Sanchi Stupa, Madhya Pradesh - the best preserved Buddhist Monument of India

Sanchi Stupa: Madhya Pradesh’s Iconic Buddhist Heritage Site

Sanchi Stupa in Madhya Pradesh, a UNESCO World Heritage Site, is hands down the best preserved Buddhist Monument of India. Sanchi Stupa is located on a small hilltop in the town of Sanchi in the state of Madhya Pradesh. The Buddhist complex encompasses Buddhist stupas, temples, and monasteries. The Great Stupa of Sanchi built by Mauryan Emperor Ashok, in the 3rd century BCE is the most significant monument. The earliest Stupa was just a a simple brick dome built over the relics of the Buddha. With a history of several centuries of construction, reconstruction, abandonment and restoration, this now stands as an important monument of Indian Architecture and World Heritage.

The Great Stupa at Sanchi, Madhya Pradesh

​Origin of Buddhism in Ancient India

Buddhism originated as a religion in ancient India based on the teachings of Gautham Buddha who lived in India in the 5th century BCE. Buddhism mainly focuses on the suffering that a man goes through in his mundane life and teaches how to end the suffering.
​According to Buddhism, the main reasons for suffering are - hatred, greed and ignorance. Buddhism teaches the way to end the suffering is the the ultimate goal of human life which can be achieved by attaining nirvana - liberation from cycles of rebirth. Buddhism almost ceased to exist in India (apart from the Himalayan regions) during the Islamic rule from 12th century.

Carvings on Torana - The Great Stupa at Sanchi, Madhya Pradesh

​Propagation of Buddhism by Asoka in Indian Subcontinent

Asoka, an Indian Emperor of Maurya Dynasty got converted to Buddhism after waging a highly destructive war in 3rd century BCE. Ashoka heavily promoted Buddhism by establishing various Buddhist monuments across Asia and marking the important sites in Buddha’s life. He initiated the construction of 84,000 stupas to preserve the relics of Buddha. Sanchi Stupa was an outcome of one of these efforts of Asoka to preserve the relics of Buddha.

The Little Stupa at Sanchi, Madhya Pradesh

Evolution of Sanchi Stupa - the best Buddhist monument of India

One of the oldest stone structures of India, The Great Stupa at Sanchi was initially just a brick hemisphere built over the relics of Buddha, in 3rd century BCE.
Later in the 2nd century BCE, the dome was expanded and covered with stones, an ornamental staircase was added to circumambulate the dome, another stone balustrade was made around the stupa on the ground.
Then in the 1st century CE, the the stupa was accessorised by four eminently decorated gateways, one in each direction, enhancing the importance of the Great Stupa of Sanchi for it's architecture as well.
Until the 9th century, few more stupas, buddhist temples, and monasteries were added to the complex.
In 12th century, after the arrival of Islam rulers in India, Buddhism started to decline and the stupas of Sanchi were abandoned, which caused a major destruction to these monuments by overgrown trees. The gateways, temples, monasteries lay in ruins for a very long time.
Only in the 19th century, the restoration work for the preservation of Sanchi Stupa was undertaken by Archeological Survey of India, funded by ShahJahan Begum, the lady ruler of Bhopal. 
Each piece of the artistic gateway is so perfectly fitted, that it is difficult to imagine it being in ruined state for centuries. The incredibly well preserved Stupa of Sanchi is now a UNESCO World heritage site.

The Great Stupa of Sanchi, Madhya Pradesh

Ornamental Balustrade - The Great Stupa at Sanchi, Madhya Pradesh

Toranas - the decorative gateways of Sanchi Stupa

The Great Stupa at Sanchi is embellished with four lavishly carved Toranas (gateways) in the four directions. The most impressive part of the Sanchi Stupa is these marvellous gateways called Toranas, displaying Indian, Persian, Greek and Sumerian architecture. Each Torana is made from single highly polished granite stones, however, the carvings on them are so intricate that it gives a feeling of being carved from wood. The reliefs depicting various scenes of the life of Buddha were carved by ivory carvers of Vidisha. In the 19th century, the Europeans were very interested in taking the well preserved gateways to their countries’ museums, however, they were allowed to take only the plaster copies of them.

Northern Gateway (Torana) - The Great Stupa at Sanchi, Madhya Pradesh

Jatakas - the moral tales of Buddhism

The Toranas (gateways) of Sanchi Stupa resemble ancient Instagram walls with a huge collection of illustrations depicting moral tales from the life of Buddha, called Jatakas. Buddha attained Nirvana after many lives, and various stories from all his lives are considered as teachings in Buddhism. In all the scenes on the reliefs, Buddha is never personified even when he is playing the main role.

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• Miracle of Buddha walking on river: Miracle of Buddha walking on the river: The upper part of the illustration depicts a sage and his disciples trying to rescue themselves in the flooded river. The lower part represents a promenade as Buddha walks on the river to control the flood, as the sage and his disciples pay homage to the Master.

Jataka - Buddha walking on river - The Great Stupa at Sanchi, Madhya Pradesh

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• Monkey offering honey to Buddha: The illustration depicts a monkey offering honey to the Pipal Tree, which represents Buddha. The other monkey with empty hands represents that the bowl of honey is already offered as homage to the Master.​​​

Jataka - monkey offering honey to Buddha - The Great Stupa at Sanchi, Madhya Pradesh

Sanchi group of monuments

The heritage site at Sanchi is a cluster of Buddhist monuments which were built after the main stupa subsequently. Two more stupas containing relics of Buddha’s disciples were added on; one of them is decorated with a torana. Structures of various Buddhist temples and monasteries also lay in ruins in this complex.

Structure of Buddhist monastery - Sanchi group of monuments, Madhya Pradesh

Light and sound show at Sanchi Stupa

​Sanchi group of stupas host a light and sound show in the evenings, giving insights into Buddhism, Buddha’s life, and Asoka’s propagation of Buddhism. The Great Stupa is impressively personified as the Past Buddha, giving knowledge and wisdom to the smaller stupa personified as the present/future Buddha.

Light and sound show timing is 7:30 pm everyday.
​The Sanchi Stupa timing is 6:30 a.m. - 6 pm everyday.

Light and sound show - Sanchi Stupa, Madhya Pradesh

Light and sound show - Sanchi Stupa, Madhya Pradesh

Experience Architect Padma Shri K.K. Muhammed

Sanchi Stupa was a part of Cultural and Heritage Trip in Madhya Pradesh curated by Times Passion Trails. Living the stories of our rich past was an experience in itself, and to add on to it, we were hearing the stories of the best preserved monument of India from the renowned archaeologist of India Mr. KK Muhammed. He has been the regional director of ASI (Archaeology Survey of India) and recently honoured with Padma Shri award for his outstanding work. Extremely humble with his personality, he shared his deep knowledge about Indian monuments with us, an absolute prestige for us!

Times Passion Trails - Experience Architect Padma Shri K.K. Muhammed

How to reach Sanchi Stupa

To reach Sanchi Stupa, one needs to take the 10km short road from Vidisha, the nearest town to Sanchi. Or the 45km long road from Bhopal, the nearest city to Sanchi in Madhya Pradesh.
Vidisha and Bhopal are connected by road as well as by rail. For air travel, Bhopal is the most convenient airport.
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​A visit to Sanchi Stupa was perfect for my dose of positivity and calming vibes on Culture and Heritage trail with Times Passion Trails in collaboration with Madhya Pradesh Tourism Board.