29 mi) north-east of Bhopal, capital of Madhya Pradesh.

The stupas, temples, viharas, and stambha at Sanchi in central India are among the oldest and most mature examples of aniconic arts and free-standing architecture that comprehensively document the history of Buddhism from the 3rd century BCE to the 12th century CE. It is an important monument of Indian Architecture originally commissioned by the Mauryan emperor Ashoka in the 3rd century BCE. The stupa at Sanchi built during the Mauryan period was made of bricks.

The monuments at Sanchi now comprise a series of Buddhist monuments starting from the Mauryan Empire period (3rd century BCE), continuing with the Gupta Empire period (5th century CE), and ending around the 12th century CE. It is probably the best preserved group of Buddhist monuments in India. The oldest, and also the largest monument, the Great Stupa also called Stupa No. 1, initially built under the Mauryans, and adorned with one of the Pillars of Ashoka

   Sanchi is the center of a region with a number of stupas, all within a few miles of Sanchi. These include

• Satdhara (9 km to the W of Sanchi]
• The  Relics of Sariputra and Mahamoggallana
• Bhojpur (also called Morel Khurd, a fortified hilltop with 60 stupas11km away)
•  Andher (17 km SE of Sanchi)
• Sonari (10 km SW of Sanchi)
•  Saru Maru stupa [ 100 km away ]
• Bharhut is 300 km to the northeast.

During the reign of under the Shungas and the Satavahanas, the Great Stupa was enlarged and decorated with gates and railings, and smaller stupas were also built in the vicinity, especially Stupa No.2, and Stupa No.3

Sanchi monuments were rediscovered by the British colonialists general Henry Taylor in 1818.The first excavation of this site was done under the supervision of Major Alexander Cunningham in 1851.

The architecture of great stupa at Sanchi

The “Great Stupa” at Sanchi is the oldest structure and was originally commissioned by the emperor Ashoka the Great of the Maurya Empire in the 3rd century BCE.

Its nucleus was a hemispherical brick structure built over the sacred relics of the Buddha, with a raised terrace encompassing its base, and a railing and stone umbrella on the summit, the chatra, a parasol-like structure symbolizing high rank. The original Stupa only had about half the diameter of today’s stupa at Sanchi , which is further enhanced by the Sungas. It was covered in brick, unlike the stones that now cover it.

During the later rule of the Shunga, the stupa was expanded with stone slabs to almost twice its original size. The dome was flattened near the top and crowned by three superimposed parasols within a square railing. With its many tiers it was a symbol of the dharma, the Wheel of the Law. The dome was set on a high circular drum meant for circumambulation, which could be accessed via a double staircase. A second stone pathway at ground level was enclosed by a stone balustrade.

Myths & history associated with Sanchi stupa

  According to one version of the Mahavamsa, the Buddhist chronicle of Sri Lanka, The emperor Ashoka is closely linked with the region of Sanchi. It is believed that While he was heir-apparent and was journeying as Viceroy to Ujjain, he is said to have halted at Vidisha (10 kilometers from Sanchi), and there married the daughter of a local banker who was named as Devi. Sanchi was the venue of Devi and Ashoka’s wedding.

 The original construction work of this stupa was overseen by Ashoka. In the 1st century BCE, four elaborately carved toranas (ornamental gateways) and a balustrade encircling the entire structure were added.

Inscriptions

Sanchi, especially Stupa 1, has a large number of Brahmi inscriptions. Although most of them are small and mention donations, they are of great historical significance. James Prinsep in 1837, found that most of them ended with the same two Brahmi characters. Princep took them as “danam” (donation), which permitted the decipherment of the Brahmi script.

    An analysis of the deciphered scripts  denote that most of the donors were from Ujjain, Vidisha, Kurara, Nadinagar, Mahisati, Kurghara, Bhogavadhan and Kamdagigam. Three inscriptions are known from Yavana (Indo-Greek)donors at Sanchi,. The script denoting which reads “Setapathiyasa Yonasa danam” (“Gift of the Yona of Setapatha”), Setapatha being an uncertain city.

The art of Sanchi

The  art of Sanchi  developed considerably in the 1st century BCE/CE and is thought to predate the blooming of the Greco-Buddhist art of Gandhara, which went on to flourish until around the 4th century CE.

The art of Sanchi is considered as the ancestor of the didactic forms of Buddhist art that would follow, such as the art of Gandhara. The Buddhist monuments at Sanchi contain an appreciable concentration of early Indian artistic techniques and Buddhist art, referred to as its Anionic School or Phase. Depicting Buddha through symbols, the sculpted art shows the evolution in sculpting techniques and the elaboration of icons, especially depicting Buddha.

Ashoka pillar

A pillar of finely polished sandstone, one of the Pillars of Ashoka, was also erected on the side of the main Torana gateway. The bottom part of the pillar still stands. The upper parts of the pillar are at the nearby Sanchi Archaeological Museum. The capital consists in four lions, which probably supported a Wheel of Law.

The pillar has an Ashokan inscription (Schism Edict)[13] and an inscription in the ornamental Sankha Lipi from the Gupta period.[6] The Ashokan inscription is engraved in early Brahmi characters. It is unfortunately much damaged, but the commands it contains appear to be the same as those recorded in the Sarnath and Kausambi edicts, which together form the three known instances of Ashoka’s “Schism Edict”. It relates to the penalties for schism in the Buddhist sangha:

… the path is prescribed both for the monks and for the nuns. As long as (my) sons and great-grandsons (shall reign; and) as long as the Moon and the Sun (shall endure), the monk or nun who shall cause divisions in the Sangha, shall be compelled to put on white robes and to reside apart. For what is my desire? That the Sangha may be united and may long endure.

Now  Sanchi group of monuments are owned by the Government of India and is conserved, protected, maintained, and managed by the Archaeological Survey of India under the Ancient Monuments and Archaeological Sites and Remains (AMASR) Act (1958

Sanchi Monument listed by UNESCO

Currently , around fifty monuments remain on the hill of Sanchi, including three main stupas and several temples. The monuments have been listed among other famous monuments in the UNESCO World Heritage Sites since 1989.

How to reach Sanchi?

The nearest airport is Bhopal which is 55 km away from it. Trains are available from Bhopal and Rani Kamlapati to Sanchi railway station.

References

• Image courtesy: By Biswarup Ganguly, CC BY 3.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=27997929
• Buddhist Landscapes in Central India
• Sanchi Hill and Archaeologies of Religious and Social Change, C. Third Century BC to Fifth Century AD
• https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sanchi
• https://whc.unesco.org/en/list/524/