Azərbaycanca
Беларускі
Dansk
Deutsch
Española
Français
Indonesia
Italiana
日本語
Қазақ
Lietuvos
Nederlands
Português
Русский
සිංහල
แบบไทย
Türkçe
Українська
中國人
United State
Afrikaans
සාංචි ස්තූපය ඉන්දියාවේ මධ්‍ය ප්‍රදේශ් ප්‍රාන්තයේ සාංචි නගරයේ පිහිටා ඇත. එය මධ්‍ය ප්‍රදේශ් හි අගනුවර වන සිට කිලෝමීටර 46ක් (සැතපුම් 29) ඊසානදිගට වන්නට පිහිටා තිබේ.
| සාංචිය | |
|---|---|
 සාංචියේ මහා ස්තූපය, නැගෙනහිර තොරණ. | |
  සාංචි  සාංචි සාංචි | |
| සාමාන්‍ය තොරතුරු | |
| ප්‍රභේදය | ස්තූපය සහ අවට ගොඩනැගිලි |
| ගෘහනිර්මාණ ශෛලිය | |
| පිහිටීම | සාංචි නගරය, මධ්‍ය ප්‍රදේශ්, ඉන්දියාව, ආසියාව |
| ඉදිකිරීම් ආරම්භ වූයේ | ක්‍රි.පූ. 3වන සියවස |
| උස | 16.46 m (54.0 ft) (මහා ස්තූපයේ ගර්භය) |
| මිනුම් | |
| විෂ්කම්භය | 36.6 m (120 ft) (මහා ස්තූපයේ ගර්භය) |
| නිල නාමය | සාංචියේ බෞද්ධ ස්මාරක |
| (නිර්ණායකය) | Cultural: i, ii, iii, iv, vi |
| මූලාශ්‍ර | 524 |
| අභිලේඛනය | 1989 (13 වන ) |
ඛණ්ඩාංක: 23°28′45″N 77°44′23″E / 23.479223°N 77.739683°E
සාංචියේ මහා ස්තූපය ඉන්දියාවේ පැරණිතම පාෂාණමය ඉදිකිරීමක් වන අතර, එය වැදගත් ස්මාරකයක් වේ. මෙහි මුල් නිර්මාණය ක්‍රි.පූ. 3වන සියවසේ අශෝක අධිරාජයාගේ මූලිකත්වයෙන් සිදු විය. එහි ගර්භය සරල අර්ධ ගෝලාකාර ගඩොළු ව්‍යූහයක් වූ අතර, එහි බුදුන් වහන්සේගේ ධාතූන් තැන්පත් කොට තිබිණි. 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 . Sanchi was also her birthplace as well as the venue of her and Ashoka's wedding. In the 1st century BCE, four elaborately carved (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 (9 km to the W of Sanchi, 40 stupas, the , now enshrined in the new Vihara, were unearthed there), (also called Morel Khurd, a fortified hilltop with 60 stupas) and (respectively 11 km and 17 km SE of Sanchi), as well as (10 km SW of Sanchi). Further south, about 100 km away, is . is 300 km to the northeast.
Sanchi Stupa is depicted on the reverse side of the Indian currency note of Rs 200 to signify its importance to Indian cultural heritage.
හැඳින්වීම
වර්තමානයේ සාංචියේ දක්නට ලැබෙන ස්මාරක මෞර්ය අධිරාජ්‍ය යුගයේ (ක්‍රි.පූ. 3වන සියවස) සිට අඛණ්ඩව ගුප්ත අධිරාජ්‍ය යුගය (ක්‍රි.ව. 5වන සියවස) දක්වාත්, සහ අවසානයේ ක්‍රි.ව. 12වන සියවස අවට දී නිර්මාණය වූ බෞද්ධ ස්මාරක සමූහයකි. මෙය බොහෝවිට ඉන්දියාවේ වඩාත්ම හොඳින් සංරක්ෂණය වී ඇති බෞද්ධ ස්මාරක සමූහය විය හැක. මෙහි ඇති පැරණිතම සහ විශාලතම ස්මාරකය වන මහා ස්තූපය හෙවත් ස්තූප අංක 1 මුලින්ම මෞර්ය යුගයේ ඉදිවූ අතර, එය අසල යක් ද පිහිටුවා තිබිණි. පසුකාලීන සියවස්වල දී, විශේෂයෙන්ම ශුංග සහ කාලසීමාවේ දී මහා ස්තූපය විශාල කොට තනවා අලංකාර තොරණ සහ වේදිකා ද එක් කරන ලදී. එසේම මෙය ආසන්නයේ කුඩා ස්තූප, විශේෂයෙන් , සහ ස්තූප අං.3. ඉදිකරන ලදී
ඉන් අනතුරුව, ගුප්ත අධිරාජ්‍ය යුගය තෙක්ම එයට විවිධ අංග එක් කෙරිණි. මේ අනුව, සමස්තයක් වශයෙන් ගත්කළ සාංචිය සහ ඉන්දියානු විකාසනය පෙන්වන කැඩපතක් බඳු ය. මෙමඟින් මුල්කාලීන බුද්ධාගම, එහි ආදිතම කලා සම්ප්‍රදායයන් සහ තෙක් කාලසීමාව නිරූපණය කරයි.
-
![image]()
සාංචි ස්තූපවල සාමන්‍ය දර්ශනය , 1851 (මහා ස්තූපය කඳු මුදුනේ ද, ස්තූප අංක 2 ඉදිරියෙන් ද වේ) -
![image]()
ක්‍රි.පූ. 3වන සියවසේ ආරම්භ වූ මහා ස්තූපය (ස්තූප අං.1), -
![image]()
ස්තූප අං.2 -
![image]()
ස්තූප අං.3 -
![image]()
බෞද්ධ විහාරය, අං.17
මෞර්ය යුගය (ක්‍රි.පූ. 3වන සියවස)
සාංචියේ "මහා ස්තූපය" මෙහි ඇති පැරණිතම ව්‍යූහය වන අතර, එය මුලින් නිර්මාණය කරන ලද්දේ ක්‍රි.පූ. 3වන සියවසේ මෞර්ය අධිරාජ අශෝක විසිනි. මෙහි මධ්‍යය බුදුන් වහන්සේගේ නිධන් කොට තැනූ අර්ධ ගෝලාකාර ගඩොල් නිමැවුමකින් සමන්විත විය. එහි පාදම වටා උස්වූ පේසාවක් පිහිටි අතර, ගර්භය මත ගරාදි වැටක් සහ උසස් බව හැඟවීම උදෙසා ක් ද සවිකොට තිබිණ. මෙහි මුල් ස්තූපය වර්තමාන ස්තූපයේ විෂ්කම්භයෙන් අඩක් පමණ වූ අතර, විසින් එය විශාල කොට ඇත. වර්තමානයේ පාෂාණයෙන් ආවරණය කිට තිබුණ ද, අතීතයේ එය ගඩොල්වලින් ආවරණය කොට තිබිණි.
According to one version of the Mahavamsa, the Buddhist chronicle of Sri Lanka, Ashoka was closely connected to the region of Sanchi. When he was heir-apparent and was journeying as Viceroy to , he is said to have halted at (10 kilometers from Sanchi), and there married the daughter of a local banker. She was called and later gave Ashoka two sons, Ujjeniya and , and a daughter . After Ashoka's accession, Mahendra headed a Buddhist mission, sent probably under the auspices of the Emperor, to Sri Lanka, and that before setting out to the island he visited his mother at Chetiyagiri near Vidisa, thought to be Sanchi. He was lodged there in a sumptuous vihara or monastery, which she herself is said to have had erected.
අශෝක ස්තම්භය
A pillar of finely polished sandstone, one of the , was also erected on the side of the main gateway. The bottom part of the pillar still stands. The upper parts of the pillar are at the nearby . The capital consists in four lions, which probably supported a , as also suggested by later illustrations among the Sanchi reliefs. The pillar has an Ashokan inscription () and an inscription in the ornamental from the Gupta period. The Ashokan inscription is engraved in early characters. It is unfortunately much damaged, but the commands it contains appear to be the same as those recorded in the and edicts, which together form the three known instances of Ashoka's "Schism Edict". It relates to the penalties for schism in the Buddhist sangha:
... the path is prescribed both for the monks and for the nuns. As long as (my) sons and great-grandsons (shall reign; and) as long as the Moon and the Sun (shall endure), the monk or nun who shall cause divisions in the , shall be compelled to put on white robes and to reside apart. For what is my desire? That the Sangha may be united and may long endure.
— Edict of Ashoka on the Sanchi pillar.
The pillar, when intact, was about 42 feet in height and consisted of round and slightly tapering monolithic shaft, with bell-shaped capital surmounted by an and a crowning ornament of four lions, set back to back, the whole finely finished and polished to a remarkable luster from top to bottom. The abacus is adorned with four designs separated one from the other by pairs of , symbolical perhaps of the flock of the Buddha's disciples. The lions from the summit, though now quite disfigured, still testify to the skills of the sculptors.
The sandstone out of which the pillar is carved came from the quarries of several hundred miles away, implying that the builders were able to transport a block of stone over forty feet in length and weighing almost as many tons over such a distance. They probably used water transport, using rafts during the rainy season up until the Ganges, Jumna and Betwa rivers.
Temple 40
Another structure which has been dated, at least partially, to the 3rd century BCE, is the so-called Temple 40, one of the first instances of free-standing temples in India. Temple 40 has remains of three different periods, the earliest period dating to the Maurya age, which probably makes it contemporary to the creation of the Great Stupa. An inscription even suggests it might have been established by , the father of Ashoka. The original 3rd century BCE temple was built on a high rectangular stone platform, 26.52×14×3.35 metres, with two flights of stairs to the east and the west. It was an hall, probably made of timber. It was burnt down sometime in the 2nd century BCE.
Later, the platform was enlarged to 41.76×27.74 metres and re-used to erect a pillared hall with fifty columns (5×10) of which stumps remain. Some of these pillars have inscriptions of the 2nd century BCE. In the 7th or 8th century a small shrine was established in one corner of the platform, re-using some of the pillars and putting them in their present position.
 Approximate reconstitution of the Great Stupa with its , under the circa 260 BCE. |
|
ශුංග යුගය (ක්‍රි.පූ. 2වන සියවස)
On the basis of , it is presumed that the stupa may have been vandalized at one point sometime in the 2nd century BCE, an event some have related to the rise of the Shunga emperor who overtook the Mauryan Empire as an army general. It has been suggested that Pushyamitra may have destroyed the original stupa, and his son rebuilt it. The original brick stupa was covered with stone during the Shunga period.
Given the rather decentralized and fragmentary nature of the Shunga state, with many cities actually issuing their own coinage, as well as the relative dislike of the Shungas for Buddhism, some authors argue that the constructions of that period in Sanchi cannot really be called "Shunga". They were not the result of royal sponsorship, in contrast with what happened during the Mauryas, and most of the dedications at Sanchi were private or collective, rather than the result of royal patronage.
The style of the Shunga period decorations at Sanchi bear a close similarity to those of , as well as the peripheral balustrades at the in .
Great Stupa (No 1)
During the later rule of the Shunga, 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 , the Wheel of the Law. The dome was set on a high circular drum meant for , which could be accessed via a double staircase. A second stone pathway at ground level was enclosed by a stone balustrade. The railings around Stupa 1 do not have artistic reliefs. These are only slabs, with some dedicatory inscriptions. These elements are dated to circa 150 BCE, or 175–125 BCE. Although the railings are made up of stone, they are copied from a wooden prototype, and as John Marshall has observed the joints between the coping stones have been cut at a slant, as wood is naturally cut, and not vertically as stone should be cut. Besides the short records of the donors written on the railings in Brahmi script, there are two later inscriptions on the railings added during the time of the Gupta Period. Some reliefs are visible on the stairway balustrade, but they are probably slightly later than those at Stupa No2, and are dated to 125–100 BCE. Some authors consider that these reliefs, rather crude and without obvious Buddhist connotations, are the oldest reliefs of all Sanchi, slightly older even than the reliefs of .
| Great Stupa (No1). Shunga period structures and decorations (2nd century BCE) | |
 Great Stupa (Stupa expansion and balustrades only are Shunga). Undecorated ground railings dated to approximately 150 BCE. Some reliefs on the stairway balustrade. |
Stairway balustrade reliefs
|
Stupa No. 2: the first Buddhist reliefs
The stupas which seem to have been commissioned during the rule of the Shungas are the Second and then the Third (but not the highly decorated gateways, which are from the following period, as known from inscriptions), following the ground balustrade and stone casing of the Great Stupa (Stupa No 1). The reliefs are dated to circa 115 BCE for the medallions, and 80 BCE for the pillar carvings, slightly before the reliefs of for the earliest, with some reworks down to the 1st century CE.
was established later than the Great Stupa, but it is probably displaying the earliest architectural ornaments. For the first time, clearly Buddhist themes are represented, particularly the four events in the life of the Buddha that are: the Nativity, the Enlightenment, the First Sermon and the Decease.
The decorations of Stupa No. 2 have been called "the oldest extensive stupa decoration in existence", and this Stupa is considered as the birthplace of illustrations. The reliefs at Stupa No.2 bear mason marks in , as opposed to the local script. This seems to imply that foreign workers from the north-west (from the region of , where was the current script) were responsible for the motifs and figures that can be found on the railings of the stupa. Foreigners from Gandhara are otherwise known to have visited the region around the same time: in 115 BCE, the embassy of from king to the court of the king in nearby is recorded, in which Heliodorus established the in a dedication to . This would indicate that relations had improved at that time, and that people traveled between the two realms.
 Stupa No. 2 Shunga period, but mason's marks in point to craftsmen from the north-west (region of ) for the earliest reliefs (circa 115 BCE). |
|
Stupa No. 3
Stupa No. 3 was built during the time of the Shungas, who also built the railing around it as well as the staircase. The , the disciples of the Buddha are said to have been placed in Stupa No. 3, and relics boxes were excavated tending to confirm this.
The reliefs on the railings are said to be slightly later than those of Stupa No. 2.
The single torana gateway oriented to the south is not Shunga, and was built later under the , probably circa 50 BCE.
 Stupa No. 3 (Stupa and balustrades only are Shunga). |
|
Sunga Pillar
Pillar 25 at Sanchi is also attributed to the Sungas, in the 2nd–1st century BCE, and is considered as similar in design to the , locally called Kham Baba pillar, dedicated by , the ambassador to the king , in nearby circa 100 BCE. That it belongs to about the period of the Sunga, is clear alike from its design and from the character of the surface dressing.
The height of the pillar, including the capital, is 15 ft, its diameter at the base 1 ft. 4 in. Up to a height of 4 ft. 6 in. the shaft is ; above that, sixteen-sided. In the octagonal portion all the facets are flat, but in the upper section the alternate facets are fluted, the eight other sides being produced by a concave chamfering of the of the . This method of finishing off the arris at the point of transition between the two sections are features characteristic of the second and first centuries BCE. The west side of the shaft is split off, but the tenon at the top, to which the capital was mortised, is still preserved. The capital is of the usual bell-shaped type, with leaves falling over the shoulder of the bell. Above this is a circular cable necking, then a second circular necking relieved by a and lozenge pattern, and, finally, a deep square adorned with a in relief. The crowning feature, probably a lion, has disappeared.
සාතවාහන යුගය (ක්‍රි.පූ. 1වන සියවස – ක්‍රි.ව. 1වන සියවස)
Dated circa 50 BCE- 0 CE.
The under conquered eastern from the . This gave the Satavahanas access to the Buddhist site of Sanchi, in which they are credited with the building of the decorated gateways around the original and . From the 1st century BCE, the highly decorated gateways were built. The balustrade and the gateways were also colored. Later gateways/toranas are generally dated to the 1st century CE.
The Siri-Satakani inscription in the Brahmi script records the gift of one of the top of the Southern Gateway by the artisans of the Satavahana king :
𑀭𑀸𑀜𑁄 𑀲𑀺𑀭𑀺 𑀲𑀸𑀢𑀓𑀡𑀺𑀲 (රාණෝ සිරි සාතකණිස)
𑀆𑀯𑁂𑀲𑀡𑀺𑀲 𑀯𑀸𑀲𑀺𑀣𑀻𑀧𑀼𑀢𑀲 (ආවේසණිස වාසිඨීපුතස)
𑀆𑀦𑀁𑀤𑀲 𑀤𑀸𑀦𑀁 (ආනන්දස දානං)" සිරි සාතකර්ණීගේ, ප්‍රධාන කලාශිල්පී, වාසිඨිගේ පුත් ආනන්දගේ දානයයි"
— Inscription of the Southern Gateway of the Great Stupa
There are some uncertainties about the date and the identity of the in question, as a king Satakarni is mentioned in the which is sometimes dated to the 2nd century BCE. Also, several Satavahana kings used the name "Satakarni", which complicates the matter. Usual dates given for the gateways range from 50 BCE to the 1st century CE, and the builder of the earliest gateways is generally considered to be , who ruled in 50-25 BCE. Another early Satavahana monument is known, Cave No.19 of king (100-70 BCE) at the , which is much less developed artistically than the Sanchi toranas.
මාධ්‍ය සහ කැටයම් ශිල්ප ක්‍රම
Although made of stone, the gateways were carved and constructed in the manner of wood and the gateways were covered with narrative sculptures. It has also been suggested that the stone reliefs were made by ivory carvers from nearby , and an inscription on the Southern Gateway of the Great Stupa ("The Worship of the Bodhisattva's hair") was dedicated by the Guild of Ivory Carvers of .
The inscription reads: "Vedisakehi damtakārehi rupakammam katam" meaning "The ivory-workers from Vidisha have done the carving". Some of the or the "" give an indication of the kind of ivory works that could have influenced the carvings at Sanchi.
The reliefs show 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, due to . 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 at the point of his enlightenment. The human body was thought to be too confining for the Buddha.
Architecture: evolution of the load-bearing pillar capital
4th-3rd c. BCE
, c.3rd-1st c. BCE
2nd c. BCE
1st c. BCE
1st c. BCE/CE
1st c. CE
Similarities have been found in the designs of the of various areas of northern India from the time of Ashoka to the time of the at Sanchi: particularly between the at the capital of (3rd century BCE), the pillar capitals at the Buddhist complex of (2nd century BCE), and the pillar capitals of the Satavahanas at Sanchi (1st centuries BCE/CE).
The earliest known example in India, the (3rd century BCE) is decorated with rows of repeating , and mouldings, and side with central , around a prominent central , which is the main motif. These are quite similar to designs, and the capital has been described as quasi-. Greek influence, as well as have been suggested.
The is a pillar capital discovered in the archaeological excavations at the ancient site of . The pillar displays volutes and . It has been variously dated from the 3rd century BCE during the period, to the 1st century BCE, during the period. One of the faces shows a galopping horse carrying a rider, while the other face shows an elephant and its .
The pillar capital in Bharhut, dated to the 2nd century BCE during the period, also incorporates many of these characteristics, with a central with many , , as well as a central design. Importantly, recumbent animals (lions, symbols of Buddhism) were added, in the style of the .
The Sanchi pillar capital is keeping the general design, seen at Bharhut a century earlier, of recumbent lions grouped around a central square-section post, with the central design of a , which started with the Pataliputra capital. However the design of the central post is now simpler, with the flame palmette taking all the available room. Elephants were later used to adorn the pillar capitals (still with the central palmette design), and lastly, (here the palmette design disappears).
Main themes of the reliefs
ජාතක කථා
විවිධ ජාතක කථා නිරූපණය කොට ඇත. මෙමඟින් බුදුන් වහන්සේ බෝධිසත්ත්වයකුව සිට පෙර ආත්ම භවයන් නිරූපණය වේ. මෙහි හමුවන ජාතක කථා අතර , ජාතකය සහ කිහිපයකි.
Miracles
Numerous miracles made by the Buddha are recorded. Among them:
- The miracle of the Buddha walking on water.
- The miracle of fire and wood
Temptation of the Buddha
Numerous scene refer to the temptation of the Buddha, when he was confronted with the seductive daughters of and with his army of demons. Having resisted the temptations of Mara, the Buddha finds enlightenment. Other similar scenes on the same subject:
- Temptation of the Buddha with Mara's army fleeing.
- Enlightenment of the Buddha with Mara's army fleeing.
War over the Buddha's Relics
The southern gate of Stupa No1, thought to be oldest and main entrance to the stupa, has several depictions of the story of the Buddha's relics, starting with the War over the Relics.
After the death of the Buddha, the of wanted to keep his ashes, but the other kingdoms also wanting their part went to war and besieged the city of Kushinagar. Finally, an agreement was reached, and the Buddha's cremation relics were divided among 8 royal families and his disciples. This famous view shows warfare techniques at the time of the Satavahanas, as well as a view of the city of of the , which has been relied on for the understanding of ancient Indian cities.
Other narrative panels related to the War over the Buddha's Relics at Sanchi are:
- "The King of the Mallas bringing the relics of the Buddha to Kushinagara", right after the death of the Buddha, before the War itself. In this relief, the king is seen seated on an elephant, holding the relics on his head.
- "The siege of Kushinagara by the seven kings", another relief on the same subject.
Removal of the relics by Ashoka
According to Buddhist legend, a few centuries later, the relics would be removed from the eight guardian kingdoms by , and enshrined into 84,000 stupas. Ashoka obtained the ashes from seven of the guardian kingdoms, but failed to take the ashes from the at who were too powerful, and were able to keep them. This scene is depicted in one of the transversal portions of the southern gateway of Stupa No1 at Sanchi. Ashoka is shown on the right in his charriot and his army, the stupa with the relics is in the center, and the Naga kings with their serpent hoods at the extreme left under the trees.
Building of the Bodh Gaya temple by Ashoka
Ashoka went to to visit the under which the Buddha had his enlightenment, as described his . However Ashoka was profoundly grieved when he discovered that the sacred was not properly being taken care of and dying out due to the neglect of Queen Tiṣyarakṣitā.
As a consequence, Ashoka endeavoured to take care of the Bodhi Tree, and built a temple around it. This temple became the center of . A sculpture at Sanchi, southern gateway of Stupa No1, shows Ashoka in grief being supported by his two Queens. Then the relief above shows the Bodhi Tree prospering inside its new temple. Numerous other sculptures at Sanchi show scenes of devotion towards the Bodhi Tree, and the Bodhi Tree inside its temple at Bodh Gaya.
Other versions of the relief depicting the temple for the Bodhi Tree are visible at Sanchi, such as the Temple for the Bodhi Tree (Eastern Gateway).
Foreign devotees
Some of the friezes of Sanchi also show devotees in Greek attire, wearing kilted tunics and some of them a Greek hat. They are also sometimes described as , although the historical period seems too early for their presence in Central India, and the two pointed hats seem too short to be Scythian. The official notice at Sanchi describes "Foreigners worshiping Stupa". The men are depicted with short curly hair, often held together with a of the type commonly seen on . The clothing too is Greek, complete with , capes and sandals, typical of the Greek travelling costume. The musical instruments are also quite characteristic, such as the "thoroughly Greek" double flute called . Also visible are -like .
The actual participation of / (Greek donors) to the construction of Sanchi is known from three inscriptions made by self-declared Yavana donors:
- The clearest of these reads "Setapathiyasa Yonasa danam" ("Gift of the of Setapatha"), Setapatha being an uncertain city, possibly a location near , a place where other dedications by Yavanas are known, in cave No.17 of the complex, and on the pillars of the not far away.
- A second similar inscription on a pillar reads: "[Sv]etapathasa (Yona?)sa danam", with probably the same meaning, ("Gift of the of Setapatha").
- The third inscription, on two adjacent pavement slabs reads "Cuda yo[vana]kasa bo silayo" ("Two slabs of Cuda, the Yonaka").
Around 113 BCE, , an ambassador of the ruler , is known to have dedicated a pillar, the , around 5 miles from Sanchi, in the village of .
Another rather similar foreigner is also depicted in , the (circa 100 BCE), also wearing a tunic and a royal headband in the manner of a Greek king, and displaying a Buddhist on his sword.Another one can be seen in the region of , in the .
| Northwestern foreigners at Sanchi |
|
Aniconism
In all these scenes, the Buddha is never represented, being absent altogether even from scenes of his life where he is playing a central role: in the Miracle of the Buddha walking on the river Nairanjana he is just represented by his path on the water; in the Procession of king Suddhodana from Kapilavastu, he walks in the air at the end of the procession, but his presence is only suggested by people turning their heads upward toward the symbol of his path.
In one of the reliefs of the Miracle at Kapilavastu, King is seen praying as his son the Buddha rises in the air. The Buddha praised is praised by celestial beings, but only his path is visible in the form of a slab hanging in middle air, called a chankrama or "promenade".
Otherwise, the presence of the Buddha is symbolized by an empty throne, as in the scene of Bimbisara with his royal cortege issuing from the city of Rajagriha to visit the Buddha. Similar scenes would later appear in the of , but this time with representations of the Buddha. detailed every panel in his seminal work "A Guide to Sanchi".
This anoconism is relation to the image of the Buddha could be in conformity with an ancient Buddhist prohibition against showing the Buddha himself in human form, known from the (rules of the early Buddhist school of the ): ""Since it is not permitted to make an image of the Buddha's body, I pray that the Buddha will grant that I can make an image of the attendant Bodhisattva. Is that acceptable?" The Buddha answered: "You may make an image of the Bodhisattava"".
The Gateways or Toranas
The gateways depict various scenes of the life of the Buddha, as well as events after his death, in particular the War of the Relics and the efforts of emperor Ashoka to spread the Buddhist faith.
Stupa 1 Southern Gateway
The Southern Gateway of Stupa No1 is thought to be oldest and main entrance to the stupa. The narrative friezes of this gateway put great emphasis on the relics of the Buddha, and on the role of Ashoka in spreading the Buddhist faith. This gateway is one of the two which were reconstructed by Major Cole in 1882–83. The whole of the right jamb and half of the left are new and blank, as well as the west end of the lowest architrave, the east end of the middle architrave, and the six vertical uprights between the architraves.
| Southern Gateway ("Great Stupa" No1, Sanchi. 1st century BCE.) | ||
 | The Southern Gateway of Stupa 1. The Southern Gateway of Stupa 1 is one of the four richly carved gateways or , surrounding Stupa 1, the "Great Stupa". It is the main one as it was erected in front of the steps by which the terrace was ascended. The Southern Gateway was also the first to be erected. Then followed, in chronological order, the Northern, the Eastern and the Western, their succession in each case being demonstrated by the style of their carvings. It is probable, however, that not more than three or four decades intervened between the building of the Southern and Western gateways. A few of the surfaces of the Southern Gateway are undecorated or lost. Like the other gateways, the Southern Gateway is composed of two square pillars surmounted by capitals, which in their turn support a superstructure of three architraves with volute ends. | |
| Architraves | ||
 Front architraves |  Rear architraves | Some material was lost over two thousand years, and the restoration had to make up for lost elements with some blank slabs. The whole of the right jamb and half of the left are new, as well as the west end of the lowest architrave, the east end of the middle architrave, and the six vertical uprights between the architraves. When the gateway was restored, the top and the lowest lintels appear to have been reversed by mistake, since the more important sculptures on them now face the stupa instead of facing outwards. |
 Front middle architrave | King Ashoka visits . King Ashoka visited , to take relics of the Buddha from the , but he failed, the Nagas being too powerful. After the death of the Buddha, his relics were originally divided into eight portions, and shared between eight princes. Each of the princes constructed a at or near his capital city, within which the respective portion of the ashes was enshrined. These eight stupas were erected at , , , , , , and . | |
 Rear top architrave | The seven Buddhas. Six Buddhas of the past and Gautama Buddha, with his at the extreme right.In the central section are three stupas alternating with four trees with thrones in front of them, adored by figures both human and divine. These represent the six Buddhas of the past (namely : , , , , and Kaasapa) and Gautama Buddha. Three are symbolized by their stupas, and four by the trees under which each respectively attained enlightenment. The tree on the extreme right is the of Gautama Buddha and the one next to it is the of Buddha. The identification of the others is less certain.  The inscription on the dome of the central stupa reads "L. 1. rano Siri Satakanisa/ L. 2. avesanisa vasithiputasa/ L. 3. Anamdasa danam" ("Gift of Anamda, the son of Vdsithi (Vdsishthi ), the foreman of the artisans (avesanin) of ). This inscription has been decisive in attributing the construction of the gateways to the time of the . | |
 Rear bottom architrave | War over the Buddha's Relics.  The Buddha died in , the capital of the , who initially tried to keep all the relics of the Buddha for themselves. A war erupted in which the chiefs of seven other clans waged war against the Mallas of Kushinara for the possession of the Buddha's relics. In the centre of the architrave, the siege of Kushinara is in progress; to right and left, the victorious chiefs are departing in chariots and on elephants, with the relics borne on the heads of the latter. | |
| Pillar capitals | ||
 Left |  Right | The pillars of the Southern Gateway feature lions in the manner of the . They are the only pillar capitals of the Sanchi complex to do so. |
| Pillars | ||
| External faces | ||
 |  | The left external face consists in a foliage scroll inhabited by numerous animals and garlands, as well as an amorous couple repeated several time. Of the right pillar external face, nothing remains, and it has been left blank by the reconstitution under Marshall. |
| Left pillar, Front face | ||
| Top panel |  | Ashoka with his two Queens visiting the . A Persepolitan column, rising from a stepped base and supporting a wheel with thirty-two spokes and an equal number of devices on its outer rim. This is the or "Wheel of the Law", the emblem of the Buddha's first sermon. On either side of the wheel are celestial figures with garlands; below them are four groups of worshipers, and below the latter, , to indicate the spot where the first sermon was preached, namely, in the (Mrigadava) near . In each of the groups of worshipers is a king with attendant females, the same figures apparently being repeated four times. They probably represent Asoka with his two queens visiting the Deer Park during his pilgrimage to the holy places of Buddhism. |
| 2nd panel |  | Procession of king Ashoka on his chariot. The Emperor Asoka in his chariot with his retinue around. |
| 3rd panel |  | The Cortège of Mara. According to Marshall, relating the panel to the next one on the inner face, deities are seen on foot, on horseback and on elephants, hastening to do homage to the Bodhisattva's locks. |
| Left pillar, Inner face | ||
| Top panel |  | Bodhi tree temple of built by Ashoka. The temple around the (the beneath which the Buddha had attained enlightenment) was erected by Asoka himself. This Temple is . Here the sanctity of the tree is indicated by umbrellas and garlands, and on the throne inside the shrine are three symbols. |
| 2nd panel |  | Ashoka in grief, supported by his two Queens. Ashoka is in grief as he saw the pipal tree of the Buddha being neglected by the jealous Queen . He is so shocked that he has to be supported by two of his wives. He would thereafter build a temple around the tree, seen in the panel above, and which would become the sacred temple of . |
| 3rd panel |  | Worship of the 's hair. In the lowest panel of the inner face is a company of deities in the heaven, where held sway, rejoicing over and worshiping the hair of the . The story told in the Buddhist scriptures is that, before embracing a religious life, Gautama divested himself of his princely garments and cut off his long hair with his sword, casting both hair and turban into the air, whence they were borne by the devas to the Trayastrimsa heaven and worshiped there. This particular relief was dedicated by the Guild of Ivory Carvers of (horizontal inscription on the lintel), suggesting that a part of the gateways at least was made by ivory carvers. At the least, the delicacy of workmanship and spatial effect attained in the panel of the Trayastrimsa heaven is particularly striking, and makes it understandable that, as the inscription on it records, it was the work of ivory-carvers of . The inscription reads: 'Vedisehi dantakarehi rupadamam katam' meaning "The ivory-carvers from Vidisha have done the carving". Some of the or the "" give an indication of the kind of ivory works that could have influenced the carvings at Sanchi. |
| Left pillar, Rear face | ||
| Unique panel |  | To the left of the panel, a royal figure is seated beneath a canopy, holding a female by the hand; in the middle, another female seated on a low stool; to the right, two other figures standing, with a child behind bearing a garland (?). At the back of them is a tree, and above, a 's window with an umbrella on either side. The meaning of this scene is uncertain. |
| Right pillar | ||
| Blank. All reliefs and inscriptions lost. | ||
Stupa 1 Northern Gateway
The Northern Gateway is the best preserved of all the gateways, and was the second to be erected. The numerous panels relate various events of the life of the Buddha. Only one atypical panel (Right pillar, Inner face/ Top panel) shows Foreigners making a dedication at the Southern Gateway of Stupa No 1.
| Northern Gateway ("Great Stupa" No1, Sanchi. 1st century BCE.) | ||
 | The Northern Gateway of Stupa 1. The Northern Gateway of Stupa 1 is one of the four richly carved gateways or , surrounding Stupa 1, the "Great Stupa". The Northern Gateway was the second to be erected. The best preserved of all four gateways is the Northern one, which still retains most of its ornamental figures and gives a good idea of the original appearance of all the gateways. Like the other gateways, the Northern Gateway is composed of two square pillars surmounted by capitals, which in their turn support a superstructure of three architraves with volute ends. | |
| Architraves | ||
 Front architraves |  Rear architraves | The architraves are all almost intact. They are crowned by two large decorated symbols in the round, symbols of Buddhism, as well as the remnants of a (Wheel of the Law) at the center. The lintels have seated lions and , also in the round, at their ends. |
 Rear central architrave |  Temptation of the Buddha with and his daughters, and the demons of Mara fleeing. Towards the left end of the panel is the at with an umbrella and streamers above, and, in front, the (Vajrasana) of the Buddha, whereon he sat when he withstood the temptations and threats of , the Satan of Buddhism, and when he attained to Buddhahood. Human and celestial beings are adoring it. The figure to the left of it is perhaps (Sujata), bringing the meal which she prepared for Gautama before he began his last meditation prior to his enlightenment. Near the middle of the panel is Mara, seated on a throne with attendants around, and advancing from him towards the throne are his daughters, who sought by their blandishments to seduce Gautama from his purpose. On his other side, i.e., in the right half of the panel, are the hosts of Mara's demons, personifying the vices, the passions and the fears of mankind. The vigor and humor with which these fantastic beings are portrayed is very striking, and far more forceful than anything of the kind produced by the artists of the of . | |
| Pillar capitals | ||
 Left |  Right | Elephants facing the four directions decorate the top of the gateway pillars and support the architraves. They are gathered around a central pillar of square section decorated with a large design. The capitals are flanked by a dancing under foliage. |
| Pillars | ||
| External faces | ||
 Left |  Right | Left. The external side of the left pillar (facing the east) doesn't have narrative reliefs, but only displays as well as intricate vegetal designs. The external face is separated vertically in three bands, the central band consisting in a superposition of numerous (nine in total), and the two external bands consisting in a superposition of hooks holdings . The bottom of the pillar face has two with a on their sole. The pillar face is crowned by a decorated symbol. Right. The external face on the right side has the same background decoration, with the three vertical bands and the superposition of , and hooks holdings , but lacks the bottom and top symbols of the and the decorated . |
| Left pillar, Front face (Most of the scenes on this face appear to relate to .) | ||
| Top panel |  |  (also called Mango Tree Miracle, when the Buddha walks in the air). In the (non-) of , the Buddha would simply be shown in his human form, rising slightly in the air, with flames springing from his feet and water emanating from his shoulders. |
| 2nd panel |  | of , showing the three preferred residences of the Buddha.  The at , showing the three favourite residences of the Buddha: the Gandhakuti, the Kosambakuti and the Karorikuti, with the throne of the Buddha in the front of each. The Jetavana garden was presented to the Buddha by the rich banker , who purchased it for as many gold pieces as would cover the surface of the ground. Hence, the foreground of the relief is shown covered with ancient Indian coins ( ), just as it is in the similar relief at , where the details of the coins are more in evidence. |
| 3rd panel |  | Aerial promenade of the Buddha. Presumably, the long band on top of the heads of devotees is the promenade the Buddha is walking on. The long open pavilion (mandapa) calls to mind the one at , which is portrayed in the relief. |
| 4th panel |  | Procession of King of leaving to meet the Buddha. A royal procession issuing from a city gate, probably of going forth from to meet the Buddha. |
| 5th panel |  | Paradise of (). The meaning of this scene, which is analogous to several others on the gateways, is not clear. Perhaps, like the scene on the gateways of Stupa No3, it may represent the Paradise of (), where pleasure and passion held sway. |
| Left pillar, Inner face (This face refers particularly to ) | ||
| Top panel |  |  Visit of to the Buddha in the near . In the upper part of the panel is an artificial cave resembling in its facade many Buddhist shrines in and . In front of the door is the throne which marks the presence of the Buddha. The animals peering out from among the rocks serve to indicate the wildness of the spot. Below is the company of Indra in attitudes of worship, but which of these figures represents Indra and which his musician who accompanied him, it is not possible to determine. |
| 2nd panel |  | Royal cortege leaving . A king and his royal cortege issuing from a city. As the panel on this side of the pillar relates particularly to Rajagriha, it is probable that the King is either Bimbisara or , on a visit to the Buddha at the Hill, and that the city is Rajagriha. See also: Siddhartha and King Bimbasara (in "The Life of Buddha"). |
| 3rd panel |  | Bamboo garden (Venuvana) at , the visit of Bimbisara. The Bamboo garden (Venuvana ) at Rajagriha, with the throne of the Buddha in the center and devotees around. The identity of the spot is indicated by the bamboos on either side of the panel. This event refers to a visit of King Bimbisara to the Buddha. |
| 4th panel |  | guardian deity. Positioned as it is, in the inside panel of the gateway, the deity guards the left side of the entrance to the stupa. This Dvarapala is faced by another one on the right side. |
| Right pillar, Inner face | ||
| Top panel |  | Foreigners making a dedication to Southern Gateway of the Great Stupa. Probably the dedication of a stupa, but it might also refer to the death () of the Buddha. Among the crowds who are celebrating the occasion with music and dancing, some are wearing dresses and high boots suggestive of a cold climate. The individual and realistic features of the people can also be noticed. The official notice at Sanchi reads "Foreigners worshiping Stupa". The relief shows 18 of these foreigners and 4 celestial deities in the sky above.  These have been called "Greek-looking foreigners" wearing Greek clothing complete with , capes and sandals, typical of the Greek travelling costume, and using Greek and musical instruments ( the double flute , or the -like ), possibly pointing to the . |
| 2nd panel |  | Offering of a bowl of honey to the Blessed One by a monkey. The offering of a bowl of honey to the Blessed One by a monkey. The Buddha is here represented by his and throne, to which devotees are doing obeisance. The figure of the monkey is twice repeated, first with the bowl and then with empty hands after the gift has been made. The incident is portrayed in much the same way on the reliefs of the of . |
| 3rd panel |  | Miracle at . praying as his son the Buddha rises in the air, praised by celestial beings (only his path is visible). This panel is to be interpreted in conjunction with the corresponding panel adjoining it on the front face of the same pillar. When Buddha returned to his native city of Kapilavastu, his father Suddhodana came forth with a royal retinue to meet him, and a question of etiquette arose as to which should salute the other first: the father, who was king, or the son, who had become the Buddha. Thereupon the Buddha solved the difficulty by walking miraculously in mid-air. Here, in the panel on the inner face, we see a , and, in front of it, the throne symbolizing the Buddha; while suspended in the air above it is the chahkrama or promenade on which the Buddha used to take his exercise and which here symbolises that he is walking in the air. Above it are celestial beings () with garlands in their hands. To the right of the tree is King with attendants, one of whom is holding the royal umbrella. The reason for the banyan tree (, Skr : nyagrodha) is that King Suddhodana presented a park of banyan trees to his son on his return, and the tree, therefore, helps to localize the incident. In the corresponding scene on the front face the Buddha is probably represented in this park with disciples (but invisible due to ) and followers around him. |
| 4th panel |  | guardian deity. Positioned as it is, in the inside panel of the gateway, the deity guards the right side of the entrance to the stupa. This Dvarapala is faced by another one on the left side. |
| Right pillar, Front face | ||
| Top panel |  |  |
| 2nd panel |  | The Great Departure of the Buddha from . A royal figure in a chariot drives forth from a city gate, with a horse in front. The scene is analogous to the scene of Buddha's departure from Kapilavastu on the East Gateway, but in that case there is no chariot, and in this case there is no umbrella above the horse to indicate the presence of the Buddha. However, a royal umbrella being held over an empty spot in the chariot would suggest the presence of the Buddha. The figure standing at its side with a water-pot (bhrihgara) in his hand indicates that a gift is being made. Alternatively, it could be King Suddhodana going forth from Kapilavastu to meet his son, the Buddha, on the occasion when he presented him with a park of mango trees. See also Siddhartha Leaves His Father's Palace (in "The Life of Buddha"). |
| 3rd panel |  | Teaching the : This panel may represent the Buddha teaching the . It can also be interpreted in relation to the panel of the Miracle at Kapilavastu on the same pillar (Right pillar, Inner face,3rd panel). When Buddha returned to his native city of Kapilavastu, his father Suddhodana came forth with a royal retinue to meet him, and the Buddha performed his Miracle of the Walk in the Air. In this scene, on the front face of the pillar, the Buddha is probably represented in this very park with disciples and followers around him. |
| 4th panel |  | Unidentified broken scene. |
Stupa 1 Eastern Gateway
The Eastern Gateway describes historical events during the life of the Buddha, as well as several miracles performed by the Buddha. It was the third gateway to be erected.
| Eastern Gateway ("Great Stupa" No1, Sanchi. 1st century BCE/CE.) | ||
 | The Eastern Gateway of Stupa 1. The Eastern Gateway of Stupa 1 is one of the four richly carved gateways or , surrounding Stupa 1, the "Great Stupa". It is the third gateway to have been constructed. Like the other gateways, the Southern Gateway is composed of two square pillars surmounted by capitals, which in their turn support a superstructure of three architraves with volute ends. | |
| Architraves | ||
 Front architraves |  Rear architraves | The architraves are all almost intact. They were crowned by two large decorated symbols in the round, symbols of Buddhism (only one of them remains). The lintels have elephants mounted by , and a single seated lion, at their ends. A single remaining (top right corner) suggests that many more have been lost. |
 Front architrave, center | The Great Departure. During the night, Prince Siddharta leaves the Palace of (far left) while his wife , his baby and the dancers are sleeping. Siddharta rides his horse Kanthaka, who is being lifted above the ground by in order not to make noise and to avoid awakening the guards. The horse is seen progressing from left to right, away from the city, and progressively higher in the air. Siddharta is not visible, but a chatra royal parasol is held by in order to signify the fact that Siddharta is riding on the horse. After his arrival in the forest on the right, Siddharta discards his robes, cuts off his hair and returns the horse to Chandaka. The horse is seen returning without a rider, walking on the ground this time, and, of course, devoid of the parasol over it this time. When Siddharta stays in the forest, he is symbolized by the two soles of his feet (extreme right). Siddharta has renounced the world. | |
| Central front architrave, right |  | The famous , under foliage and hanging in front of an elephant, on the side.of the East Gateway. |
| Pillar capitals | ||
| Right capital |  | The pillars of the Eastern Gateway feature elephants in the four direction, conducted by holding a Buddhist banner. They are gathered around a pillar of square section, decorated with a design. A under foliage flanks them on the side. |
| Pillars | ||
| Left pillar, Front face | ||
| Top panel |  | The Miracle of Walking in the air at Savrasti. While the Buddha walks in the air, devotees are aligned and look upwards. The Buddha is not visible (), and only his path () is, separating the panel horizontally in two parts. |
| 2nd panel |  |  Temple for the in . The throne was discovered after excavations near the location of the Bodhi tree in the 19th century, and is now revered at the in . |
| 3rd panel |  | Miracle of the Buddha walking on the River . The Nairanjana river is shown in flood and accompanied by a disciple and a boatman are hastening in a boat to the rescue of the Buddha. Then, in the lower part of the picture, the Buddha, represented by his promenade (chahbama), appears walking on the face of the waters, and in the foreground the figures of Kasyapa and his disciple are twice repeated, now on dry ground and doing homage to the Master (represented by the throne at the right hand, bottom corner). Throughout, The Buddha is not visible (aniconism), only represented by a path on the water, and his empty throne bottom right. |
| Bottom panel |  | Bimbisara with his royal cortege issuing from the city of to visit the Buddha. Bimbisara with his royal cortege issuing from the city of , on a visit to the Buddha, here symbolized by his empty throne. This visit took place after the conversion of , which was brought about by a series of miracles, one of which is illustrated in the panel above. |
| Left pillar, Inner face (This face is concerned with the miracles by which Buddha converted the and his disciples.) | ||
| Top panel |  | Visit of and to the Buddha. The visit of and to the Buddha takes place in the town of . Near the center of the panel is the throne indicating the presence of the Buddha, surmounted by the umbrella; behind it, Indra and Brahma standing in an attitude of adoration; in the background, the houses of Uruvilva and the people at their daily tasks. To the left, a man and woman, the woman grinding spices on a "cari" stone; nearby, to the right, another woman is at work at a table, while a third is pounding rice with pestle and mortar, and a fourth winnowing the grain with a fan. In the foreground is the river Nairanjana, with cattle on its banks and a woman drawing water in a pitcher. One of the villagers has his hands joined in the attitude of prayer. |
| 2nd panel |  | Buddha tames the at This panel is about the victory of the Buddha over the serpent in the fire chapel at Uruvilva. The Buddha obtained the permission of Kasyapa to pass the night in a fire chapel at his hermitage, which was inhabited by a fearsome . The Naga attacked him with smoke and fire but was met with the same weapons, and being overcome crept into the Buddha's begging bowl. In the middle of the panel is the fire temple with a fire altar in front and a throne indicating the presence of the Buddha within, while behind the throne is the five-headed Naga. Flames are issuing from the windows in the roof. On either side of the temple are the Brahmanical ascetics standing in an attitude of respect and veneration. In the foreground, to the right, is a leaf-hut (parna-sala) and an ascetic at its threshold seated on a mat, with his knees bound up by a band and his hair (jafa) twisted turban-wise about his head. Evidently he is a Brahman doing penance. Before him is another Brahman standing and apparently reporting to him the miracle; and near by is a small fire altar and the instruments of sacrifice. To the left is the Nairanjana river, in which another ascetic is bathing and from which three young novices are drawing water. |
| 3rd panel |  | The miracle of fire and wood. This is a depicting of the miracles of the wood, the fire and the offering. In the story of 's conversion it is related that, after the miracle of the fire temple, a sacrifice was prepared by the Brahmans, but the wood for the fire could not be split, the fire could not be made to burn, and the oblation could not be offered, until in each case the Buddha gave his consent. In the relief, this triple miracle is dramatically represented. In the foreground, to the right, a ascetic has his axe raised to split the wood, but the axe will not descend until Buddha gives the word; then we see the axe driven home into the log. Similarly, a Brahman is engaged fanning the fire on an altar, but the fire will not burn until the Buddha permits it. Then we see the altar repeated and flames blazing upon it. The third phase of the miracle, that of the oblation, is indicated by the single figure of a Brahman holding an oblation spoon over a flaming altar. |
| Bottom panel |  | guardian. |
| Right pillar, Inner Face (This face of the pillar is devoted to scenes at , the birthplace of Gautama) | ||
| Top panel |  | Homage of King to the Buddha. In the center, the tree and throne of the Buddha, with a group of worshipers around, including King Suddhodana, the father of the Buddha, who is standing immediately in front of the throne. The king wears the same headdress here as in the panel below. The episode represented is the homage paid by the King to his son after his return to Kapilavastu. |
| Second panel |  | Procession of king from .  At the top is portrayed the dream of , the mother of the Buddha, otherwise called the conception of the . Maya, the queen, is seen lying in a pavilion of the palace, and on her is descending the Bodhisattva in the form of a white elephant. This scene, which was well known to all Buddhists, serves to identify the city here represented as . |
| Bottom panel |  | guardian. |
| Right pillar, Front Face | ||
| Full length |  | The six inferior heavens of the Gods. The six inferior heavens of the gods ( ) or "Kamavachara heavens", in which the passions are still unsubdued, an integral part of . Starting from the base they are as follows: (1) The heaven of the Four Great Kings: the Regents of the Four Quarters (; ); (2) The heaven of the Thirty-three gods () over whom presides; (3) The heaven over which , the God of Death, reigns, where there is no change of day or night; (4) The Tushita heaven, where the are born before they appear on earth as the saviors of mankind, and where Maitreya now resides; (5) The heaven of the , who create their own pleasures; (6) The heaven of the - gods, who indulge in pleasures created for them by others and over whom is king. Each of these six heavens or devalokas is represented by a storey of a palace, the front of which is divided by pillars into three bays, the pillars in the alternate storeys being either plain or provided with elaborate Persepolitan capitals. In the central bay there sits a god, like an Indian king, holding a thunderbolt () in his right hand and a flask containing nectar () in his left. Behind him are his women attendants holding the royal umbrella () and flywhisk (). In the bay to his right, seated on a slightly lower seat, is his viceroy (uparaja); and to his left are the court musicians and dancers. With slight variations the same figures are repeated in each of the six heavens. Nothing, perhaps, could give a better idea of the monotony of pleasure in the Buddhist heavens than the sameness of these reiterations. |
Stupa 1 Western Gateway
The Western Gateway of Stupa 1 is the last of the four gateway of the Great Stupa to have been built.
| Western Gateway ("Great Stupa" No1, Sanchi, 1st century BCE/CE.) | ||
 | The Western Gateway of Stupa 1. The Western Gateway of Stupa 1 is one of the four richly carved gateways or , surrounding Stupa 1, the "Great Stupa". It is the last of the four gateway to have been constructed. Like the other gateways, the Western Gateway is composed of two square pillars surmounted by capitals, which in their turn support a superstructure of three architraves with volute ends. | |
| Architraves | ||
 Front architraves |  Rear architraves | The architraves are all almost intact, but there are almost no remains of "in the round" decorations around or on top of the lintels. Only remains a fragment of with a base composed of lions, at the center top of the . |
 Rear top architrave | King of the bringing the relics of the Buddha to . After the death of the Buddha his relics were taken possession of by the of , whose chief is here depicted riding on an elephant and bearing the relics into the town of Kusinagara on his own head. The tree behind the throne in front of the city gate appears to be a ( shorea robusta ), and to refer to the fact that Buddha's took place in a grove of those trees. The two groups of figures carrying banners and offerings, which occupy the ends of this architrave, are probably connected with the central scene, serving to indicate the rejoicing of the Mallas over the possession of the relics. | |
 Rear middle architrave |  Siege of by the seven kings. This is another portrayal of "The war of the relics" (see Southern Gateway architrave). Here the seven rival claimants, distinguished by their seven royal umbrellas, are advancing with their armies to the city of , the siege of which has not yet begun. The seated royal figure at the left end of the architrave may represent the chief of the within the city. The princely figures in the corresponding relief at the right end appear to be repetitions of some of the rival claimants. | |
 Rear bottom architrave | Temptation of the Buddha with 's army fleeing. This scene extends over the three sections of the architrave, In the center is the temple of with the and the throne of the Buddha within; to the right, the armies of fleeing discomfited from the Buddha; to the left, the devas celebrating the victory of the Buddha over the Evil One and exalting his glorious achievements. The temple at Bodh Gaya, which enclosed the , was built two centuries later by Emperor Ashoka. Its portrayal in this scene, therefore, is an anachronism. | |
| Pillar capitals | ||
 Left |  Right | The pillar capitals consist in groups of four (tectonic deities) supporting the architraves. |
| Pillars | ||
| Left pillar, Front face | ||
| Unique panel |  | Paradise of Indra. Probably the "Paradise of " () with the river in the foreground. This can be related to the scenes on the North Gateway and on the small gateway of the Third Stupa. |
| Left pillar, Inner face | ||
| Top panel |  | Syama, the Buddha in a previous life, was the only son of a blind hermit and his wife, whom he supports with devotion. One day, Syama goes to draw water at the river and is shot with an arrow by the King of , who is out hunting. Owing to the king's penitence and his parents' sorrow intervenes and allows Syama to be healed and his parents' sight to be restored. At the right hand top corner of the panel arc the two hermitages with the father and mother seated in front of them. Below them their son Syama is coming to draw water from the stream. Then, to the left, we see the figure of the King thrice repeated, first shooting the lad in the water, then with bow in hand, then standing penitent with bow and arrow discarded; and in the left top corner are the father, mother and son restored to health, and by their side the god Indra and the king. The Buddha in a previous life was thus given as an example of . |
| 2nd panel |  | Enlightenment of the Buddha with the rejoincing. The scene depicts the enlightenment (sambodhi ) of the Buddha. In the center is the throne of the Buddha beneath the , which is being garlanded by angels (); round about are the and Nagis celebrating the victory of the Buddha over . See also: Siddhartha Becomes the Buddha (in "The Life of Buddha"). |
| Bottom panel |  |  Miraculous crossing of the by the Buddha when he left to visit (partial remain). Only the upper part of this panel remains, but it appears to depict the miraculous crossing of the Ganges by the Buddha when he left to visit . |
| Right pillar, Inner Face | ||
| Top panel |  | Enlightenment of the Buddha with 's army fleeing. The enlightenment () of the Buddha. Towards the top of the panel is the and the throne of the Buddha, and round them a throng of worshipers, men and women, gods and animals. It is the moment after the discomfiture of and his hosts. The , winged creatures, angels and archangels, each urging his comrades on, went up to the Great Being at the 's foot and as they came they shouted for joy that the sage had won; that the Tempter was overthrown. The deva with the giant head, riding either on the elephant or on the lion to the right of the panel, is probably meant to be or . The interpretation of the three sorrowing figures standing on three sides of the throne in the foreground is problematical. In the Mahabhinishkramana scene on the East Gateway we have already seen that the artist inserted a tree in the middle of the panel, to remind the spectator of the first meditation of the Bodhisattva and the path on which it led him. So, here, these three figures, which are strikingly similar to the three sorrowing Yakshas in the Mahdbhinishkramana scene and were probably executed by the same hand, may be a reminder of the Great Renunciation which led to the attainment of Buddhahood, the gateway behind being also a reminder of the gateway of . |
| Second panel |  | The Gods entreating Buddha to preach. The gods entreating the Buddha to preach. The Buddhist scriptures tell us that after his enlightenment the Buddha hesitated to make known the truth to the world. Then , , the four (Regents of the Four Quarters) and the archangels of the heavens approached him and besought him to turn the Wheel of the Law. It was when the Buddha was seated beneath the banyan tree (nyagrodha) shortly after his enlightenment, that this entreaty was made, and it is a banyan tree with the throne beneath that is depicted in this relief. The four figures side by side in the foreground may be the four Lokapalas. See also: The Buddha is Prepared to Preach the Doctrine (in "The Life of Buddha"). |
| Bottom panel |  | guardian. |
| Right pillar, Front Face | ||
| Top panel |  | . The story runs that the was born as a monkey, ruler over 80,000 monkeys. They lived at a spot near the and ate of the fruit of a great . King of , desiring to possess the mangoes, surrounded the tree with his soldiers, in order to kill the animals, but the Bodhisattva formed a bridge over the stream with his own body and by this means enabled the whole tribe to escape into safety. , the jealous and wicked cousin of the Buddha, was in that life one of the monkeys and, thinking it a good chance to destroy his enemy, jumped on the Bodhisattva's back and broke his heart. The king, seeing the good deed of the Bodhisattva and repenting of his own attempt to kill him, tended him with great care when he was dying and afterwards gave him royal obsequies. |
| 2nd panel |  | The preaching in the Heaven. In the center of the panel is the tree and throne of the Buddha, and round about the throne a company of gods standing upon clouds in attitudes of adoration. At the top of the panel are bringing garlands and below them, on each side of the tree, come and , riding on lion-like creatures. A conventional method is used to depict the clouds beneath the feet of the gods in the foreground and among the figures in the upper part of the panel. They have the appearance almost of rocks with flames breaking from them. |
| 3rd panel |  | The visit of Sakra. The Buddha, represented by his throne, beneath a flowery tree with hills and jungle around. Possibly the tree is the tree at , beneath which the Buddha sat shortly after his enlightenment. The figures in the foreground adoring the Buddha appear to be . |
| 4th panel |  | Heraldic lions. Three heraldic lions standing on conventionalized floral device. The turn in the upper leaves is peculiar. This method of treating foliage is peculiar to the Early School and is never found in later work. The inscription over this panel records that the pillar was a gift of Balamitra, pupil of Ayachuda (Arya-kshudra). |
Stupa 3 Southern Gateway
The gateway of Stupa No 3, is the last of all the gateways that were built at Sanchi. It is located to the immediate south of Stupa No 3, is smaller than the four gateways encircling the Great Stupa. It is also slightly older, and generally dated to the 1st century CE.
| Southern Gateway (Stupa No 3, Sanchi. 1st century CE.) | ||
 | The gateway of Stupa No 3, located to the immediate south of Stupa No 3, is smaller than the four gateways encircling the Great Stupa. It is also slightly older, and generally dated to the 1st century CE. This gateway stands 17 feet high, and is adorned with reliefs in the same style as those on the gateways of the Great Stupa. Indeed, the majority of these reliefs are mere repetitions of the subjects and scenes portrayed on the larger gateways, with a few exceptions, especially the front face of the lowest architrave. | |
| Architraves | ||
Front architraves | Architrave posts, or "false capitals", are roughly square-shaped and can be seen at the junction between architrave and pillar, and between the architraves themselves. Here, there are nine of them altogether on just the surface of the front architraves.
| |
 Top front architrave |  Genies among foliage forming scrolls. This kind of scrolls are generally considered to be of origin, and were to be used extensively in the of as well. | |
 Middle front architrave | Buddhas represented by a and two and empty thrones. | |
 Bottom front architrave | The only scene which differs materially from those on the gateways of the Great Stupa is the one delineated on the front face of the lowest architrave, which appears to represent the Heaven of (). In the centre is the pavilion of the god, with Indra himself seated on a throne surrounded by women attendants. In the foreground is the river MandakinI, which bounds the heaven of Indra, and to right and left of the pavilion are mountains and jungle forming a pleasure-garden for the gods and demigods who are taking their case therein. Then, in the corners next to the false capitals, are kings seated with their attendants on the folds of seven-hooded Nagas, whose coils mingled with the waters of the river are carried through to the ends of the architrave, and go to form the spirals adorning its extremities. The sea monsters () and the heroes wrestling with them, which are portrayed on the false capitals of this architrave, are particularly appropriate in this position, where their coils combine effectively with those of the Nagas. | |
Rear architraves | Ordered left to right, from top to bottom:
| |
| Pillar capitals | ||
 Left |  Right | The pillar capitals consist in groups of four (tectonic deities) supporting the architraves. This choice is similar to the last of the gateways of the Great Stupa, the Western Gateway. |
| Pillars | ||
| Left pillar, Front face | ||
 | The variety and the detail of the pillar panels is much less than at the Great Stupa. Here the first panel shows the adoration of a stupa by four Indian devotees. Then, other devotees simply line up in the second and the third panels below.
| |
| Left pillar, Inner face | ||
 Top panel. | Worshipping the Bodhi Tree. This classic and rather simply depicted scene is again the unique didactic scene on this face of the pillar. The following panel in only composed of aligned devotee, and at the bottom is a panel with guardian deity as seen on the other gateways, or possibly a devotee, as he seems not to be armed.
| |
| Left pillar, Rear face | ||
 Top panel. | Uncharacteristically, the rear panel of the left pillar of the gateway is fully decorated, down to its bottom. This can be explained by the fact that the stupa is not surrounded by a railing as in the Great Stupa, therefore rendering this rear space free. The right pillar of the gateway however does not have decoration on the back. The top panel is the on a Pillar.
| |
| Right pillar, Inner Face | ||
 Top panel. | Worshipping the Bodhi Tree. This classic and rather simply depicted scene is again the unique didactic scene on this face of the pillar. It even faces a similar "Worshipping the Bodhi Tree" scene on the pillar surface facing it across the entrance. The next panel going down is only composed of aligned devotees, and at the bottom is a panel with guardian deity as seen on the other gateways, or possibly a devotee, as he seems not to be armed.
| |
| Right pillar, Front Face | ||
 |  Again variety and the detail of the pillar panels is much less than at the Great Stupa. The first panel however is extremely interesting, as it shows the adoration of what looks like the pillar of Ashoka at the Southern Gateway of the Great Stupa. Then other devotees simply line up in the second and the third panels below.
| |
පසුකාලීන යුග
12වන සියවස තෙක්ම මෙම සංකීර්ණය වෙත තවත් ස්තූප සහ වෙනත් බෞද්ධ ගොඩනැගිලි ගණනාවක්ම ඉදි විය.
බටහිර ක්ෂත්‍රපයෝ
ක්‍රි.පූ./ක්‍රි.ව. 1වන සියවස්වල සාංචි ප්‍රදේශයේ සාතවාහන පාලනය පැවති බවට නමයෙන් නිකුත් කළ , සහ ප්‍රදේශවලින් හමුවූ සාතවාහන තඹ කාසි මෙන්ම, ස්තූප අංක 1 හි දකුණු තොරණෙහි වූ සාතකර්ණී සෙල්ලිපිය සාක්ෂ්‍ය සපයයි.
ඉන් මඳ කලකට පසුව, මෙම ප්‍රදේශය , විශේෂයෙන් (ක්‍රි.ව. 120) රජුගේ ග්‍රහණයට නතු විය. ඉන් අනතුරුව නිසැකැවම එය (ක්‍රි.ව. 130-150) පාලනයට නතුවූ බව ඔහුගේ අභිලේඛන මඟින් පෙනී යයි. සාතවාහනයන් මඳ කලකට සිය පාලනය බලය යළි ලබාගන්නට සමත් වුවද, ක්‍රි.ව. 3වන සියවසේ මැද භාගය වන විට බලය නැවතත් (ක්‍රි.ව. 255-278) යටතේ බටහිර ක්ෂ්ත්‍රපයන් සතු විය. බටහිර ක්ෂ්ත්‍රපයන් 4වන සියවස තෙක් බලයේ රැඳී සිටි බව අවට වූ අනුව පෙනේ. එම සෙල්ලිපිය අනුව ශක ප්‍රධානී සහ "සාධාරණ Satraps remained well into the 4th century as shown by the nearby mentioning the construction of a well by the Saka chief and "righteous conqueror" , who ruled circa 339-368 CE. Therefore, it seems that the did not extend to the Sanchi area, and the few Kushan works of art found in Sanchi appear to have come from . In particular, a few Mathura statues in the name of the Kushan ruler (247-267 CE) were found in Sanchi.
Guptas
The next rulers of the area were the Guptas. Inscriptions of a victorious in the year 412-423 CE can be found on the railing near the Eastern Gateway of the Great Stupa.
"The glorious Candragupta (II), (...) who proclaims in the world the good behaviour of the excellent people, namely, the dependents (of the king), and who has acquired banners of victory and fame in many battles"
— , 412-413 CE.
Temple 17 is an early stand-alone temple (following the great cave temples of ), as it dates to the early period (probably first quarter of 5th century CE). It may have been built for Buddhist use (which is not certain), but the type of which it represents a very early version was to become very significant in . 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, not unlike the 2nd century rock-cut cave temples of the . The four columns are more traditional, the octagonal shafts rising from square bases to bell capitals, surmounted by large blocks carved with back-to-back lions.
Next to Temple 17 stands Temple 18, the framework of a mostly 7th-century apsidal -hall temple, again perhaps Buddhist or Hindu, that was rebuilt over an earlier hall. This was probably covered by a wood and thatch roof.
Near the Northwern Gateway also used to stand a pillar. Another pillar of used to stand, and the statue is now in the , London.
Lion pillar No 26
Pillar No26 stands a little to the north of the Sunga pillar No25. It belongs to the early Gupta age. Apart from its design, it is distinguished from the other pillars on the site by the unusual quality and colour of its stone, which is harder than that ordinarily quarried in the , and of a pale buff hue splashed and streaked with amethyst. At Sanchi this particular variety of stone was used only in monuments of the Gupta period. This pillar was approximately 22 ft. 6 in. in height and was composed of two pieces only, one comprising the circular shaft and square base, the other the bell-capital, necking, lions and crowning . On the northwest side of the lowest section, which is still in situ, is a short mutilated inscription in Gupta characters recording the gift of the pillar by a viharasvamin (master of a monastery), the son of Gotaisimhabala.
විකිපීඩියාව, විකි, සිංහල, පොත, පොත්, පුස්තකාලය, ලිපිය, කියවන්න, බාගන්න, නොමිලේ, නොමිලේ බාගන්න, mp3, වීඩියෝ, mp4, 3gp, jpg, jpeg, gif, png, පින්තූරය, සංගීතය, ගීතය, චිත්‍රපටය, පොත, ක්‍රීඩාව, ක්‍රීඩා., ජංගම දුරකථන, android, ios, apple, ජංගම දුරකථන, samsung, iphone, xiomi, xiaomi, redmi, honor, oppo, nokia, sonya, mi, පීසී, වෙබ්, පරිගණකය
ස ච ස ත පය ඉන ද ය ව මධ ය ප රද ශ ප ර න තය ස ච නගරය ප හ ට ඇත එය මධ ය ප රද ශ හ අගන වර වන ස ට ක ල ම ටර 46ක ස තප ම 29 ඊස නද ගට වන නට ප හ ට ත බ ස ච යස ච ය මහ ස ත පය න ග නහ ර ත රණ ස ච Show map of ඉන ද ය වස ච Show map of මධ ය ප රද ශ ස ච ස ම න ය ත රත ර ප රභ දයස ත පය සහ අවට ග ඩන ග ල ග හන ර ම ණ ශ ල යප හ ට මස ච නගරය මධ ය ප රද ශ ඉන ද ය ව ආස ය වඉද ක ර ම ආරම භ ව ය ක ර ප 3වන ස යවසඋස16 46 m 54 0 ft මහ ස ත පය ගර භය ම න ම ව ෂ කම භය36 6 m 120 ft මහ ස ත පය ගර භය ය න ස ක ල ක උර ම අඩව යන ල න මයස ච ය බ ද ධ ස ම රකන ර ණ යකයCultural i ii iii iv viම ල ශ ර524අභ ල ඛනය1989 13 වන ඛණ ඩ ක 23 28 45 N 77 44 23 E 23 479223 N 77 739683 E 23 479223 77 739683 පර ම ණ සමඟ ස ත පය හරස කඩක ස ච ය මහ ස ත පය ඉන ද ය ව ප රණ තම ප ෂ ණමය ඉද ක ර මක වන අතර එය ව දගත ස ම රකයක ව ම හ ම ල න ර ම ණය ක ර ප 3වන ස යවස අශ ක අධ ර ජය ග ම ල කත වය න ස ද ව ය එහ ගර භය සරල අර ධ ග ල ක ර ගඩ ළ ව ය හයක ව අතර එහ බ ද න වහන ස ග ධ ත න ත න පත ක ට ත බ ණ 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 Sanchi was also her birthplace as well as the venue of her and Ashoka s wedding In the 1st century BCE four elaborately carved 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 9 km to the W of Sanchi 40 stupas the now enshrined in the new Vihara were unearthed there also called Morel Khurd a fortified hilltop with 60 stupas and respectively 11 km and 17 km SE of Sanchi as well as 10 km SW of Sanchi Further south about 100 km away is is 300 km to the northeast Sanchi Stupa is depicted on the reverse side of the Indian currency note of Rs 200 to signify its importance to Indian cultural heritage හ ඳ න ව මස ච කඳ ග ටය ප හ ට ස ම රකවල ස ල ස ම අ ක 1 ස ට 50 ත ක අ කනය ක ට ඇත වර තම නය ස ච ය දක නට ල බ න ස ම රක ම ර ය අධ ර ජ ය ය ගය ක ර ප 3වන ස යවස ස ට අඛණ ඩව ග ප ත අධ ර ජ ය ය ගය ක ර ව 5වන ස යවස දක ව ත සහ අවස නය ක ර ව 12වන ස යවස අවට ද න ර ම ණය ව බ ද ධ ස ම රක සම හයක ම ය බ හ ව ට ඉන ද ය ව වඩ ත ම හ ඳ න ස රක ෂණය ව ඇත බ ද ධ ස ම රක සම හය ව ය හ ක ම හ ඇත ප රණ තම සහ ව ශ ලතම ස ම රකය වන මහ ස ත පය හ වත ස ත ප අ ක 1 ම ල න ම ම ර ය ය ගය ඉද ව අතර එය අසල යක ද ප හ ට ව ත බ ණ පස ක ල න ස යවස වල ද ව ශ ෂය න ම ශ ග සහ ක ලස ම ව ද මහ ස ත පය ව ශ ල ක ට තනව අල ක ර ත රණ සහ ව ද ක ද එක කරන ලද එස ම ම ය ආසන නය ක ඩ ස ත ප ව ශ ෂය න සහ ස ත ප අ 3 ඉද කරන ලද ඉන අනත ර ව ග ප ත අධ ර ජ ය ය ගය ත ක ම එයට ව ව ධ අ ග එක ක ර ණ ම අන ව සමස තයක වශය න ගත කළ ස ච ය සහ ඉන ද ය න ව ක සනය ප න වන ක ඩපතක බඳ ය ම මඟ න ම ල ක ල න බ ද ධ ගම එහ ආද තම කල සම ප රද යයන සහ ත ක ක ලස ම ව න ර පණය කරය ස ච ස ත පවල ස මන ය දර ශනය 1851 මහ ස ත පය කඳ ම ද න ද ස ත ප අ ක 2 ඉද ර ය න ද ව ක ර ප 3වන ස යවස ආරම භ ව මහ ස ත පය ස ත ප අ 1 ස ත ප අ 2 ස ත ප අ 3 බ ද ධ ව හ රය අ 17ම ර ය ය ගය ක ර ප 3වන ස යවස ස ච ය අශ ක ස තම භය ස ච ය මහ ස ත පය ම හ ඇත ප රණ තම ව ය හය වන අතර එය ම ල න න ර ම ණය කරන ලද ද ක ර ප 3වන ස යවස ම ර ය අධ ර ජ අශ ක ව ස න ම හ මධ යය බ ද න වහන ස ග න ධන ක ට ත න අර ධ ග ල ක ර ගඩ ල න ම ව මක න සමන ව ත ව ය එහ ප දම වට උස ව ප ස වක ප හ ට අතර ගර භය මත ගර ද ව ටක සහ උසස බව හ ඟව ම උද ස ක ද සව ක ට ත බ ණ ම හ ම ල ස ත පය වර තම න ස ත පය ව ෂ කම භය න අඩක පමණ ව අතර ව ස න එය ව ශ ල ක ට ඇත වර තම නය ප ෂ ණය න ආවරණය ක ට ත බ ණ ද අත තය එය ගඩ ල වල න ආවරණය ක ට ත බ ණ According to one version of the Mahavamsa the Buddhist chronicle of Sri Lanka Ashoka was closely connected to the region of Sanchi When he was heir apparent and was journeying as Viceroy to he is said to have halted at 10 kilometers from Sanchi and there married the daughter of a local banker She was called and later gave Ashoka two sons Ujjeniya and and a daughter After Ashoka s accession Mahendra headed a Buddhist mission sent probably under the auspices of the Emperor to Sri Lanka and that before setting out to the island he visited his mother at Chetiyagiri near Vidisa thought to be Sanchi He was lodged there in a sumptuous vihara or monastery which she herself is said to have had erected අශ ක ස තම භය The of the Sanchi pillar of Ashoka as discovered left and simulation of original appearance right It is very similar to the at except for the here adorned with and facing 250 BCE A pillar of finely polished sandstone one of the was also erected on the side of the main gateway The bottom part of the pillar still stands The upper parts of the pillar are at the nearby The capital consists in four lions which probably supported a as also suggested by later illustrations among the Sanchi reliefs The pillar has an Ashokan inscription and an inscription in the ornamental from the Gupta period The Ashokan inscription is engraved in early characters It is unfortunately much damaged but the commands it contains appear to be the same as those recorded in the and edicts which together form the three known instances of Ashoka s Schism Edict It relates to the penalties for schism in the Buddhist sangha the path is prescribed both for the monks and for the nuns As long as my sons and great grandsons shall reign and as long as the Moon and the Sun shall endure the monk or nun who shall cause divisions in the shall be compelled to put on white robes and to reside apart For what is my desire That the Sangha may be united and may long endure Edict of Ashoka on the Sanchi pillar The pillar when intact was about 42 feet in height and consisted of round and slightly tapering monolithic shaft with bell shaped capital surmounted by an and a crowning ornament of four lions set back to back the whole finely finished and polished to a remarkable luster from top to bottom The abacus is adorned with four designs separated one from the other by pairs of symbolical perhaps of the flock of the Buddha s disciples The lions from the summit though now quite disfigured still testify to the skills of the sculptors The sandstone out of which the pillar is carved came from the quarries of several hundred miles away implying that the builders were able to transport a block of stone over forty feet in length and weighing almost as many tons over such a distance They probably used water transport using rafts during the rainy season up until the Ganges Jumna and Betwa rivers Temple 40 was a 3rd century BCE temple one of the first known in India constructed around the same time as the core of the Great Stupa Conjectural recontruction of the original timber built Temple 40 burnt down in the 2nd century BCE Another structure which has been dated at least partially to the 3rd century BCE is the so called Temple 40 one of the first instances of free standing temples in India Temple 40 has remains of three different periods the earliest period dating to the Maurya age which probably makes it contemporary to the creation of the Great Stupa An inscription even suggests it might have been established by the father of Ashoka The original 3rd century BCE temple was built on a high rectangular stone platform 26 52 14 3 35 metres with two flights of stairs to the east and the west It was an hall probably made of timber It was burnt down sometime in the 2nd century BCE Later the platform was enlarged to 41 76 27 74 metres and re used to erect a pillared hall with fifty columns 5 10 of which stumps remain Some of these pillars have inscriptions of the 2nd century BCE In the 7th or 8th century a small shrine was established in one corner of the platform re using some of the pillars and putting them in their present position Maurya structures and decorations at Sanchi 3rd century BCE Approximate reconstitution of the Great Stupa with its under the circa 260 BCE Remains of the in polished stone right of the Southern Gateway with its Edict Sanchi of Ashoka in situ detail of the previous image Remains of the shaft of the pillar of Ashoka under a shed near the Southern Gateway Side view of the capital ශ ග ය ගය ක ර ප 2වන ස යවස On the basis of it is presumed that the stupa may have been vandalized at one point sometime in the 2nd century BCE an event some have related to the rise of the Shunga emperor who overtook the Mauryan Empire as an army general It has been suggested that Pushyamitra may have destroyed the original stupa and his son rebuilt it The original brick stupa was covered with stone during the Shunga period Given the rather decentralized and fragmentary nature of the Shunga state with many cities actually issuing their own coinage as well as the relative dislike of the Shungas for Buddhism some authors argue that the constructions of that period in Sanchi cannot really be called Shunga They were not the result of royal sponsorship in contrast with what happened during the Mauryas and most of the dedications at Sanchi were private or collective rather than the result of royal patronage The style of the Shunga period decorations at Sanchi bear a close similarity to those of as well as the peripheral balustrades at the in The Great Stupa under the The Sungas nearly doubled the diameter of the initial stupa encasing it in stone and built a and a around it Great Stupa No 1 During the later rule of the Shunga 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 the Wheel of the Law The dome was set on a high circular drum meant for which could be accessed via a double staircase A second stone pathway at ground level was enclosed by a stone balustrade The railings around Stupa 1 do not have artistic reliefs These are only slabs with some dedicatory inscriptions These elements are dated to circa 150 BCE or 175 125 BCE Although the railings are made up of stone they are copied from a wooden prototype and as John Marshall has observed the joints between the coping stones have been cut at a slant as wood is naturally cut and not vertically as stone should be cut Besides the short records of the donors written on the railings in Brahmi script there are two later inscriptions on the railings added during the time of the Gupta Period Some reliefs are visible on the stairway balustrade but they are probably slightly later than those at Stupa No2 and are dated to 125 100 BCE Some authors consider that these reliefs rather crude and without obvious Buddhist connotations are the oldest reliefs of all Sanchi slightly older even than the reliefs of Great Stupa No1 Shunga period structures and decorations 2nd century BCE Great Stupa Stupa expansion and balustrades only are Shunga Undecorated ground railings dated to approximately 150 BCE Some reliefs on the stairway balustrade Shunga balustrade and staircase Shunga stonework Shunga vedika railing with inscriptions Deambulatory pathway Summit railing and umbrellas Stairway balustrade reliefs Flame palmette and lotus Woman riding a Lotus Half lotus Lion Elephant Elephant with branch Floral motif Stupa No 2 the first Buddhist reliefs ප රධ න ල ප ය Mason s marks in indicate that craftsmen from the north west were responsible for foreign reliefs of Stupa No 2 This medallion was made circa 115 BCE The stupas which seem to have been commissioned during the rule of the Shungas are the Second and then the Third but not the highly decorated gateways which are from the following period as known from inscriptions following the ground balustrade and stone casing of the Great Stupa Stupa No 1 The reliefs are dated to circa 115 BCE for the medallions and 80 BCE for the pillar carvings slightly before the reliefs of for the earliest with some reworks down to the 1st century CE Sunga period railings were initially blank left Great Stupa and only started to be decorated circa 115 BCE with right was established later than the Great Stupa but it is probably displaying the earliest architectural ornaments For the first time clearly Buddhist themes are represented particularly the four events in the life of the Buddha that are the Nativity the Enlightenment the First Sermon and the Decease The decorations of Stupa No 2 have been called the oldest extensive stupa decoration in existence and this Stupa is considered as the birthplace of illustrations The reliefs at Stupa No 2 bear mason marks in as opposed to the local script This seems to imply that foreign workers from the north west from the region of where was the current script were responsible for the motifs and figures that can be found on the railings of the stupa Foreigners from Gandhara are otherwise known to have visited the region around the same time in 115 BCE the embassy of from king to the court of the king in nearby is recorded in which Heliodorus established the in a dedication to This would indicate that relations had improved at that time and that people traveled between the two realms Shunga structures and decorations end of 2nd century BCE Stupa No 2 Shunga period but mason s marks in point to craftsmen from the north west region of for the earliest reliefs circa 115 BCE Foreigner on a horse The medallions are dated circa 115 BCE with lotus and two child attendants probably derived from similar images of Venus with Brahmi script inscription Female riding a Lotus within motif Stupa No 3 Stupa No 3 was built during the time of the Shungas who also built the railing around it as well as the staircase The the disciples of the Buddha are said to have been placed in Stupa No 3 and relics boxes were excavated tending to confirm this The reliefs on the railings are said to be slightly later than those of Stupa No 2 The single torana gateway oriented to the south is not Shunga and was built later under the probably circa 50 BCE Stupa No 3 Shunga structures and decorations 2nd century BCE Stupa No 3 Stupa and balustrades only are Shunga Stairway and railing Lotus medallions Floral designs Post relief Sunga Pillar Sunga pillar No25 with own capital on the side Pillar 25 at Sanchi is also attributed to the Sungas in the 2nd 1st century BCE and is considered as similar in design to the locally called Kham Baba pillar dedicated by the ambassador to the king in nearby circa 100 BCE That it belongs to about the period of the Sunga is clear alike from its design and from the character of the surface dressing The height of the pillar including the capital is 15 ft its diameter at the base 1 ft 4 in Up to a height of 4 ft 6 in the shaft is above that sixteen sided In the octagonal portion all the facets are flat but in the upper section the alternate facets are fluted the eight other sides being produced by a concave chamfering of the of the This method of finishing off the arris at the point of transition between the two sections are features characteristic of the second and first centuries BCE The west side of the shaft is split off but the tenon at the top to which the capital was mortised is still preserved The capital is of the usual bell shaped type with leaves falling over the shoulder of the bell Above this is a circular cable necking then a second circular necking relieved by a and lozenge pattern and finally a deep square adorned with a in relief The crowning feature probably a lion has disappeared ස තව හන ය ගය ක ර ප 1වන ස යවස ක ර ව 1වන ස යවස ස තව හන ත රණ ක ර ප 50 0 පමණ අභ ල ඛනයකට අන ව ඊතලය බලන න ස ච ය මහ ස ත පය ස ත ප අ ක 1 දක ණ ත රණ ප රද නය ක ට ඇත ත ස තකර ණ රජ සමය ය බ හ ව ට රජ ව ය හ ක The inscription appears on the relief of a stupa at the center of the top architrave at the rear It is written in three lines in early Brahmi script over the dome of the stupa in this relief Dated circa 50 BCE 0 CE The under conquered eastern from the This gave the Satavahanas access to the Buddhist site of Sanchi in which they are credited with the building of the decorated gateways around the original and From the 1st century BCE the highly decorated gateways were built The balustrade and the gateways were also colored Later gateways toranas are generally dated to the 1st century CE The Siri Satakani inscription in the Brahmi script records the gift of one of the top of the Southern Gateway by the artisans of the Satavahana king 𑀭 𑀜 𑀲 𑀭 𑀲 𑀢𑀓𑀡 𑀲 ර ණ ස ර ස තකණ ස 𑀆𑀯 𑀲𑀡 𑀲 𑀯 𑀲 𑀣 𑀧 𑀢𑀲 ආව සණ ස ව ස ඨ ප තස 𑀆𑀦 𑀤𑀲 𑀤 𑀦 ආනන දස ද න ස ර ස තකර ණ ග ප රධ න කල ශ ල ප ව ස ඨ ග ප ත ආනන දග ද නයය Inscription of the Southern Gateway of the Great Stupa There are some uncertainties about the date and the identity of the in question as a king Satakarni is mentioned in the which is sometimes dated to the 2nd century BCE Also several Satavahana kings used the name Satakarni which complicates the matter Usual dates given for the gateways range from 50 BCE to the 1st century CE and the builder of the earliest gateways is generally considered to be who ruled in 50 25 BCE Another early Satavahana monument is known Cave No 19 of king 100 70 BCE at the which is much less developed artistically than the Sanchi toranas ම ධ ය සහ ක ටයම ශ ල ප ක රම ස තව හනයන යටත ඇත දත ක ටයම වල ස ට ශ ලමය ක ටයම ත ක ප ම ප ය ලක ෂ ම ක ර ව 1වන ස යවසයක ෂ ණ න ග නහ ර ත රණ ස ච Although made of stone the gateways were carved and constructed in the manner of wood and the gateways were covered with narrative sculptures It has also been suggested that the stone reliefs were made by ivory carvers from nearby and an inscription on the Southern Gateway of the Great Stupa The Worship of the Bodhisattva s hair was dedicated by the Guild of Ivory Carvers of Inscription Vedisakehi daṃtakarehi rupakaṃmaṃ kataṃ 𑀯 𑀤 𑀲𑀓 𑀨 𑀤 𑀢𑀓 𑀭 𑀨 𑀭 𑀧𑀓 𑀫 𑀓𑀢 Ivory workers from have done the carving The inscription reads Vedisakehi damtakarehi rupakammam katam meaning The ivory workers from Vidisha have done the carving Some of the or the give an indication of the kind of ivory works that could have influenced the carvings at Sanchi The reliefs show 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 due to 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 at the point of his enlightenment The human body was thought to be too confining for the Buddha Architecture evolution of the load bearing pillar capital Evolution of the Indian load bearing pillar capital down to 1st century SanchiMauryan capital 4th 3rd c BCE c 3rd 1st c BCEcapital 2nd c BCESanchi lion capital 1st c BCESanchi elephant capital 1st c BCE CESanchi capital 1st c CE Similarities have been found in the designs of the of various areas of northern India from the time of Ashoka to the time of the at Sanchi particularly between the at the capital of 3rd century BCE the pillar capitals at the Buddhist complex of 2nd century BCE and the pillar capitals of the Satavahanas at Sanchi 1st centuries BCE CE The earliest known example in India the 3rd century BCE is decorated with rows of repeating and mouldings and side with central around a prominent central which is the main motif These are quite similar to designs and the capital has been described as quasi Greek influence as well as have been suggested The is a pillar capital discovered in the archaeological excavations at the ancient site of The pillar displays volutes and It has been variously dated from the 3rd century BCE during the period to the 1st century BCE during the period One of the faces shows a galopping horse carrying a rider while the other face shows an elephant and its The pillar capital in Bharhut dated to the 2nd century BCE during the period also incorporates many of these characteristics with a central with many as well as a central design Importantly recumbent animals lions symbols of Buddhism were added in the style of the The Sanchi pillar capital is keeping the general design seen at Bharhut a century earlier of recumbent lions grouped around a central square section post with the central design of a which started with the Pataliputra capital However the design of the central post is now simpler with the flame palmette taking all the available room Elephants were later used to adorn the pillar capitals still with the central palmette design and lastly here the palmette design disappears Main themes of the reliefs The Great Stupa at the time of the ජ තක කථ ව ව ධ ජ තක කථ න ර පණය ක ට ඇත ම මඟ න බ ද න වහන ස බ ධ සත ත වයක ව ස ට ප ර ආත ම භවයන න ර පණය ව ම හ හම වන ජ තක කථ අතර ජ තකය සහ ක හ පයක Miracles Numerous miracles made by the Buddha are recorded Among them The miracle of the Buddha walking on water The miracle of fire and woodTemptation of the Buddha Numerous scene refer to the temptation of the Buddha when he was confronted with the seductive daughters of and with his army of demons Having resisted the temptations of Mara the Buddha finds enlightenment Other similar scenes on the same subject Temptation of the Buddha with Mara s army fleeing Enlightenment of the Buddha with Mara s army fleeing Temptation of the Buddha with the Buddha on the left symbolized by his throne only surrounded by rejoicing devotees and his daughters center and the demons of Mara fleeing right War over the Buddha s Relics The southern gate of Stupa No1 thought to be oldest and main entrance to the stupa has several depictions of the story of the Buddha s relics starting with the War over the Relics After the death of the Buddha the of wanted to keep his ashes but the other kingdoms also wanting their part went to war and besieged the city of Kushinagar Finally an agreement was reached and the Buddha s cremation relics were divided among 8 royal families and his disciples This famous view shows warfare techniques at the time of the Satavahanas as well as a view of the city of of the which has been relied on for the understanding of ancient Indian cities Other narrative panels related to the War over the Buddha s Relics at Sanchi are The King of the Mallas bringing the relics of the Buddha to Kushinagara right after the death of the Buddha before the War itself In this relief the king is seen seated on an elephant holding the relics on his head The siege of Kushinagara by the seven kings another relief on the same subject War over the Buddha s Relics kept by the city of South Gate Stupa no 1 Sanchi Removal of the relics by Ashoka According to Buddhist legend a few centuries later the relics would be removed from the eight guardian kingdoms by and enshrined into 84 000 stupas Ashoka obtained the ashes from seven of the guardian kingdoms but failed to take the ashes from the at who were too powerful and were able to keep them This scene is depicted in one of the transversal portions of the southern gateway of Stupa No1 at Sanchi Ashoka is shown on the right in his charriot and his army the stupa with the relics is in the center and the Naga kings with their serpent hoods at the extreme left under the trees King Ashoka visits to take relics of the Buddha from the but he failed the Nagas being too powerful Southern gateway Stupa 1 Southern Gateway Sanchi Building of the Bodh Gaya temple by Ashoka Ashoka in grief supported by his two queens in a relief at Sanchi Stupa 1 Southern gateway The identification with Ashoka is confirm by a similar relief from inscribed Raya Asoko Bodhi tree temple depicted in Sanchi Stupa 1 Southern gateway Ashoka went to to visit the under which the Buddha had his enlightenment as described his However Ashoka was profoundly grieved when he discovered that the sacred was not properly being taken care of and dying out due to the neglect of Queen Tiṣyarakṣita As a consequence Ashoka endeavoured to take care of the Bodhi Tree and built a temple around it This temple became the center of A sculpture at Sanchi southern gateway of Stupa No1 shows Ashoka in grief being supported by his two Queens Then the relief above shows the Bodhi Tree prospering inside its new temple Numerous other sculptures at Sanchi show scenes of devotion towards the Bodhi Tree and the Bodhi Tree inside its temple at Bodh Gaya Other versions of the relief depicting the temple for the Bodhi Tree are visible at Sanchi such as the Temple for the Bodhi Tree Eastern Gateway Foreign devotees Foreign devotees and musicians on the Northern Gateway of Stupa I Some of the friezes of Sanchi also show devotees in Greek attire wearing kilted tunics and some of them a Greek hat They are also sometimes described as although the historical period seems too early for their presence in Central India and the two pointed hats seem too short to be Scythian The official notice at Sanchi describes Foreigners worshiping Stupa The men are depicted with short curly hair often held together with a of the type commonly seen on The clothing too is Greek complete with capes and sandals typical of the Greek travelling costume The musical instruments are also quite characteristic such as the thoroughly Greek double flute called Also visible are like The actual participation of Greek donors to the construction of Sanchi is known from three inscriptions made by self declared Yavana donors The clearest of these reads Setapathiyasa Yonasa danam Gift of the of Setapatha Setapatha being an uncertain city possibly a location near a place where other dedications by Yavanas are known in cave No 17 of the complex and on the pillars of the not far away A second similar inscription on a pillar reads Sv etapathasa Yona sa danam with probably the same meaning Gift of the of Setapatha The third inscription on two adjacent pavement slabs reads Cuda yo vana kasa bo silayo Two slabs of Cuda the Yonaka Around 113 BCE an ambassador of the ruler is known to have dedicated a pillar the around 5 miles from Sanchi in the village of Another rather similar foreigner is also depicted in the circa 100 BCE also wearing a tunic and a royal headband in the manner of a Greek king and displaying a Buddhist on his sword Another one can be seen in the region of in the Northwestern foreigners at SanchiForeigner on a horse circa 115 BCE Stupa No2 Detail of the foreigners in Greek dress and playing and flute Northern Gateway of Stupa I detail Foreigners holding grapes and riding winged lions Sanchi Stupa 1 Eastern Gateway Foreign horseriders Southern Gateway of Stupa 3 Foreigner with headband fighting a Southern Gateway of Stupa 3 Foreigners on horses wearing headbands caps and boots Western gate of Stupa 1 Aniconism Aniconism in Miracle at King praying as his son the Buddha rises in the air praised by celestial beings but only his path the horizontal slab in the air is visible In all these scenes the Buddha is never represented being absent altogether even from scenes of his life where he is playing a central role in the Miracle of the Buddha walking on the river Nairanjana he is just represented by his path on the water in the Procession of king Suddhodana from Kapilavastu he walks in the air at the end of the procession but his presence is only suggested by people turning their heads upward toward the symbol of his path The promenade of the Buddha or used to depict the Buddha in motion in In one of the reliefs of the Miracle at Kapilavastu King is seen praying as his son the Buddha rises in the air The Buddha praised is praised by celestial beings but only his path is visible in the form of a slab hanging in middle air called a chankrama or promenade Otherwise the presence of the Buddha is symbolized by an empty throne as in the scene of Bimbisara with his royal cortege issuing from the city of Rajagriha to visit the Buddha Similar scenes would later appear in the of but this time with representations of the Buddha detailed every panel in his seminal work A Guide to Sanchi This anoconism is relation to the image of the Buddha could be in conformity with an ancient Buddhist prohibition against showing the Buddha himself in human form known from the rules of the early Buddhist school of the Since it is not permitted to make an image of the Buddha s body I pray that the Buddha will grant that I can make an image of the attendant Bodhisattva Is that acceptable The Buddha answered You may make an image of the Bodhisattava The Gateways or Toranas The gateways depict various scenes of the life of the Buddha as well as events after his death in particular the War of the Relics and the efforts of emperor Ashoka to spread the Buddhist faith Stupa 1 Southern Gateway The Southern Gateway of Stupa No1 is thought to be oldest and main entrance to the stupa The narrative friezes of this gateway put great emphasis on the relics of the Buddha and on the role of Ashoka in spreading the Buddhist faith This gateway is one of the two which were reconstructed by Major Cole in 1882 83 The whole of the right jamb and half of the left are new and blank as well as the west end of the lowest architrave the east end of the middle architrave and the six vertical uprights between the architraves Southern Gateway Great Stupa No1 Sanchi 1st century BCE The Southern Gateway of Stupa 1 The Southern Gateway of Stupa 1 is one of the four richly carved gateways or surrounding Stupa 1 the Great Stupa It is the main one as it was erected in front of the steps by which the terrace was ascended The Southern Gateway was also the first to be erected Then followed in chronological order the Northern the Eastern and the Western their succession in each case being demonstrated by the style of their carvings It is probable however that not more than three or four decades intervened between the building of the Southern and Western gateways A few of the surfaces of the Southern Gateway are undecorated or lost Like the other gateways the Southern Gateway is composed of two square pillars surmounted by capitals which in their turn support a superstructure of three architraves with volute ends ArchitravesFront architraves Rear architraves Some material was lost over two thousand years and the restoration had to make up for lost elements with some blank slabs The whole of the right jamb and half of the left are new as well as the west end of the lowest architrave the east end of the middle architrave and the six vertical uprights between the architraves When the gateway was restored the top and the lowest lintels appear to have been reversed by mistake since the more important sculptures on them now face the stupa instead of facing outwards Front middle architrave King Ashoka visits King Ashoka visited to take relics of the Buddha from the but he failed the Nagas being too powerful After the death of the Buddha his relics were originally divided into eight portions and shared between eight princes Each of the princes constructed a at or near his capital city within which the respective portion of the ashes was enshrined These eight stupas were erected at and About two centuries later in order to spread the Buddhist faith endeavored to gather the eight shares of the relics to divide them up and distribute them among 84 000 stupas which he himself erected He only obtained seven of these portions he failed to secure the relics of Ramagrama in the Nepal in face of the resolute opposition of their devoted guardians the Here in the centre of the architrave is depicted the stupa of Ramagrama Above the stupa are heavenly figures bearing garlands in their hands To the right the Emperor Asoka is approaching in his chariot accompanied by a retinue of elephants horsemen and footmen and to the left the Nagas and Nagis in human form with serpent hoods worshiping at the stupa bringing offerings or emerging from the waters of a lotus pond On the projecting end of this architrave is an elephant in a lotus pond with mahaut and females on its back and a second female scrambling up behind in the background a pavilion with female figures looking out To what particular incident this relief refers is not known An inscription on the dome of the stupa records that the architrave was the gift of one Balamitra pupil of Ayachuda Arya Kshudra the preacher of the Law Rear top architrave The seven Buddhas Six Buddhas of the past and Gautama Buddha with his at the extreme right In the central section are three stupas alternating with four trees with thrones in front of them adored by figures both human and divine These represent the six Buddhas of the past namely and Kaasapa and Gautama Buddha Three are symbolized by their stupas and four by the trees under which each respectively attained enlightenment The tree on the extreme right is the of Gautama Buddha and the one next to it is the of Buddha The identification of the others is less certain The inscription The inscription on the dome of the central stupa reads L 1 rano Siri Satakanisa L 2 avesanisa vasithiputasa L 3 Anamdasa danam Gift of Anamda the son of Vdsithi Vdsishthi the foreman of the artisans avesanin of This inscription has been decisive in attributing the construction of the gateways to the time of the On each of the projecting ends of this lintel is a horse with attendants and royal umbrella issuing from a city gate Possibly it is Kanthaka the horse of Gautama when he was going forth from the city of When the gateway was restored this lintel together with the bottom one appears to have been reversed by mistake since the more important sculptures on them now face the stupa instead of facing outwards Rear bottom architrave Full architrave with wings War over the Buddha s Relics This Sanchi relief permitted this reconstruction of the city of circa 500 BCE The Buddha died in the capital of the who initially tried to keep all the relics of the Buddha for themselves A war erupted in which the chiefs of seven other clans waged war against the Mallas of Kushinara for the possession of the Buddha s relics In the centre of the architrave the siege of Kushinara is in progress to right and left the victorious chiefs are departing in chariots and on elephants with the relics borne on the heads of the latter The scene is carried through on to the projecting ends of the architrave and the seated elephants on the intervening false capitals are clearly intended to be part and parcel of the scene When the gateway was restored this lintel together with the top one appears to have been reversed by mistake since the more important sculptures on them now face the stupa instead of facing outwards Pillar capitalsLeft Right The pillars of the Southern Gateway feature lions in the manner of the They are the only pillar capitals of the Sanchi complex to do so PillarsExternal facesThe left external face consists in a foliage scroll inhabited by numerous animals and garlands as well as an amorous couple repeated several time Of the right pillar external face nothing remains and it has been left blank by the reconstitution under Marshall Left pillar Front faceTop panel Ashoka with his two Queens visiting the A Persepolitan column rising from a stepped base and supporting a wheel with thirty two spokes and an equal number of devices on its outer rim This is the or Wheel of the Law the emblem of the Buddha s first sermon On either side of the wheel are celestial figures with garlands below them are four groups of worshipers and below the latter to indicate the spot where the first sermon was preached namely in the Mrigadava near In each of the groups of worshipers is a king with attendant females the same figures apparently being repeated four times They probably represent Asoka with his two queens visiting the Deer Park during his pilgrimage to the holy places of Buddhism 2nd panel Procession of king Ashoka on his chariot The Emperor Asoka in his chariot with his retinue around 3rd panel The Cortege of Mara According to Marshall relating the panel to the next one on the inner face deities are seen on foot on horseback and on elephants hastening to do homage to the Bodhisattva s locks Left pillar Inner faceTop panel Bodhi tree temple of built by Ashoka The temple around the the beneath which the Buddha had attained enlightenment was erected by Asoka himself This Temple is Here the sanctity of the tree is indicated by umbrellas and garlands and on the throne inside the shrine are three symbols 2nd panel Ashoka in grief supported by his two Queens Ashoka is in grief as he saw the pipal tree of the Buddha being neglected by the jealous Queen He is so shocked that he has to be supported by two of his wives He would thereafter build a temple around the tree seen in the panel above and which would become the sacred temple of 3rd panel Worship of the s hair In the lowest panel of the inner face is a company of deities in the heaven where held sway rejoicing over and worshiping the hair of the The story told in the Buddhist scriptures is that before embracing a religious life Gautama divested himself of his princely garments and cut off his long hair with his sword casting both hair and turban into the air whence they were borne by the devas to the Trayastrimsa heaven and worshiped there This particular relief was dedicated by the Guild of Ivory Carvers of horizontal inscription on the lintel suggesting that a part of the gateways at least was made by ivory carvers At the least the delicacy of workmanship and spatial effect attained in the panel of the Trayastrimsa heaven is particularly striking and makes it understandable that as the inscription on it records it was the work of ivory carvers of The inscription reads Vedisehi dantakarehi rupadamam katam meaning The ivory carvers from Vidisha have done the carving Some of the or the give an indication of the kind of ivory works that could have influenced the carvings at Sanchi Left pillar Rear faceUnique panel To the left of the panel a royal figure is seated beneath a canopy holding a female by the hand in the middle another female seated on a low stool to the right two other figures standing with a child behind bearing a garland At the back of them is a tree and above a s window with an umbrella on either side The meaning of this scene is uncertain Right pillarBlank All reliefs and inscriptions lost Stupa 1 Northern Gateway The Northern Gateway is the best preserved of all the gateways and was the second to be erected The numerous panels relate various events of the life of the Buddha Only one atypical panel Right pillar Inner face Top panel shows Foreigners making a dedication at the Southern Gateway of Stupa No 1 Northern Gateway Great Stupa No1 Sanchi 1st century BCE The Northern Gateway of Stupa 1 The Northern Gateway of Stupa 1 is one of the four richly carved gateways or surrounding Stupa 1 the Great Stupa The Northern Gateway was the second to be erected The best preserved of all four gateways is the Northern one which still retains most of its ornamental figures and gives a good idea of the original appearance of all the gateways Like the other gateways the Northern Gateway is composed of two square pillars surmounted by capitals which in their turn support a superstructure of three architraves with volute ends ArchitravesFront architraves Rear architraves The architraves are all almost intact They are crowned by two large decorated symbols in the round symbols of Buddhism as well as the remnants of a Wheel of the Law at the center The lintels have seated lions and also in the round at their ends Rear central architrave The actual at built by Ashoka circa 260 BCE Temptation of the Buddha with and his daughters and the demons of Mara fleeing Towards the left end of the panel is the at with an umbrella and streamers above and in front the Vajrasana of the Buddha whereon he sat when he withstood the temptations and threats of the Satan of Buddhism and when he attained to Buddhahood Human and celestial beings are adoring it The figure to the left of it is perhaps Sujata bringing the meal which she prepared for Gautama before he began his last meditation prior to his enlightenment Near the middle of the panel is Mara seated on a throne with attendants around and advancing from him towards the throne are his daughters who sought by their blandishments to seduce Gautama from his purpose On his other side i e in the right half of the panel are the hosts of Mara s demons personifying the vices the passions and the fears of mankind The vigor and humor with which these fantastic beings are portrayed is very striking and far more forceful than anything of the kind produced by the artists of the of See also Mara s Defeat in The Life of Buddha Pillar capitalsLeft Right Elephants facing the four directions decorate the top of the gateway pillars and support the architraves They are gathered around a central pillar of square section decorated with a large design The capitals are flanked by a dancing under foliage PillarsExternal facesLeft Right Left The external side of the left pillar facing the east doesn t have narrative reliefs but only displays as well as intricate vegetal designs The external face is separated vertically in three bands the central band consisting in a superposition of numerous nine in total and the two external bands consisting in a superposition of hooks holdings The bottom of the pillar face has two with a on their sole The pillar face is crowned by a decorated symbol Right The external face on the right side has the same background decoration with the three vertical bands and the superposition of and hooks holdings but lacks the bottom and top symbols of the and the decorated Left pillar Front face Most of the scenes on this face appear to relate to Top panel The Buddha in performing the Miracle of Sravasti Gandhara 100 200 CE also called Mango Tree Miracle when the Buddha walks in the air In the center a with the throne of the Buddha in front the Buddha of course Round the Buddha is a circle of his followers bringing garlands to the tree or in attitudes of adoration It was beneath a mango tree that according to the texts Buddha performed the great miracle at when he walked in the air and flames broke from his shoulders and streams of water from his feet But here there is no definite indication of the miracle In the non of the Buddha would simply be shown in his human form rising slightly in the air with flames springing from his feet and water emanating from his shoulders 2nd panel of showing the three preferred residences of the Buddha Jetavana story 2nd century BCE The at showing the three favourite residences of the Buddha the Gandhakuti the Kosambakuti and the Karorikuti with the throne of the Buddha in the front of each The Jetavana garden was presented to the Buddha by the rich banker who purchased it for as many gold pieces as would cover the surface of the ground Hence the foreground of the relief is shown covered with ancient Indian coins just as it is in the similar relief at where the details of the coins are more in evidence 3rd panel Aerial promenade of the Buddha Presumably the long band on top of the heads of devotees is the promenade the Buddha is walking on The long open pavilion mandapa calls to mind the one at which is portrayed in the relief 4th panel Procession of King of leaving to meet the Buddha A royal procession issuing from a city gate probably of going forth from to meet the Buddha 5th panel Paradise of The meaning of this scene which is analogous to several others on the gateways is not clear Perhaps like the scene on the gateways of Stupa No3 it may represent the Paradise of where pleasure and passion held sway Left pillar Inner face This face refers particularly to Top panel The same scene in the of Visit of to the Buddha in the near In the upper part of the panel is an artificial cave resembling in its facade many Buddhist shrines in and In front of the door is the throne which marks the presence of the Buddha The animals peering out from among the rocks serve to indicate the wildness of the spot Below is the company of Indra in attitudes of worship but which of these figures represents Indra and which his musician who accompanied him it is not possible to determine 2nd panel Royal cortege leaving A king and his royal cortege issuing from a city As the panel on this side of the pillar relates particularly to Rajagriha it is probable that the King is either Bimbisara or on a visit to the Buddha at the Hill and that the city is Rajagriha See also Siddhartha and King Bimbasara in The Life of Buddha 3rd panel Bamboo garden Venuvana at the visit of Bimbisara The Bamboo garden Venuvana at Rajagriha with the throne of the Buddha in the center and devotees around The identity of the spot is indicated by the bamboos on either side of the panel This event refers to a visit of King Bimbisara to the Buddha 4th panel guardian deity Positioned as it is in the inside panel of the gateway the deity guards the left side of the entrance to the stupa This Dvarapala is faced by another one on the right side Right pillar Inner faceTop panel Foreigners making a dedication to Southern Gateway of the Great Stupa Probably the dedication of a stupa but it might also refer to the death of the Buddha Among the crowds who are celebrating the occasion with music and dancing some are wearing dresses and high boots suggestive of a cold climate The individual and realistic features of the people can also be noticed The official notice at Sanchi reads Foreigners worshiping Stupa The relief shows 18 of these foreigners and 4 celestial deities in the sky above Foreigners playing and flute at Sanchi detail These have been called Greek looking foreigners wearing Greek clothing complete with capes and sandals typical of the Greek travelling costume and using Greek and musical instruments the double flute or the like possibly pointing to the Another rather similar foreigner is also depicted in the Bharhut Yavana also wearing a tunic and a royal headband in the manner of a Greek king and displaying a Buddhist on his sword The top of the panel show celestial divinities celebrating the dedication of the Stupa 2nd panel Offering of a bowl of honey to the Blessed One by a monkey The offering of a bowl of honey to the Blessed One by a monkey The Buddha is here represented by his and throne to which devotees are doing obeisance The figure of the monkey is twice repeated first with the bowl and then with empty hands after the gift has been made The incident is portrayed in much the same way on the reliefs of the of 3rd panel Miracle at praying as his son the Buddha rises in the air praised by celestial beings only his path is visible This panel is to be interpreted in conjunction with the corresponding panel adjoining it on the front face of the same pillar When Buddha returned to his native city of Kapilavastu his father Suddhodana came forth with a royal retinue to meet him and a question of etiquette arose as to which should salute the other first the father who was king or the son who had become the Buddha Thereupon the Buddha solved the difficulty by walking miraculously in mid air Here in the panel on the inner face we see a and in front of it the throne symbolizing the Buddha while suspended in the air above it is the chahkrama or promenade on which the Buddha used to take his exercise and which here symbolises that he is walking in the air Above it are celestial beings with garlands in their hands To the right of the tree is King with attendants one of whom is holding the royal umbrella The reason for the banyan tree Skr nyagrodha is that King Suddhodana presented a park of banyan trees to his son on his return and the tree therefore helps to localize the incident In the corresponding scene on the front face the Buddha is probably represented in this park with disciples but invisible due to and followers around him 4th panel guardian deity Positioned as it is in the inside panel of the gateway the deity guards the right side of the entrance to the stupa This Dvarapala is faced by another one on the left side Right pillar Front faceTop panel The same scene in the of Descent of the Buddha from the Heaven at The descent of the Buddha from the Heaven where his mother had been reborn and whither he himself ascended to preach the Law to her This miracle is supposed to have taken place at Sankasya In the center of the relief is the miraculous ladder by which the Buddha descended attended by and At the top of the ladder is the tree and throne of the Buddha with the gods on either side in an attitude of adoration Other attend on him as he descends among whom the one to the right of the ladder holding a and may be Brahma At the foot of the ladder the tree and throne are repeated with a trio of devotees on either side indicating that the Buddha has returned again to earth 2nd panel The Great Departure of the Buddha from A royal figure in a chariot drives forth from a city gate with a horse in front The scene is analogous to the scene of Buddha s departure from Kapilavastu on the East Gateway but in that case there is no chariot and in this case there is no umbrella above the horse to indicate the presence of the Buddha However a royal umbrella being held over an empty spot in the chariot would suggest the presence of the Buddha The figure standing at its side with a water pot bhrihgara in his hand indicates that a gift is being made Alternatively it could be King Suddhodana going forth from Kapilavastu to meet his son the Buddha on the occasion when he presented him with a park of mango trees See also Siddhartha Leaves His Father s Palace in The Life of Buddha 3rd panel Teaching the This panel may represent the Buddha teaching the It can also be interpreted in relation to the panel of the Miracle at Kapilavastu on the same pillar Right pillar Inner face 3rd panel When Buddha returned to his native city of Kapilavastu his father Suddhodana came forth with a royal retinue to meet him and the Buddha performed his Miracle of the Walk in the Air In this scene on the front face of the pillar the Buddha is probably represented in this very park with disciples and followers around him 4th panel Unidentified broken scene Stupa 1 Eastern Gateway The Eastern Gateway describes historical events during the life of the Buddha as well as several miracles performed by the Buddha It was the third gateway to be erected Eastern Gateway Great Stupa No1 Sanchi 1st century BCE CE The Eastern Gateway of Stupa 1 The Eastern Gateway of Stupa 1 is one of the four richly carved gateways or surrounding Stupa 1 the Great Stupa It is the third gateway to have been constructed Like the other gateways the Southern Gateway is composed of two square pillars surmounted by capitals which in their turn support a superstructure of three architraves with volute ends ArchitravesFront architraves Rear architraves The architraves are all almost intact They were crowned by two large decorated symbols in the round symbols of Buddhism only one of them remains The lintels have elephants mounted by and a single seated lion at their ends A single remaining top right corner suggests that many more have been lost Front architrave center The Great Departure During the night Prince Siddharta leaves the Palace of far left while his wife his baby and the dancers are sleeping Siddharta rides his horse Kanthaka who is being lifted above the ground by in order not to make noise and to avoid awakening the guards The horse is seen progressing from left to right away from the city and progressively higher in the air Siddharta is not visible but a chatra royal parasol is held by in order to signify the fact that Siddharta is riding on the horse After his arrival in the forest on the right Siddharta discards his robes cuts off his hair and returns the horse to Chandaka The horse is seen returning without a rider walking on the ground this time and of course devoid of the parasol over it this time When Siddharta stays in the forest he is symbolized by the two soles of his feet extreme right Siddharta has renounced the world Central front architrave right The famous under foliage and hanging in front of an elephant on the side of the East Gateway Pillar capitalsRight capital The pillars of the Eastern Gateway feature elephants in the four direction conducted by holding a Buddhist banner They are gathered around a pillar of square section decorated with a design A under foliage flanks them on the side PillarsLeft pillar Front faceTop panel The Miracle of Walking in the air at Savrasti While the Buddha walks in the air devotees are aligned and look upwards The Buddha is not visible and only his path is separating the panel horizontally in two parts 2nd panel The as discovered Temple for the in The illumination of the Buddha occurred here under the at and Asoka built a at the location as well as a temple to protect the Bodhi Tree within Spreading through its upper windows the branches of the sacred tree can be seen To right and left of the temple are four figures in an attitude of adoration perhaps the Guardian Kings of the Four Quarters The throne was discovered after excavations near the location of the Bodhi tree in the 19th century and is now revered at the in 3rd panel Miracle of the Buddha walking on the River The Nairanjana river is shown in flood and accompanied by a disciple and a boatman are hastening in a boat to the rescue of the Buddha Then in the lower part of the picture the Buddha represented by his promenade chahbama appears walking on the face of the waters and in the foreground the figures of Kasyapa and his disciple are twice repeated now on dry ground and doing homage to the Master represented by the throne at the right hand bottom corner Throughout The Buddha is not visible aniconism only represented by a path on the water and his empty throne bottom right Bottom panel Bimbisara with his royal cortege issuing from the city of to visit the Buddha Bimbisara with his royal cortege issuing from the city of on a visit to the Buddha here symbolized by his empty throne This visit took place after the conversion of which was brought about by a series of miracles one of which is illustrated in the panel above Left pillar Inner face This face is concerned with the miracles by which Buddha converted the and his disciples Top panel Visit of and to the Buddha The visit of and to the Buddha takes place in the town of Near the center of the panel is the throne indicating the presence of the Buddha surmounted by the umbrella behind it Indra and Brahma standing in an attitude of adoration in the background the houses of Uruvilva and the people at their daily tasks To the left a man and woman the woman grinding spices on a cari stone nearby to the right another woman is at work at a table while a third is pounding rice with pestle and mortar and a fourth winnowing the grain with a fan In the foreground is the river Nairanjana with cattle on its banks and a woman drawing water in a pitcher One of the villagers has his hands joined in the attitude of prayer 2nd panel Buddha tames the at This panel is about the victory of the Buddha over the serpent in the fire chapel at Uruvilva The Buddha obtained the permission of Kasyapa to pass the night in a fire chapel at his hermitage which was inhabited by a fearsome The Naga attacked him with smoke and fire but was met with the same weapons and being overcome crept into the Buddha s begging bowl In the middle of the panel is the fire temple with a fire altar in front and a throne indicating the presence of the Buddha within while behind the throne is the five headed Naga Flames are issuing from the windows in the roof On either side of the temple are the Brahmanical ascetics standing in an attitude of respect and veneration In the foreground to the right is a leaf hut parna sala and an ascetic at its threshold seated on a mat with his knees bound up by a band and his hair jafa twisted turban wise about his head Evidently he is a Brahman doing penance Before him is another Brahman standing and apparently reporting to him the miracle and near by is a small fire altar and the instruments of sacrifice To the left is the Nairanjana river in which another ascetic is bathing and from which three young novices are drawing water 3rd panel The miracle of fire and wood This is a depicting of the miracles of the wood the fire and the offering In the story of s conversion it is related that after the miracle of the fire temple a sacrifice was prepared by the Brahmans but the wood for the fire could not be split the fire could not be made to burn and the oblation could not be offered until in each case the Buddha gave his consent In the relief this triple miracle is dramatically represented In the foreground to the right a ascetic has his axe raised to split the wood but the axe will not descend until Buddha gives the word then we see the axe driven home into the log Similarly a Brahman is engaged fanning the fire on an altar but the fire will not burn until the Buddha permits it Then we see the altar repeated and flames blazing upon it The third phase of the miracle that of the oblation is indicated by the single figure of a Brahman holding an oblation spoon over a flaming altar The other figures in this panel of two novices bringing wood and provisions are mere accessories while the in the back ground decorated with shell designs and surrounded by a square railing serves to give local color to the scene Bottom panel guardian Right pillar Inner Face This face of the pillar is devoted to scenes at the birthplace of Gautama Top panel Homage of King to the Buddha In the center the tree and throne of the Buddha with a group of worshipers around including King Suddhodana the father of the Buddha who is standing immediately in front of the throne The king wears the same headdress here as in the panel below The episode represented is the homage paid by the King to his son after his return to Kapilavastu Second panel Procession of king from At the top of the panel s dream of the visit of an elephant in See also Maya s Dream in The life of Buddha At the top is portrayed the dream of the mother of the Buddha otherwise called the conception of the Maya the queen is seen lying in a pavilion of the palace and on her is descending the Bodhisattva in the form of a white elephant This scene which was well known to all Buddhists serves to identify the city here represented as Below it is a royal procession threading its way through the streets of the city and issuing forth from the gate This is the procession of King Suddhodana when he went forth to meet his son on his return to Kapilavastu Then at the bottom of the panel is portrayed the miracle which Buddha performed on this occasion by walking in mid air and in the extreme left hand bottom corner is a nyagrodha to signify the park of banyans which Suddhodana presented to his son The Buddha walking in mid air is represented as on the Northern Gateway by his promenade chankrama and suggested by the upturned faces of the king and his retinue as they gaze wonderingly on the miracle Bottom panel guardian Right pillar Front FaceFull length The six inferior heavens of the Gods The six inferior heavens of the gods or Kamavachara heavens in which the passions are still unsubdued an integral part of Starting from the base they are as follows 1 The heaven of the Four Great Kings the Regents of the Four Quarters 2 The heaven of the Thirty three gods over whom presides 3 The heaven over which the God of Death reigns where there is no change of day or night 4 The Tushita heaven where the are born before they appear on earth as the saviors of mankind and where Maitreya now resides 5 The heaven of the who create their own pleasures 6 The heaven of the gods who indulge in pleasures created for them by others and over whom is king Each of these six heavens or devalokas is represented by a storey of a palace the front of which is divided by pillars into three bays the pillars in the alternate storeys being either plain or provided with elaborate Persepolitan capitals In the central bay there sits a god like an Indian king holding a thunderbolt in his right hand and a flask containing nectar in his left Behind him are his women attendants holding the royal umbrella and flywhisk In the bay to his right seated on a slightly lower seat is his viceroy uparaja and to his left are the court musicians and dancers With slight variations the same figures are repeated in each of the six heavens Nothing perhaps could give a better idea of the monotony of pleasure in the Buddhist heavens than the sameness of these reiterations The topmost panel of all with two figures seated on a terrace and attendants behind is treated quite differently from the Devalokas below and appears to represent the lowest of the Brahmaloka which according to the Buddhist ideas rise above the inferior heavens Stupa 1 Western Gateway The Western Gateway of Stupa 1 is the last of the four gateway of the Great Stupa to have been built Western Gateway Great Stupa No1 Sanchi 1st century BCE CE The Western Gateway of Stupa 1 The Western Gateway of Stupa 1 is one of the four richly carved gateways or surrounding Stupa 1 the Great Stupa It is the last of the four gateway to have been constructed Like the other gateways the Western Gateway is composed of two square pillars surmounted by capitals which in their turn support a superstructure of three architraves with volute ends ArchitravesFront architraves Rear architraves The architraves are all almost intact but there are almost no remains of in the round decorations around or on top of the lintels Only remains a fragment of with a base composed of lions at the center top of the Rear top architrave King of the bringing the relics of the Buddha to After the death of the Buddha his relics were taken possession of by the of whose chief is here depicted riding on an elephant and bearing the relics into the town of Kusinagara on his own head The tree behind the throne in front of the city gate appears to be a shorea robusta and to refer to the fact that Buddha s took place in a grove of those trees The two groups of figures carrying banners and offerings which occupy the ends of this architrave are probably connected with the central scene serving to indicate the rejoicing of the Mallas over the possession of the relics Rear middle architrave King of the of under siege left end of the architrave Siege of by the seven kings This is another portrayal of The war of the relics see Southern Gateway architrave Here the seven rival claimants distinguished by their seven royal umbrellas are advancing with their armies to the city of the siege of which has not yet begun The seated royal figure at the left end of the architrave may represent the chief of the within the city The princely figures in the corresponding relief at the right end appear to be repetitions of some of the rival claimants Rear bottom architrave Temptation of the Buddha with s army fleeing This scene extends over the three sections of the architrave In the center is the temple of with the and the throne of the Buddha within to the right the armies of fleeing discomfited from the Buddha to the left the devas celebrating the victory of the Buddha over the Evil One and exalting his glorious achievements The temple at Bodh Gaya which enclosed the was built two centuries later by Emperor Ashoka Its portrayal in this scene therefore is an anachronism Pillar capitalsLeft Right The pillar capitals consist in groups of four tectonic deities supporting the architraves PillarsLeft pillar Front faceUnique panel Paradise of Indra Probably the Paradise of with the river in the foreground This can be related to the scenes on the North Gateway and on the small gateway of the Third Stupa Left pillar Inner faceTop panel Syama the Buddha in a previous life was the only son of a blind hermit and his wife whom he supports with devotion One day Syama goes to draw water at the river and is shot with an arrow by the King of who is out hunting Owing to the king s penitence and his parents sorrow intervenes and allows Syama to be healed and his parents sight to be restored At the right hand top corner of the panel arc the two hermitages with the father and mother seated in front of them Below them their son Syama is coming to draw water from the stream Then to the left we see the figure of the King thrice repeated first shooting the lad in the water then with bow in hand then standing penitent with bow and arrow discarded and in the left top corner are the father mother and son restored to health and by their side the god Indra and the king The Buddha in a previous life was thus given as an example of 2nd panel Enlightenment of the Buddha with the rejoincing The scene depicts the enlightenment sambodhi of the Buddha In the center is the throne of the Buddha beneath the which is being garlanded by angels round about are the and Nagis celebrating the victory of the Buddha over See also Siddhartha Becomes the Buddha in The Life of Buddha Bottom panel Full relief Miraculous crossing of the by the Buddha when he left to visit partial remain Only the upper part of this panel remains but it appears to depict the miraculous crossing of the Ganges by the Buddha when he left to visit The lower part of the panel appears to have been cut away when the gateway was restored by Col Cole The panel is shown complete in Maisey s illustration in Sanchi and its remains Plaque XXI See also The Buddha Instructs the Monks of Vaisali in The Life of Buddha Right pillar Inner FaceTop panel Enlightenment of the Buddha with s army fleeing The enlightenment of the Buddha Towards the top of the panel is the and the throne of the Buddha and round them a throng of worshipers men and women gods and animals It is the moment after the discomfiture of and his hosts The winged creatures angels and archangels each urging his comrades on went up to the Great Being at the s foot and as they came they shouted for joy that the sage had won that the Tempter was overthrown The deva with the giant head riding either on the elephant or on the lion to the right of the panel is probably meant to be or The interpretation of the three sorrowing figures standing on three sides of the throne in the foreground is problematical In the Mahabhinishkramana scene on the East Gateway we have already seen that the artist inserted a tree in the middle of the panel to remind the spectator of the first meditation of the Bodhisattva and the path on which it led him So here these three figures which are strikingly similar to the three sorrowing Yakshas in the Mahdbhinishkramana scene and were probably executed by the same hand may be a reminder of the Great Renunciation which led to the attainment of Buddhahood the gateway behind being also a reminder of the gateway of See also Siddhartha Becomes the Buddha in The Life of Buddha Second panel The Gods entreating Buddha to preach The gods entreating the Buddha to preach The Buddhist scriptures tell us that after his enlightenment the Buddha hesitated to make known the truth to the world Then the four Regents of the Four Quarters and the archangels of the heavens approached him and besought him to turn the Wheel of the Law It was when the Buddha was seated beneath the banyan tree nyagrodha shortly after his enlightenment that this entreaty was made and it is a banyan tree with the throne beneath that is depicted in this relief The four figures side by side in the foreground may be the four Lokapalas See also The Buddha is Prepared to Preach the Doctrine in The Life of Buddha Bottom panel guardian Right pillar Front FaceTop panel The story runs that the was born as a monkey ruler over 80 000 monkeys They lived at a spot near the and ate of the fruit of a great King of desiring to possess the mangoes surrounded the tree with his soldiers in order to kill the animals but the Bodhisattva formed a bridge over the stream with his own body and by this means enabled the whole tribe to escape into safety The Mahakapi Jataka in the jealous and wicked cousin of the Buddha was in that life one of the monkeys and thinking it a good chance to destroy his enemy jumped on the Bodhisattva s back and broke his heart The king seeing the good deed of the Bodhisattva and repenting of his own attempt to kill him tended him with great care when he was dying and afterwards gave him royal obsequies Down the panel of the relief flows from top to bottom the river Ganges To the left at the top is the great mango tree to which two monkeys are clinging while the king of the monkeys is stretched across the river from the mango tree to the opposite bank and over his body some monkeys have already escaped to the rocks and jungles beyond In the lower part of the panel to the left is king Brahmadatta on horseback with his soldiers one of whom with bow and arrow is aiming upwards at the Bodhisattva Higher up the panel the figure of the king is repeated sitting beneath the mango tree and conversing with the dying Bodhisattva who according to the Jataka story gave the king good advice on the duties of a chief 2nd panel The preaching in the Heaven In the center of the panel is the tree and throne of the Buddha and round about the throne a company of gods standing upon clouds in attitudes of adoration At the top of the panel are bringing garlands and below them on each side of the tree come and riding on lion like creatures A conventional method is used to depict the clouds beneath the feet of the gods in the foreground and among the figures in the upper part of the panel They have the appearance almost of rocks with flames breaking from them 3rd panel The visit of Sakra The Buddha represented by his throne beneath a flowery tree with hills and jungle around Possibly the tree is the tree at beneath which the Buddha sat shortly after his enlightenment The figures in the foreground adoring the Buddha appear to be 4th panel Heraldic lions Three heraldic lions standing on conventionalized floral device The turn in the upper leaves is peculiar This method of treating foliage is peculiar to the Early School and is never found in later work The inscription over this panel records that the pillar was a gift of Balamitra pupil of Ayachuda Arya kshudra Stupa 3 Southern Gateway The gateway of Stupa No 3 is the last of all the gateways that were built at Sanchi It is located to the immediate south of Stupa No 3 is smaller than the four gateways encircling the Great Stupa It is also slightly older and generally dated to the 1st century CE Southern Gateway Stupa No 3 Sanchi 1st century CE The gateway of Stupa No 3 located to the immediate south of Stupa No 3 is smaller than the four gateways encircling the Great Stupa It is also slightly older and generally dated to the 1st century CE This gateway stands 17 feet high and is adorned with reliefs in the same style as those on the gateways of the Great Stupa Indeed the majority of these reliefs are mere repetitions of the subjects and scenes portrayed on the larger gateways with a few exceptions especially the front face of the lowest architrave ArchitravesFront architraves Architrave posts or false capitals are roughly square shaped and can be seen at the junction between architrave and pillar and between the architraves themselves Here there are nine of them altogether on just the surface of the front architraves Foreign heroe fighting a Hero with headband wrestling a Makara Foreigners riding horses Indians riding horses Indians riding bulls Indians riding bulls Queen Maya lustrated by Elephants The Buddha represented by the Bodhi Tree Top front architrave Floral scrolls in the art of Gandhara Genies among foliage forming scrolls This kind of scrolls are generally considered to be of origin and were to be used extensively in the of as well Middle front architrave Buddhas represented by a and two and empty thrones Bottom front architrave The only scene which differs materially from those on the gateways of the Great Stupa is the one delineated on the front face of the lowest architrave which appears to represent the Heaven of In the centre is the pavilion of the god with Indra himself seated on a throne surrounded by women attendants In the foreground is the river MandakinI which bounds the heaven of Indra and to right and left of the pavilion are mountains and jungle forming a pleasure garden for the gods and demigods who are taking their case therein Then in the corners next to the false capitals are kings seated with their attendants on the folds of seven hooded Nagas whose coils mingled with the waters of the river are carried through to the ends of the architrave and go to form the spirals adorning its extremities The sea monsters and the heroes wrestling with them which are portrayed on the false capitals of this architrave are particularly appropriate in this position where their coils combine effectively with those of the Nagas Rear architraves Ordered left to right from top to bottom Winged lion Winged lions The Buddha represented by the Men and Women on Elephants Men and Women on Elephants representing a Buddha lustrated by Elephants Men on lions Men on lions Pillar capitalsLeft Right The pillar capitals consist in groups of four tectonic deities supporting the architraves This choice is similar to the last of the gateways of the Great Stupa the Western Gateway PillarsLeft pillar Front faceThe variety and the detail of the pillar panels is much less than at the Great Stupa Here the first panel shows the adoration of a stupa by four Indian devotees Then other devotees simply line up in the second and the third panels below 2nd panel 3rd panelLeft pillar Inner faceTop panel Worshipping the Bodhi Tree This classic and rather simply depicted scene is again the unique didactic scene on this face of the pillar The following panel in only composed of aligned devotee and at the bottom is a panel with guardian deity as seen on the other gateways or possibly a devotee as he seems not to be armed Second panel Bottom panel guardian deity or devotee Left pillar Rear faceTop panel Uncharacteristically the rear panel of the left pillar of the gateway is fully decorated down to its bottom This can be explained by the fact that the stupa is not surrounded by a railing as in the Great Stupa therefore rendering this rear space free The right pillar of the gateway however does not have decoration on the back The top panel is the on a Pillar Second panel Possibly demons or the attack of Right pillar Inner FaceTop panel Worshipping the Bodhi Tree This classic and rather simply depicted scene is again the unique didactic scene on this face of the pillar It even faces a similar Worshipping the Bodhi Tree scene on the pillar surface facing it across the entrance The next panel going down is only composed of aligned devotees and at the bottom is a panel with guardian deity as seen on the other gateways or possibly a devotee as he seems not to be armed Second panel Bottom panel guardian deity or devotee Right pillar Front FaceThis would be the Ashokan capital wheel lost depicted in this panel Again variety and the detail of the pillar panels is much less than at the Great Stupa The first panel however is extremely interesting as it shows the adoration of what looks like the pillar of Ashoka at the Southern Gateway of the Great Stupa Then other devotees simply line up in the second and the third panels below 2nd panel 3rd panelපස ක ල න ය ගම ල ක ල න ස යවස වල ස ච ය ස ත ප සහ ව හ ර ර ම ප වත ආක රය ප රත න ර ම ණය 1900 12වන ස යවස ත ක ම ම ම ස ක ර ණය ව ත තවත ස ත ප සහ ව නත බ ද ධ ග ඩන ග ල ගණන වක ම ඉද ව ය බටහ ර ක ෂත රපය ක ර ප ක ර ව 1වන ස යවස වල ස ච ප රද ශය ස තව හන ප ලනය ප වත බවට නමය න න ක ත කළ සහ ප රද ශවල න හම ව ස තව හන තඹ ක ස ම න ම ස ත ප අ ක 1 හ දක ණ ත රණ හ ව ස තකර ණ ස ල ල ප ය ස ක ෂ ය සපයය ඉන මඳ කලකට පස ව ම ම ප රද ශය ව ශ ෂය න ක ර ව 120 රජ ග ග රහණයට නත ව ය ඉන අනත ර ව න ස ක වම එය ක ර ව 130 150 ප ලනයට නත ව බව ඔහ ග අභ ල ඛන මඟ න ප න යය ස තව හනයන මඳ කලකට ස ය ප ලනය බලය යළ ලබ ගන නට සමත ව වද ක ර ව 3වන ස යවස ම ද භ ගය වන ව ට බලය න වතත ක ර ව 255 278 යටත බටහ ර ක ෂ ත රපයන සත ව ය බටහ ර ක ෂ ත රපයන 4වන ස යවස ත ක බලය ර ඳ ස ට බව අවට ව අන ව ප න එම ස ල ල ප ය අන ව ශක ප රධ න සහ ස ධ රණ Satraps remained well into the 4th century as shown by the nearby mentioning the construction of a well by the Saka chief and righteous conqueror who ruled circa 339 368 CE Therefore it seems that the did not extend to the Sanchi area and the few Kushan works of art found in Sanchi appear to have come from In particular a few Mathura statues in the name of the Kushan ruler 247 267 CE were found in Sanchi Guptas The next rulers of the area were the Guptas Inscriptions of a victorious in the year 412 423 CE can be found on the railing near the Eastern Gateway of the Great Stupa Temple 17 a temple of appearance 5th century CE The glorious Candragupta II who proclaims in the world the good behaviour of the excellent people namely the dependents of the king and who has acquired banners of victory and fame in many battles 412 413 CE Temple 17 is an early stand alone temple following the great cave temples of as it dates to the early period probably first quarter of 5th century CE It may have been built for Buddhist use which is not certain but the type of which it represents a very early version was to become very significant in 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 not unlike the 2nd century rock cut cave temples of the The four columns are more traditional the octagonal shafts rising from square bases to bell capitals surmounted by large blocks carved with back to back lions Next to Temple 17 stands Temple 18 the framework of a mostly 7th century apsidal hall temple again perhaps Buddhist or Hindu that was rebuilt over an earlier hall This was probably covered by a wood and thatch roof Near the Northwern Gateway also used to stand a pillar Another pillar of used to stand and the statue is now in the London Lion pillar No 26 Pillar 26 one of the two four lions capitals at Sanchi with lions central and axis stubs of the spokes and part of the circumference only initially located at the Northern Gateway of the Great Stupa Pillar No26 stands a little to the north of the Sunga pillar No25 It belongs to the early Gupta age Apart from its design it is distinguished from the other pillars on the site by the unusual quality and colour of its stone which is harder than that ordinarily quarried in the and of a pale buff hue splashed and streaked with amethyst At Sanchi this particular variety of stone was used only in monuments of the Gupta period This pillar was approximately 22 ft 6 in in height and was composed of two pieces only one comprising the circular shaft and square base the other the bell capital necking lions and crowning On the northwest side of the lowest section which is still in situ is a short mutilated inscription in Gupta characters recording the gift of the pillar by a viharasvamin master of a monastery the son of Gotaisimhabala