The Hill of Sanchi is situated about 9 kilometres south-west of Vidisha in Madhaya Pradesh, India. Crowning the hilltop of Sanchi nearly 91 metres in height, a group of Buddhist monuments commands a grand view even from a distance. It is unique not only in its having the most perfect and well-preserved stupas but also in its offering a wide and educative field for the study of the genesis, efflorescence and decay of Buddhist art and architecture for a period of about thirteen hundred years, from the third century B.C. to the twelfth century, A.D., almost covering the whole range of Indian Buddhism. This is rather surprising, for Sanchi was not hallowed by any incident in Buddha's life; not is it known to have been the focus of any significant event in the history of Buddhist monachism.
Hiuen Tsang, who so meticulously recorded the details connected with Buddhist monuments, is silent about it. The only possible reference to it is contained in the chronicles of Sri. Lanka, according to which Mahendra, son of Asoka and his queen Devi, daughter of a merchant of Vidisa, (modern Besnagar near Bhilsa or Vidisha) whom Asoka had married during his halt there on his way to Ujjayani as a viceroy, is said to have visited his mother at Vidisa, and the latter took him up to the beautiful monastery of Vedisagiri built by herself. Mahendra had stayed there for a month before he set out for Sri Lanka.
The foundation of the great religious establishment at Sanchi destined to have a glorious career as an important centre of Buddhism for many centuries to come, was probably laid by the great Maurya emperor Asoka (circa 273-236 B.C.), when he built a stupa and erected a monolithic pillar here. In addition to his marriage with a lady of Vidisa, the reason for his selection of this particular spot may be due to the fact that the hilltop served as an ideal place for giving a concrete shape to the newly aroused zeal for Buddhism in the emperor, who is said to have opened up seven out of the eight original stupas erected over the body relics of Buddha and to have distributed the relics among innumerable stupas built by himself all over his empire. By its quietude and seclusion ensuring a proper atmosphere for meditation, combined with its proximity to the rich and populous city of Vidisa, Sanchi fulfilled all the conditions required for an ideal Buddhist monastic life. The dedicatory inscriptions at Sanchi unmistakably show that the prosperity of the Buddhist establishment here was, to a great extent, due to the piety of the rich mercantile community of Vidisa. The nearness of the city, the strategic situation of which - at the confluence of two rivers, the Betwa and the Bes, as well as on two important trade routes resulted in a great overflow of wealth, was in no small measure responsible for the flourishing condition of Sanchi even when the empire of the Mauryas was a thing of the past.
After a temporary setback following the break-up of the Maurya empire, when the stupa of Asoka was damaged, the cause of the Buddhist establishment of Kakanaya was taken up with a feverish zeal by the monks and the laity alike, not a negligible percentage of the latter being formed by visitors of Vidisa for trade and other purposes. The religious fervour found its expression in vigorous building activity about the middle of the second century B.C., during which the Sungas were ruling and which saw the stone encasing and enlargement of the stupa of Asoka, the erection of balustrades round its ground, berm, stairway and harmika, the reconstruction of Temple 40 and the building of Stupas 2 and 3. The same intense religious aspiration and creative forces continued unabated in the next century as well, when, during the supremacy of the Satavahanas, new embellishments, in the form of elaborately-carved gateways, were added to Stapas 1 and 3. See below gateways pillar relief.
After a prolonged period of stagnation and lassitude under the Kashtrapas, there was a revival of sculptural activity at Sanchi during the reign of the Guptas who, after conquering the Kshatrapas (circa A.D. 400), provided peace and prosperity essential for the growth of artistic pursuits. The discovery a few images in Mathura, sandstone executed in the early Gupta tradition, proves that Mathura continued, even in the fourth century A.D., to meet the demand of the clientele of Sanchi. But soon afterwards the local art of Sanchi once more came to the fore, and to this period belong the four images of Buddha seated under canopies against the berm of Stupa 1 facing the four entrances. But even in the best days of the Guptas the figures of Buddha from the ateliers of Sanchi fell short, in standard and number of their counterparts at such Buddhist centres as Sarnath.
The Gupta period, which ushered in a new epoch in the history of Indian temple-architecture, saw at Sanchi as well as resuscitation of structural activity. In Temple 17 which has withstood the ravages of time, we find one of the earliest Gupta temples noted for their well-balanced proportion, restraint in ornamentation and elegance.
After the glorious days of the Guptas centrifugal forces became once more rampant. And then came the shock of the Hana invasions, which resulted in the seizure of a large part of western and central India by that tribe. But that occupation was short lived, to be shattered by Yasodharman's victory over their chief Mihirakula in the first half of the sixth century.
On the ashes of the Gupta empire rose a number of small kingdoms, none of which was powerful enough to bring any large part of India under its aegis, till Harshavardhana (A.D. 606-647) achieved some sort of political unity in northern India. His espousal of the cause of Buddhism brought a fresh lease of life to that religion. The vestiges of the seventh and eighth centuries, which saw at Sanchi the building of several monasteries and temples, reveal a prosperous condition of the Buddhist community at the place. The number of the images of Buddha made during the period was fairly considerable; executed in late Gupta tradition, they, however, lack the charm and grace of their prototypes and are almost lifeless and mechanical.
After the death of Harsha, northern India once, more became a prey to the ambitions of different dynasties. The Pratiharas, who had established themselves in the Malwa region by the eighth century, were followed by the Paramaras in the next century. But Sanchi seems to have been hardly affected by these political changes, as the existence of a number of medieval monasteries and temples testifies to a period of continued prosperity. Temple 45, for example, which is now a mere shell bereft of its original splendour, has the same architectural pompousness and exuberance of decoration as would characterise the contemporaneous north Indian architecture. From the find of such images like Vajrasattva and Marichi, it is abundantly clear that Vajrayana did extend its roots here as well.
It is not known how end came to the Buddhist establishment at Sanchi. No Buddhist monument can be assigned to the thirteenth century A.D. on the other hand, to this period belong a number of Brahmanical plaques containing representations of Vishnu, Ganega, Mahishasuramardini, etc. We do not know if the Buddhists deserted the place or gradually lost their vital forces to maintain their individuality thus succumbing to the all absorbing force of Brahmanism, which was one of the potent causes of the extinction of Buddhism in the land of its birth.
Exploration and Preservation
From the fourteenth century onwards, Sanchi was left deserted and unnoticed, till in the year 1818 General Taylor brought it to public attention by discovering its ruins, of which he found Supas 1, 2 and 3 intact. The great interest which this discovery created accounts to a large extent for the immense damages suffered by the monuments at the hands of amateur archaeologists and treasure-hunters. In 1822, Captain Johnson, Assistant Political Agent in Bhopal, opened up Stupa 1 from top to bottom on one side, thus leaving a great breach which resulted in the collapse of the. West Gateway and a part of the enclosing balustrade. Stupa 2 was also partially destroyed. Alexander Cunningham, together with Captain F. C. Maisey, excavated Stupas 2 and 3 in 1851 and found relic caskets within. They also sank a shaft at the centre of Stupa 1, which, however, failed to yield any relies. These operations coupled with the depredations of villagers and the growth of vegetation, wrought havoc to the stupas. The pillar of Asoka was broken into pieces by a local zemindar to be utilized as a sugarcane press.
The question of repairs and preservation was not, at all considered till 1881, when Major Cole took up the work in right earnest and succeeded, in the course of the next three years, in clearing off vegetation, filling in the breach in the dome of Stupa 1, setting up its fallen West and South Gateways and a part of its railing and restoring the gateway in front of Stupa V. The other monuments, however, were left uncared for and no attempt was made to expose the structures lying buried under debris. This work was later on undertaken creditably by Sir John Marshall, Director General of Archaeology in India, who, between the years 1912 and 1919, brought the monuments to their present condition. His work entailed a large-scale clearance of jungle, excavation and thorough conservation of the edifices, which included the complete dismantling and rebuilding of the south-west quadrant of Stupa 1, setting up of its balustrades and erection of the crowning members, reconstruction of the dome, balustrade and crowning members of Stupa 3, resetting of the out-of-plumb pillars of Temple 18 repairs to the perilously decayed Temple 45, rebuilding of the retaining wall between the Main Terrace and Eastern Area, re-roofing and repairs of Temples 17, 31 and 32 and provision of an effective drainage. The site was next turfed and Planted with trees and flowering creepers. A small museum was also built to house the loose antiquities found in the course of these operations.
Although not directly connected with events in the life of the Buddha, Sanchi became a pilgrimage site when Ashoka Maurya erected a stupa and column there in the middle of the 3d century BC. Later rulers enlarged the complex. After the decline of Buddhism in India, the ruins lay neglected until the 19th century, when they were despoiled by treasure hunters. Restoration activity commenced in the early 20th century, with the rebuilding of the principal stupas and the creation of the present park and museum. Sanchi is a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
The earliest stupas predated Buddhism and were simple funerary mounds which held the ashes of the deceased. Built of earth, they have not survived. Buddhist stupas developed as reliquary mounds, holding the divided ashes of Buddha himself, or of later Buddhist teachers. However, many stupas contain only symbolic objects rather than actual remains. The dome is filled with rubble, covered by a masonry exterior, and topped by a squared-off platform (harmika) which encloses a royal parasol (chattra) atop a mast (yasti.) In its full development, the dome is placed atop an elevated platform with stairs leading clockwise from the ground level up to a circular walkway, where the worshipper may circumambulate the dome. Finally, the whole stupa is enclosed by a railing (vedika) and elaborate gates (torana) are built in front of each of the four cardinal points. The forms of the staircase, gates, harmika, and so on are imitative of wooden structures. The harmika and associated structures are derived from the caitya (chaitya) - an early tree-shrine, surrounded by a fence. All these features can be seen in Stupa 1 at Sanchi, the earliest and best surviving example of this kind of building.
The stupa undergoes a long development following this early history, transforming ultimately into the dagoba (Sri Lanka), chorten (Tibet), wat (SE Asia), and pagoda (China, Japan).
Symbolism of the stupa relates first of all to directionality and the cosmos. Stupas are built on a hill, where their beneficial influence can radiate to all four points of the compass. The dome represents the universe, also (as in later Hindu temples) a world-mountain whose axis is defined by the mast, and finally the symbolic body of Buddha himself, decorated (on gates and railings only) with sculpted scenes from his life and Jataka stories of his previous incarnations.
Sanchi is a small village in Raisen District of the state of Madhya Pradesh, India, it is located 46 km north east of Bhopal, and 10 km from Besnagar and Vidisha in the central part of the state of Madhya Pradesh. It is the location of several Buddhist monuments dating from the 3rd century BCE to the 12th century CE and is one of the important places of Buddhist pilgrimage. It is a nagar panchayat in Raisen district in the Indian state of Madhya Pradesh. Toranas surround the Stupa and they each represent love, peace, trust, and courage.
The 'Great Stupa' at Sanchi is the oldest stone structure in India and was originally commissioned by the emperor Ashoka the Great in the 3rd century BCE. Its nucleus was a simple hemispherical brick structure built over the relics of the Buddha. It was crowned by the chatra, a parasol-like structure symbolising high rank, which was intended to honour and shelter the relics. It has four profusely carved ornamental gateways and a balustrade encircling the whole structure.
Sanchi might have originated from Sanskrit and Pali word Sanch meaning To Measure. In Hindi, however Sanchi or Sancha means for Moulds of Stones.
Sunga period
| Sanchi | |
| — city — | |
| Coordinates | 23°28′50″N 77°44′11″ECoordinates: 23°28′50″N 77°44′11″E |
| Country | India |
| State | Madhya Pradesh |
| District(s) | Raisen |
| Population | 6,785 (2001) |
| Time zone | IST (UTC+05:30) |
The stupa was vandalized at one point sometime in the 2nd century BCE, an event some have related to the rise of the Sunga emperor Pusyamitra Sunga who overtook the Mauryan Empire as an army general. It has been suggested that Pushyamitra may have destroyed the original stupa, and his son Agnimitra rebuilt it. During the later rule of the Sunga, 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 forcircumambulation, which could be accessed via a double staircase. A second stone pathway at ground level was enclosed by a stone balustrade with four monumental gateways (toranas) facing the cardinal directions. The buildings which seem to have been commissioned during the rule of the Sungas are the Second and Third stupas (but not the highly decorated gateways, which are from the following Satavahanaperiod, as known from inscriptions), and the ground balustrade and stone casing of the Great Stupa.
Satavahana period
The gateways and the balustrade were built and appear to have been commissioned by theSatavahana. An inscription records the gift of one of the top architraves of the Southern Gateway by the artisans of the Satavahana king Satakarni:
- "Gift of Ananda, the son of Vasithi, the foreman of the artisans of rajan Siri Satakarni".
DC Sircar observes that palaeographically the Hathigumpha record is slightly later than Naneghat record whereas the letters of Sanchi inscription of Satakarni resemble the script of Hathigumpha inscription. Kharavela in his inscription mentions one Satakarni, who is identified as Satakarni II, who is also identical to the one who inscribed in Sanchi. If this be true, then the dating of Sanchi gateway and balustrade will be belonging to much earlier period of 180-160 bce.
Although made of stone, they were carved and constructed in the manner of wood and the gateways were covered with narrative sculptures. They showed scenes from the life of the Buddha integrated with everyday events that would be familiar to the onlookers and so make it easier for them to understand the Buddhist creed as relevant to their lives. At Sanchi and most other stupas the local population donated money for the embellishment of the stupa to attain spiritual merit. There was no direct royal patronage. Devotees, both men and women, who donated money towards a sculpture would often choose their favourite scene from the life of the Buddha and then have their names inscribed on it. This accounts for the random repetition of particular episodes on the stupa (Dehejia 1992). On these stone carvings the Buddha was never depicted as a human figure. Instead the artists chose to represent him by certain attributes, such as the horse on which he left his father’s home, his footprints, or a canopy under the bodhi tree at the point of his enlightenment. The human body was thought to be too confining for the Buddha.
Some of the friezes of Sanchi also show devotees in Greek attire (Greek clothing, attitudes, and musical instruments) celebrating the stupa.
Later periods
Further stupas and other religious Buddhist and early Hindu structures were added over the following centuries until the 12th century CE. Temple 17 is probably one of the earliest Buddhist temples as it dates to the early Gupta period. It consists of a flat roofed square sanctum with a portico and four pillars. The interior and three sides of the exterior are plain and undecorated but the front and the pillars are elegantly carved, giving the temple an almost ‘classical’ appearance (Mitra 1971). With the decline of Buddhism in India, the monuments of Sanchi went out of use and fell into a state of disrepair.
Western rediscovery
A British officer in 1818, General Taylor, was the first known Western historian to document (in English) the existence of Sanchi (Sāñcī). Amateur archaeologists and treasure hunters ravaged the site until 1881, when proper restoration work was initiated. Between 1912 and 1919 the structures were restored to their present condition under the supervision of Sir John Marshall.
Today, around fifty monuments remain on the hill of Sanchi, including three stupas and several temples. The monuments have been listed among the UNESCO World Heritage Sites since 1989..
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