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The Great Stupa at Sanchi (4th-1st century BCE).
The Great Stupa at Sanchi (4th-1st century BCE). Sanchi is a small Village in Raisen District of India, it is located 46 km north east of Bhopal, and 10 km from Besnagar and

A stupa (from Sanskrit and Pāli, literally meaning "heap") is a mound-like structure containing Buddhist relics--typically, the remains of a Buddha or saint. Sanskrit (sa संस्कृता वाक् saṃskṛtā vāk, for short sa संस्कृतम् saṃskṛtam) is a historical Pali ( ISO 15919 / ALA-LC: Pāḷi is a Middle Indo-Aryan language or Prakrit of India. In other Asian languages such monuments are called

  • chos rtan (Tibetan, "dharma place/seat")
  • chedi (Thai, from the Pāli chaitya)
  • dagobah (Sinhalese, from the Sanskrit dhatu)
  • tope (Hindi, from the Sanskrit)
  • garbha (Sanskrit, meaning a storehouse or repository)

After "stupa," chorten (from the Tibetan chos rtan) is the most commonly-encountered English term. Tibetan refers to a group of languages spoken primarily by Tibetan peoples who live across a wide area of eastern Central Asia bordering South Asia as well as by overseas Thai (th ภาษาไทย, transcription: phasa thai, transliteration:; pʰāːsǎːtʰāj is the national and A chaitya is a Buddhist or Jain shrine including a Stupa. In modern texts on Indian architecture the term chaitya-griha is often used A stupa (from Sanskrit and Pāli: m स्तूप stūpa, literally meaning "heap" is a mound-like structure containing Buddhist Hindi ( Devanāgarī: hi [[wiktहिन्दी हिन्दी]] or hi [[wiktहिंदी हिंदी]] IAST:, IPA:) is The term "reliquary" is sometimes used, after a Roman Catholic functional equivalent. A reliquary (also referred to as a Shrine or by the French term Chasse) is a container for Relics These may be the physical

Stupas are an ancient form of mandala. Mandala ( Sanskrit maṇḍala मंड "essence" + ल "having" or "containing" [1]

Contents

Description and history

Evolution of the Butkara stupa, through the Mauryan, Indo-Greek, Indo-Scythian and Kushan periods.
Evolution of the Butkara stupa, through the Mauryan, Indo-Greek, Indo-Scythian and Kushan periods. The Butkara Stupa is an important Buddhist shrine in the area of Swat, Pakistan. The Maurya Empire ( 322 – 185 BCE) ruled by the Mauryan dynasty was a geographically extensive and powerful political and military The Indo-Greek Kingdom (or sometimes Graeco-Indian Kingdom) covered various parts of the northwest and northern Indian subcontinent during the last two centuries The Indo-Scythians are a branch of the Indo-Iranian Sakas ( Scythians) who migrated from southern Siberia into Bactria, The Kushan Empire (c 1st &ndash 3rd centuries) was a Bactrian state that at its cultural zenith Circa 105 &ndash 250
Stupa surrounded by four lion-crowned pillars. Gandhara, 2nd century CE.
Stupa surrounded by four lion-crowned pillars. Gandhara, 2nd century CE. Gandhāra ( Sanskrit: गन्धार Urdu: گندھارا Gandḥārā; also known as Waihind in Persian is the name of an ancient
The main Stupa crowning Borobudur Buddhist monument, Java, Indonesia.
The main Stupa crowning Borobudur Buddhist monument, Java, Indonesia. Borobudur is a ninth-century Mahayana Buddhist monument in Magelang, Central Java, Indonesia. Java (Jawa is an Island of Indonesia and the site of its Capital city Jakarta. The Republic of Indonesia ( (Republik Indonesia is a Country in Southeast Asia.
Buddha relics from Kanishka's stupa in Peshawar, Pakistan, now in Mandalay, Burma. Teresa Merrigan, 2005
Buddha relics from Kanishka's stupa in Peshawar, Pakistan, now in Mandalay, Burma. Teresa Merrigan, 2005

The stupa is the latest Buddhist religious monument and was originally only a simple mound of mud or clay to cover supposed relics of the Buddha. A relic is an object or a personal item of religious significance carefully preserved with an air of Veneration as a tangible memorial Siddhārtha Gautama ( Sanskrit; Pali: Siddhattha Gotama) was a spiritual Teacher from Ancient India and the founder After the "passing away" of the Buddha, his remains were cremated and the ashes divided and buried under eight stupas with two further stupas encasing the urn and the embers. Little is known about these early stupas, particularly since it has not been possible to identify the original ten monuments. However, some later stupas, such as at Sarnath and Sanchi, seem to be embellishments of earlier mounds. This article is about a place in India For H P Lovecraft 's fictitious city see The Doom That Came to Sarnath. Sanchi is a small Village in Raisen District of India, it is located 46 km north east of Bhopal, and 10 km from Besnagar and

In the third century BCE, after his conversion to Buddhism, the emperor Ashoka had the original stupas opened and the remains distributed among the several thousand stupas he had built. Ashoka ( Devanāgarī: अशोकः IAST: Aśokaḥ, aɕoːkə(hə Prakrit Imperial title Devanampriya Priyadarsi Nevertheless, the stupas at the eight places associated with the life of the Buddha continued to be of particular importance. Accordingly, the importance of a stupa changed from being a funerary monument to being an object of veneration. As a consequence their appearance changed also. Stupas were built in Sri Lanka soon after King Devanampiyatissa converted to Buddhism, the first stupa to be built was the Thuparamaya. Sri Lanka, officially the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka ( Sinhalese:, இலங்கை known as Ceylon before 1972 is an Island Tissa, later Devanampiyatissa, c 247 BC - 207 BC was one of the earliest rulers of Sri Lanka based at the ancient capital of Anuradhapura Thuparamaya is a Dagaba in Anuradhapura, Sri Lanka. Thera Mahinda himself introduced Theravada Buddhism and also Chetiya Later on Sri Lanka went on to build many stupas over the years, some like the Jetavanarama in Anuradhapura being one of the tallest ancient structures in the world. The Jetavanaramaya is a Stupa, located in the ruins of Jetavana Monastery in the sacred city of Anuradhapura, Sri Lanka. Anuradhapura, (අනුරාධපුර in Sinhala, அனுராதபுரம் in Tamil) is one of the ancient capitals of Sri Lanka, famous

They evolved into large hemispherical mounds with features such as the torana (gateway), the vedica (fence-like enclosure evolved from the vedic villages), the harmika (a square platform with railings on top of the stupa), chattrayashti (the parasol or canopy) and a circumambulatory around the stupa. For the Australian car see Holden Torana. A torana is a type of gateway seen in Hindu and Buddhist architecture The Vedic Period (or Vedic Age) is the period in the History of India during which the Vedas, the oldest sacred texts of Hinduism, were being From the first century BCE onwards, stupas were incorporated into the hall of the chaitya-griha. A chaitya is a Buddhist or Jain shrine including a Stupa. In modern texts on Indian architecture the term chaitya-griha is often used

One such stupa is discovered at Sopara an ancient port near Mumbai and is supposed to be one of most ancient stupas in the world. WikipediaWikiProject Indian cities for details --> Sopara ( Sanskrit: Śūrpāraka (mentioned in the Hebrew texts as Ophir) was Mumbai ( Marathi:,, IPA: formerly Bombay, is the capital of the Indian state of Maharashtra and the financial The oldest known stupa is the Dhamek Stupa at Sanchi, India, while the tallest is the Phra Pathom Chedi in Nakhon Pathom, Thailand, with a height of 127 metres. Dhamek Stupa (also spelled Dhamekh and Dhamekha) is a massive Stupa located at Sarnath, 13 km away from Varanasi in the state of Sanchi is a small Village in Raisen District of India, it is located 46 km north east of Bhopal, and 10 km from Besnagar and India, officially the Republic of India (भारत गणराज्य inc-Latn Bhārat Gaṇarājya; see also other Indian languages) is a country Phra Pathom Chedi (พระปฐมเจดีย์ is the highest Stupa in the world with a height of 127 m Nakhon Pathom (นครปฐม is one of the central provinces ( changwat) of Thailand. The Kingdom of Thailand (ˈtaɪlænd ราชอาณาจักรไทย, râːtɕʰa-ʔaːnaːtɕɑ̀k-tʰɑj The most elaborate stupa is the 8th century Borobudur monument in Java, Indonesia. Borobudur is a ninth-century Mahayana Buddhist monument in Magelang, Central Java, Indonesia. Java (Jawa is an Island of Indonesia and the site of its Capital city Jakarta. The Republic of Indonesia ( (Republik Indonesia is a Country in Southeast Asia. The upper rounded terrace with rows of bell shaped stupas contained buddha images symbolize Arupadhatu, the sphere of formlesness. In Buddhism, the arūpajhānas are four successive levels of meditation on non-material objects The main stupa itself is empty, symbolizing complete perfection of enlightenment. The main stupa is only the crown part of the monument, while the base is pyramidal structure elaborate with galleries adorned with bas relief of scenes derived from Buddhist text depicted the life of Siddharta Gautama. Siddhārtha Gautama ( Sanskrit; Pali: Siddhattha Gotama) was a spiritual Teacher from Ancient India and the founder Borobudur unique and significant architecture has been acknowledge by UNESCO as the largest buddhist monument in the world.

The stupa evolved into the pagoda as Buddhism spread to other Asian countries. A pagoda is the general term in the English language for a tiered Tower with multiple Eaves common in China, Japan, Korea The pagoda has varied forms that also include bellshaped and pyramidal ones. Today, in the Western context, there is no clear distinction between the stupa and the pagoda. But in general stupa is used for a Buddhist structure of India or south-east Asia, while pagoda refers to a building in east Asia which can be entered and which may be secular in purpose.

Fundamentally, a stupa is essentially made up of the following five constituent parts:

Each component is rich in metaphoric content. A dome is a common structural element of Architecture that resembles the hollow upper half of a Sphere. For example, "the shape of the stupa represents the Buddha, crowned and sitting in meditation posture on a lion throne. His crown is the top of the spire; his head is the square at the spire's base; his body is the vase shape; his legs are the four steps of the lower terrace; and the base is his throne. " [2] The components of the stupa are also identified with the five elements — earth, water, fire, air, and space — held to constitute the fabric of manifest existence.

Regional names for stupa include:

Gallery

Rows of bell-shaped stupa at upper terrace of Borobudur, Indonesia. A chaitya is a Buddhist or Jain shrine including a Stupa. In modern texts on Indian architecture the term chaitya-griha is often used Borobudur is a ninth-century Mahayana Buddhist monument in Magelang, Central Java, Indonesia. The Republic of Indonesia ( (Republik Indonesia is a Country in Southeast Asia.

Stupa at Samye Ling Monastery, Scotland

Colombo, Sri Lanka

Shwedagon in Yangon, Myanmar

That Louang in Vientiane, Laos

Chörten, Tibet

Stupa in Gangtok, Sikkim, India

The western side of the stupa at Kuruhinna in Gan Island, Haddhunmathi Atoll, Maldives

Jaulian Stupa in Bhuddist Monastery in Taxila,Pakistan

Dhammakaya stupa,Wat Phra Dhammakaya, Thailand

Stupa of King Norodom Suramarit in Phnom Penh, Cambodia

Swayambhunath Stupa in Kathmandu, Nepal

Mankiala Stupa near Rawalpindi, Pakistan

Stupas around Erdene Zuu monastery in Karakorum, Mongolia

See also

Notes

  1. ^ Prebish & Keown, Introducing Buddhism, page 89
  2. ^ Introduction to stupas

References

External links

Dictionary

stupa

-noun

  1. A dome-shaped Buddhist monument, used to house relics of the Lord Buddha.
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