One of the oldest surviving stone structures in India and a specimen of Buddhist architecture, the Great Stupa at Sanchi will help you join the dots between one of ancient India’s most powerful rulers, King Ashoka, and the subsequent rise of Buddhism. This hemispherical stone dome however synonymous with Sanchi, when originally commissioned by Emperor Ashoka in the 3rd Century BCE, was a simple brick structure with the relics of Lord Buddha placed in a central chamber. About 46 kilometres northeast of Bhopal in Madhya Pradesh lies the SanchiStupa, a UNESCO World Heritage Site, and a landmark structure in tracing the evolution of Indian architecture starting with the Maurya period.
One of the best conserved Stupas, the Great Stupa at Sanchi with its four ornamental toranas or gateways lures visitors from all over the world to this day who spend hours at the site marvelling at this Buddhist architectural masterpiece, and the richness of its sculptures. The great Maurya ruler, Ashoka, who reigned over the entire subcontinent between 268 and 232 BCE, can be credited for laying the foundation of a typical Vihara (Buddhist monastery) architecture as evident in Sanchi, a trend that flourished through the centuries until the 12th century AD.
When Ashoka built the Great Stupa, he had at the nucleus a huge hemispherical brick dome covering the relics of Lord Buddha, with an elevated terrace surrounding the base, a balustrade, and a chatra or stone umbrella on the top to indicate high rank. The current structure goes back to the Shunga period when the brick was replaced with stone and the diameter of the dome was nearly doubled. The Shunga Empire was founded in the north after PushyamitraShunga, an army general in the Mauryan Empire killed the last ruling Maurya, BrihadrathaMaurya in 185 BCE. Experts assert that the Stupa was pillaged in the Shungareign, an instance associated with the growing power of Pushyamitra, and went on to be reconstructed later by his son, Agnimitra. However, unlike the more rounder brick structure, the stone one has a flattened top surmounted with a three-tier chatra symbolic of the Wheel of Dharma. A flight of double staircase was introduced to let one walk around the sacred dome and get to the elevated rounded drum that came to be the seat of the structure.
