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ABOUT THE CITY:
If at a certain time of the year, you find a group of Japanese people gathered in Bhopal, do not presume that yet another multinational company is on its way. They are tourists come to see the Buddhist stupas of Sanchi.
46 km from Bhopal, Sanchi is little more than a village. It is not as hot on the Buddhist circuit as some other places in Bihar and Uttar Pradesh, but it scores more on history and archaeology than on religion. Besides, Buddha did not actually step in here. It was Ashoka, the great Mauryan king who hailed from these parts, who had the stupas, pillars and monasteries constructed.
Sanchi is known for its stupas, monasteries, temples and pillars, dating from the 3rd century BC to the 12th century AD. The greatest monument of these is the Sanchi Stupa, which was built by the most famous follower of Buddhism, the Mauryan emperor Ashoka. Ashoka had a son Mahendra and a daughter Sanghamitra. Both of them were sent to Sri Lanka to preach Buddhism. It is a telling commentary on the efforts made to spread Buddhism far and wide, that this religion is practised much more in Japan, Sri Lanka and the Far East, than in India, the country of its birth.
As the influence of Buddhism declined and other cities came into prominence, Sanchi lay forgotten until 1818, when a British officer chanced upon them. Sadly however, not much effort was made immediately to protect the historical finds and much damage was done to the ruins by amateurs. It was only in the early part of the 20th century that restoration work was started in earnest.
GETTING THERE:
By Rail : Sanchi is on the main Delhi to Bombay railway line, only 46 km north of Bhopal. However, officially, it is not possible to purchase a ticket on an express train service for this short trip. A passenger service from Bhopal takes up to two hours to Sanchi.
By Road: From Bhopal, there are frequent local buses to Sanchi all through the day. Another option is taxis, which can be hired for the journey. ^Top
 IN SANCHI:
The number of hours you spend exploring the ancient ruins on the hill would depend upon your historical, archaeological, aesthetic and religious inclinations. It is possible to ‘do’ Sanchi in an hour and then move on to some other historical sites in the region such as Vidisha. But really, a fleeting glimpse would not do justice to Sanchi. Some would count it as sacrilege.
Sanchi is the kind of place that needs to be ‘seen’. Architectural details in print always sound tedious (and it gets worse, when what you wish to describe has no name, just numbers: Stupa no.1, temple no. 5…). They come alive only when you follow the curve of the stone and the depth of a sanctorum. ^Top
The stupas of Sanchi lie scattered on a hilltop. The oldest structures go as far back as 3rd century BC; additions and alterations were made over the next several centuries.
Stupa 1: This is the main structure on the hill with its four beautifully carved gateways or toranas. The Jataka tales – inspirational tales of Buddha’s many lives and incarnations - as well as aspects of Buddha’s last incarnation as Gautama are carved out in stone on the gateways. The Buddha, according to the tenets of early Buddhist art, is portrayed in symbols; the lotus representing his birth, the tree his enlightenment, the wheel derived from the title of his first sermon, the footprints and throne symbolising his presence. The inscriptions on the gateways mention donors from all over northern India and special mention is made of the ivory workers of Vidisha who sculpted the stone. ^Top
The main structure was originally built by Ashoka in the 3rd century BC. Later it was enlarged and a stone stupa was built to enclose the original brick structure. It is 16m high and around 37m in diameter. The toranas are amongst the finest examples of Buddhist art in India. It is surrounded by a path which has a worn out look, due to countless devotees going around it over the centuries.
Northern Gateway/Toran – This is the best preserved of the toranas and has a broken wheel of law at the top.
Eastern Gateway/Toran – Along with other things, this gateway depicts Buddha’s entry into Nirvana.
Southern Gateway/Toran – This is the oldest gateway. Amongst other things, events from Ashoka’s life as a Buddhist are also depicted here. ^Top
Western Gateway/Toran – This gateway has some of the most interesting scenes of the site.
There are several other stupas – some small, others big – as well as pillars that lie scattered on the hill and you can spend hours deciphering them. The hill actually goes up in shelves with Stupa 2 situated on a lower shelf. Stupa 1, Stupa 3, the 5th century Gupta Temple No.17 and the 7th century Temple No. 18 are on the intermediate shelf, and a later monastery is on the crowning shelf. As the structures here were created over a few centuries, they are a very good study of the evolution of architectural styles in ancient India. There is also an ASI museum at Sanchi. ^Top
Stupa 2: The most intersting feature of this stupa is the stone wall that surrounds it and the meadallions that decorate it.^Top
Stupa 3: It once contained relics of two important desciples of Buddha, which are now housed in the modern vihara.
Pillars: There are a lot of pillars and the remains of pillars scattered around the site. The most important is Pillar 10, which was erected by Ashoka. Also known as the Ashokan Pillar, it is one of the finest examples of the pillars built by Ashoka and is known for its aesthetic proportions and structural balance. It is close to the Southern entrance of the Great Stupa. The four back to back lions that once topped the column are now the national emblem of India.^Top
Temples: There are quite a few temples here, some of them dating back to the Ashokan period.
The Great Bowl: Carved out of one block of stone, this mammoth bowl contained the food that was distributed among the monks of Sanchi.
The Gupta Temple: In ruins now, this 5th century AD temple is one of the earliest known examples of temple architecture in India.^Top
AROUND SANCHI:
Vidisha: Another place to visit is Vidisha (10 km), whose claim to fame is the fact that Emperor Ashoka’s wife hailed from here. Once a prosperous city, it lay deserted for many centuries until Muslim rulers claimed it in the 10th century. The ruins of a brahminical shrine here are possibly the oldest known Brahminical stone structure, dating to 2nd century BC. In fact, it is in Vidisha that the earliest use of lime and mortar as structural elements are found.
Vidisha has a museum which exhibits finds from the site. ^Top
Other places worth a visit are the Bija Mandal mosque – constructed from the remains of Hindu temples and the Tomb of Gumbaj.
Beyond Vidisha and before Udaigiri caves, is an interesting archaeological find – this is the Heliodorous Pillar. A monolithic, free-standing column, the pillar bears an inscription which states that it was a Garuda Pillar, raised in honour of Vasudeva by Heliodorus, a resident of Taxila, who had been sent to the court of Bhagabhadra as an envoy of the Indo-Bactrian monarch, Antialkidas. This inscription is a particularly valuable historical record, revealing the relations that existed between the region and the Greek kingdoms of the Punjab, and the remarkable fact that a Greek had become a follower of the Hindu god Vishnu. ^Top
Besides Vidisha and Sanchi, the Buddhist influence continues at Sonari (10 km), which has a group of eight stupas and Satdhara (11 km), which has two stupas. Ruins of ancient stupas can be seen at Andher and Mural Khurd as well, 17 and 12 km respectively from Sanchi.
Udaigiri’s rock-cut caves, Gyraspur’s 9th century structures and Udaypur’s Shiva temple are some other examples of ancient Hindu art and architecture in the region.^Top
Udaigiri Caves: 13 km from Sanchi and around 5 km from Vidisha, the Udaigiri caves have been cut into a sandstone hill. There are about 20 cave shrines belonging to the Gupta period, out of which two are Jain and the rest are Hindu. These caves show the style of sculpture of the Gupta era. There is a beautiful image of Vishnu in the boar incarnation, carrying the goddess earth on one arm, in Cave 5. Alongside, Vishnu has been sculptued in repose. Cave 7 had been cut out for the personal use Chandragupta II.^Top
Udaipur: 65 km from Sanchi, Udaipur has a large Neelkantheswar Temple, a beautiful example of Parmara style of architecture. The shikhar of the temple has four finely carved bands around it. The temple seems blessed to the common eye because of its alignment. It is so aligned that the first rays of the sun shine on the Shiva lingam in the sanctum.
SPECIAL EVENT: The Chethiyagiri Vihara Festival, held in November each year attracts hundreds of Buddhist monks and pilgrims, who come to see the relics of SariPuttha and Mahamoggallana, two of Buddha’s early disciples. ^Top |
