Gardners Art through the Ages A Global History

A

n essential element of Buddhist sanctuaries is the stupa,
a grand circular mound modeled on earlier South Asian burial
mounds of a type familiar in many other ancient cultures (FIGS. 4-20
and 9-6). The stupa was not a tomb, however, but a monument hous-
ing relics of the Buddha. When the Buddha died, his cremated remains
were placed in eight reliquaries,or containers, similar in function to the
later reliquaries housed in medieval churches at pilgrimage sites
throughout the Christian world (see “Pilgrimages and the Cult of
Relics,” Chapter 17, page 432). But unlike their Western equivalents,
which were put on display, the Buddha’s relics were buried in solid
earthen mounds (stupas) that could not be entered. In the mid-third
century BCE, Ashoka opened the original eight stupas and spread the
Buddha’s relics among thousands of stupas in all corners of his realm.
Buddhists venerated the Buddha’s remains by circumambulation,walk-
ing around the stupa in a clockwise direction. The circular movement,
echoing the movement of the earth and the sun, brought the devotee

into harmony with the cosmos. Stupas come in many sizes, from tiny

handheld objects to huge structures, such as the Great Stupa at Sanchi

(FIG. 6-7), constructed originally by Ashoka and later enlarged.

The monumental stupas are three-dimensional mandalas,or

sacred diagrams of the universe. The domed stupa itself represents

the world mountain, with the cardinal points marked by toranas,or

gateways. The harmika,positioned atop the stupa dome, is a stone

fence or railing that encloses a square area symbolizing the sacred

domain of the gods. At the harmika’s center, a yasti,or pole, corre-

sponds to the axis of the universe, a motif already present in

Ashoka’s pillars. Three chatras,or stone disks, assigned various

meanings, crown the yasti. The yasti rises from the mountain-dome

and passes through the harmika, thus uniting this world with the

heavenly paradise. A stone fence often encloses the entire structure,

clearly separating the sacred space containing the Buddha’s relics

from the profane world outside.

The Stupa

ARCHITECTURAL BASICS

0 10 20 30 40 50 feet

0 105 1 5 meters

Yasti

Stupa dome

Harmika

Stone fence

Double

stairway

South

torana

Upper-level

walkway

Chatras

West

torana toEarastna

6-7Diagram (top) and view from the south (bottom) of the Great Stupa, Sanchi, India, third century bceto first century ce.

The sanchi stupa is an earthen mound containing relics of the Buddha. Buddhists walk around stupas in a clockwise direction. They believe that the
circular movement brings the devotee into harmony with the cosmos.

India and Pakistan 163