Great Stupa, Sanchi

-

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 in 46 kilometres (29 mi) north-east of Bhopal, capital of Madhya Pradesh. Great Stupa Sanchi is one of the oldest stone structures in India, and an important monument of Indian Architecture.

It was originally commissioned by the emperor Ashoka 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 chhatri, a parasol-like structure symbolising high rank, which was intended to honour and shelter the relics. The original construction work of this stupa was overseen by Ashoka, whose wife Devi was the daughter of a merchant of nearby Vidisha.

                                                                             
                                                  Image Source: Great Stupa, Sanchi

Sanchi was also her birthplace as well as the venue of her and Ashoka's wedding. In the 1st century BCE, four elaborately carved toranas (ornamental gateways) and a balustrade encircling the entire structure were added.

The Sanchi Stupa built during Mauryan period was made of bricks. The composite flourished until the 11th century.

Sanchi is the center of a region with a number of stupas, all within a few miles of Sanchi, including Satdhara (9 km to the W of Sanchi, 40 stupas, the Relics of Sariputra and Mahamoggallana, now enshrined in the new Vihara, were unearthed there), Bhojpur (also called Morel Khurd, a fortified hilltop with 60 stupas) and Andher (respectively 11 km and 17 km SE of Sanchi), as well as Sonari (10 km SW of Sanchi).[2][3] Further south, about 100 km away, is Saru Maru. Bharhut is 300 km to the northeast.


Sacred Sites of India

·         Amarnath Cave, Kashmir
·         Buddhist Pilgrimage in India
·         The Golden Temple, Amritsar
Muruga Shrines of South India

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Willong Khullen Manipur

-
Image
Willong Khullen Manipur Remotely located in the mountains of northern Manipur, the magnificent collection of standing stones of Willong Khullen is one of the most mysterious and unstudied sacred places in the entire world. There are approximately 150 standing stones, many as tall as 23 feet (7 meters) and absolutely nothing is known about them. Where the stones are from, who carved them, how they were transported to this site, how they were used, when the site was constructed – all of these are mysteries yet to be solved. Martin Gray  is a cultural anthropologist, writer and photographer specializing in the study and documentation of pilgrimage places around the world. During a 38 year period he has visited more than 1500 sacred sites in 165 countries. The  World Pilgrimage Guide  web site is the most comprehensive source of information on this subject. For places for travelers in visit now Shakti Pitha Temples Jyotir Linga Shiva Temples ...
Read more

Dakshineswar Kali Temple

-
Image
A temple that resides in the heart of every single Bengali and is highly revered for being the sanctum sanctorum of Goddess Kali along with the place-of-stay of one of the greatest mystics and yogis of all times, Ramkrishna Paramhansa and his consort and spiritual companion, Maa Sarada Devi.  The Dakshineshwar Kali Temple with the untiring efforts of Rani Rashmoni was the result of a dream that the Rani had seen before undertaking a pilgrimage to Benaras (now Varanasi). The large temple complex, built between 1847 and 1855, had as its centerpiece a shrine of the goddess Kali, and there were also temples dedicated to the deities Shiva and Radha-Krishna.  A scholarly, elderly sage was chosen as the head priest and the temple was consecrated in 1855. Within the year the priest died and his responsibilities passed to his younger brother, Ramakrishna, who over the next thirty years would bring great fame to the Dakshineswar temple. Kali temple of Dakshineswar ...
Read more

Pilgrims on the Ganges River, Banaras, India

-
Image
Banaras is the most visited pilgrimage destination in all of India . One of the seven Holy Cities, one of the twelve Jyotir Linga sites and also a Shakti Pitha site, it is the most favored place for Hindus to die and be cremated. Myths and hymns speak of the waters of the Ganges River as the fluid medium of Shiva's divine essence and a bath in the river is believed to wash away all of one's sins In recent years the Ganges River has drawn attention for its ungodly level of pollution. But the bathers are immune to all this. Nearly 2.5 million of them come each year to Banaras , this holiest of cities, on the banks of the most sacred of Indian rivers.   According to Hindu legend, Lord Shiva unleashed the Ganges from the knot of his hair. For centuries, its rich floods lent fertility to the soil of the central Gangetic plains, which nourished some of India's most prominent ancient civilizations. Varanasi is a heap of mismatched temples and narrow steps located o...
Read more