News Highlights:
- Patna circle of the Archeological Survey of India (ASI) has discovered two 1200-year-old miniature votive stupas during landscaping activities near Sarai Tila mound within the premises of ‘Nalanda Mahavihara’, a world heritage site in Nalanda district in the state.
- The stupas, carved from stone, depict Buddha figures.
What are Stupas?
- About:
- The Sanskrit term stupa refers to a heap.
- A stupa is a relic-filled mound-like or hemispheric structure used for meditation.
- From the Vedic time onwards, stupas were used as burial mounds in India.
- It’s a traditional depiction of a burial cumulus, where the dead’s relics and ashes are maintained.
- Art of stupas:
- The art of stupas reached its pinnacle during the era of Ashoka. During his reign, around 84000 stupas were built.
- Before the period of Ashoka, the stupa was common throughout India. The stupas became objects of cult worship when Ashoka broke up the Buddha’s existing body relics and created monuments to glorify them.
- According to Buddhist tradition, the nine stupas were originally built following Buddha’s death, eight over the relics and one over the vessel in which the relics were first put.
- At Rajagriha, Vaishali, Kapilvastu, Allakapa, Ramagrama, Vethadipa, Pava, Kushinagar, and Pippalvina, stupas were built over Buddha relics.
- Structure:
- The stupa is made up of a cylindrical drum and a circular anda with a harmika and chhatra on top, which are mostly the same with minor variations in shape and size.
- The stupa’s core was composed of unburnt brick.
- The stupa was capped by a wooden railing that encircled a pradakshina walkway
- Gateways were added in addition to the circumambulatory circuit.
- Wooden sculptures were used to embellish the medhi and toran. As a form of worship, devotees walk around the pradakshina patha
- The three chhatra on the stupas symbolise the Buddhist triratnas: Buddha (the enlightened), Dhamma (doctrine), and Sangh (community).
Votive stupa:
- About:
- The form of the stupa, with its distinctive domelike drum, originates in eight cylindrical structures in which the Buddha’s relics were placed after his death.
- In addition to the drum, this stupa has a tiered base and is crowned with a series of stylised umbrellas that symbolise royalty and divine status.
- Offerings of Votive stupas:
- Votive stupas were offered to fulfil a vow.
- Although little is known about the uses of votive shrines and stupas, the larger ones at Bodhgaya were probably given by visiting kings, while monks and lay pilgrims offered smaller stupas.
- Beginning in the 7th century CE in India, small miniature terracotta stupas became popular as votive offerings.
Conclusion:
- During the post-Mauryan period, stupas grew larger and more beautiful. Wood and brick were being phased out in favour of stone.
- The Shunga dynasty established the idea of torans as artistically painted gates to stupas. The torans were carved with elaborate designs and patterns, indicating Hellenistic influence.
Pic Courtesy: Wikimedia Commons
Content Source: The Print