Sanchi Stupa

Much of Sanchi remains in site unlike the Bharut Stupa. It was built over a period from 2 nd
century BCE to 12th century CE. Sanchi is referred to as Kakanava or Kakanaya in early
Brahmi inscriptions found at the site. It is not associated with any events of the Buddha’s life
but became a place of prominence due its proximity to other Buddhist pilgrim routes.

There are several structures at Sanchi. The brick core of the Mahastupa or Stupa I belongs to
Ashokan times. During the reign of the Shungas, these were encased in stone. Many stupas,
shrines and monasteries were built over centuries at the site and relics have been found at
Stupa II and Stupa III which was brought in the later centuries after Sanchi became a site of
prominence. No relics were found in the older Mahastupa. The Satvahanas dynasty
contributed greatly to the embellishment of Sanchi stupa in late 1 st century. Traces of
plaster indicate that the stupas of ancient times did not look as austere as they do today.

The gateways and railings were renditions of wooden architecture of the time. The three
architraves with scroll ends have richly decorated carvings on both sides. The pillars also
have richly carved rectangular panels on all sides and animal/ figural capitals. No space was
left empty and every inch of the toranas were filled with carvings. Characters in the
narrative panels are given individuality in expressions, movements and costumes thus
indicating the evolved skills of the artisans.

Southern Gateway

Gajalakshmi, Top architrave, Front

The goddess is standing on a pedestal at the centre flanked by gajas (elephants). She is the
consort of Vishnu and is a symbol of fertility and purity. Hence, it’s a sign of auspiciousness,
of new beginnings. Its placement is meant to convey visitors that they were now entering a
sacred space (pradakshina path) and should do so having pure and spiritual intentions.

Six yakshas, Bottom architrave, Front

Thick lotus stalks are sprouting from their mouths and are holding pearl garlands in their
hands. The lush vegetation around them is stylized in manner.
Manushi Buddhas (present in many architraves)

In the earliest Buddhist texts, the human births of the Buddha are described to be seven
times. The Gautama Buddha worshipped in the present is the 7 th Buddha. In later centuries
as Buddhism got divided into different sects, there were 22 more Buddha’s. Each of the six
manushi Buddha is represented by their trees under which they found nirbana:

Patali of Vipashyin

Pundarika of Shikhin

Shala of Vishvabahu

Shirisha of Krakuchchhanda

Udumbara of Kanakamuni

Nyagrodha of Kashyapa

Ashvatta of Shakyamuni

Chadanta Jataka (present in many architraves)

Buddha was born as the King of Chadantas (elephants having six tusks) having a white body
and a red face. He lived in a golden cave near a river bank with his two wives. The execution
of the elephant anatomy- its volume and movements is very naturalistic.

War of Relics, Bottom architrave, Rear

After the death of Buddha at Kushinagar, seven other Buddhist Kings demanded his relics to
be kept in their kingdoms. The mallas defended it fiercely. This lead to a massive war but
finally they had to agree for the relics to be shared. Thus, it was divided into 8 parts among:

Brahmana of Vethadipa

Bulis of Allakappa

Koliyas of Ramagrama

Licchavis of Vaishali
Mallas of Kushinagar

Mallas of Pava

Nandas of Magadha

Shakyas of Kapilavastu

Two moments of time are shown on the panel. At the centre is the palace of Kushinagar.
The armies of the kings are shown on all sides surrounding the palace of Kushinagar. The
instrumental divisions of ancient Indian army- chariots, cavalry (horses and elephants) and
infantry (foot soldiers) are well depicted in the carvings.

On the right side is a royal entourage of a king leaving with his respective relic. The symbolic
representation of the casket with the parasol on top held by one of the departing kings
indicated the war being over.

This tumultuous scene full of action is shown in a balanced composition. Chaos was shown
in a structured manner giving artistic unity to it. The sense of direction is well achieved.

Eastern Gateway

The Great Departure, Middle architrave, Front

It is a masterly depiction of a textual narrative from the mahaparinirbana sutta. The horse is
the key element that shows the progression of the story. It is Kanthaka, the white horse of
Prince Siddhartha. The presence of Buddha is indicated by a royal parasol or chaatri.

From the left- The Prince leaves the Palace of Kapilavastu after having seen human suffering
when one time he was out of the palace gates. The yakshas are shown lifting the hooves of
the horse so it doesn’t make any noise and awaken the guards while leaving. The Buddha
and his horse make a long journey and reach the forest at night. The footwear or paduka
with a parasol symbolizes the Buddha’s feet on the ground. From here on he decides to
stays in the forest, abandons his life of comfort and renounces the world. The fifth horse is
shown without a parasol indicating a rider less horse returning to the palace.

The upper part has devattas and lower part has people that the Buddha met on his journey.
The centre is occupied by the Boddhi tree. It is not a part of the narrative but rather a
representation of the sacred nature of the narrative. It divides the story into two major
parts: The Buddha’s past as a prince and the Buddha’s future as a Bodhisattva.

Western Gateway

Defeat of Mara, Bottom architrave, Rear

Two moments of time are depicted. In the centre is the sacred tree topped with a parasol.
This is symbolic of two things- the parasol indicates the Buddha’s presence and the
Boddhivirksha his enlightenment.

On the right, the armies of Mara, a demon king, are fleeing discomfited from the Buddha.
The scene appears chaotic. On the left, the deva’s are celebrating the victory of the Buddha
over the Evil One and exalting his glorious achievements.

The temple at Bodh Gaya, which enclosed the Bodhi tree, was built two centuries later by
Emperor Ashoka. At the bottom is the placement of the singhasan.

Northern Gateway

Vessantara Jataka, Bottom architrave, Front & Rear

These panels depict dana paramita (virtue of generosity), a very popular story in South-East
Asian art. The story is of a compassionate Prince Vessantara who was sent into exile by his
father. He gave away his wealth and comforts and left behind everything that was his
including two of his four children.

From the right- Envoys from Kalinga, a neighbouring kingdom facing a drought approached
the palace Jattutara for help. Prince Vessantara gave away the magical white elephant
which had brought rain to his kingdom. The citizens were left distressed by the fear of
drought because of the loss of the elephant. Thus, they convinced King Sanjaya to resume
control of the kingdom and banish his son for taking such a decision.

Pirnce Vessantara’s wife and their other two children accompanied him to the forest where
he lived as a rishi. The family leaves the palace on a four horse chariot as the royal
household looks on from balconies and terraces, gods and goddesses, yakshas and yakshis
witness this event. The chariot and horses were sent back to the palace once they reached
the outskirts of the capital. The family walked on foot through the forest.

The rear panel shows their life in the forest:

On the right, we see their peaceful existence. Their period in exile has a charming portrayal.
The parna-kutis (leaf-huts) were intricately carved. The extremely lush vegetation is done in
a stylized manner and beautifully represents a dense forest.

In the centre, the narrative is of how a Brahmin tricked the Prince into giving away his
children into safety when his wife had gone to get food. The Brahmin instead inflicted pain
upon the children which made Vessantara very angry and he takes up a weapon in order to
protect his children. Only three key elements are shown to depict the entire scene.

On the top left, Lord Indra intervenes in disguise and saves the children. He then asked for
Vessantara’s wife to check if he still possessed the virtue of generosity after being deceived.
Vessantara, however, readily gave away his wife. The Lord returned her immediately after
seeing that he still had his qualities. Two deities felt sympathy for the young children and
disguised themselves as their parents to nurse and take them back to their grandfather.

On the bottom left, we see the grand royal procession. The Kingdom of Kalinga had also
returned the white elephant thus abating the anger of the people. The family was reunited.
Vessantara is regarded as a Bodhisattva for his act of benevolence.

The front panel shows an urban landscape while the rear panel shows a rural landscape. It is
shown very graphically in a chronological and orderly manner. The scenes are animated.

Pillar panels

Worship of the Buddha’s hair

Left pillar, Inner face, Southern Gateway

According to the inscription written on the panel, deities in Tavatimsa heaven are rejoicing
over and worshiping the hair of the Buddha. After the great departure, 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 taken by the devattas.
Miracle of the river niranjana

Left Pillar, Front face, Eastern Gateway

The panel depicts a scene where Buddha walked on the river niranjana which was in high
flood. The river is shown with wavy lines and Buddha in movement is represented by the
chankrama. Before attaining Enlightenment, prince Siddhartha practiced asceticism for
many years on the banks of this river under the pipal tree shown on the bottom left. There
are ducks among the floating lotus and a crocodile is also seen on the top right. A boat with
three people is sailing over the river- they are the Bodhisattva Kashyapa, his disciple and the
boatman. Four people are shown at the bank, looking in adoration after witnessing this
miracle. One’s hand is over the head in surprise and the other three’s are in anjali mudra.

Six heavens

Right Pillar, Front face, Eastern Gateway

There are many different types of heaven in Buddhist cosmology. The desire realm is where
a being wandering in saṃsara (suffering) may be reborn. A being's karma (previous actions
and thoughts) determines which of the six domains it will be reborn into.

They are represented like palaces of contemporary times with alternate depictions of
Persian capitals and gavaska arches. The Persian element suggests that trade and pilgrim
routes continued to flourish during this period. Many donations were also made by them for
the beautification of the Sanchi Stupa. The gavaska arch continued to influence later
developments. The gods are seated on thrones and dressed like Indian kings. Behind them
are women attendants and courtesans.

Syama Jataka

Left pillar, Front face, Western Gateway

Syama is a son of a blind hermit couple, demonstrating the virtue of devotion to loved ones.
He goes to fetch water at the river and is accidently shot with an arrow by the King
of Benares while hunting. Indra intervenes to heal Syama and also restores the sight of his
parents. On the top right are two hermitages with the parents seated in front. Below them,
their son Syama is at the stream with a vessel in hand. To his left, we see the figure of the
King three times showing the progression of his movements- first the shooting (below we
see the figure of syama falling in the river), then realization of his action and then penitence.
On the left top corner are the family restored to health blessed by Indra.

The forest life is shown in a lively manner with fruitful trees. There are monkeys climbing on
rooftops and buffaloes grazing. Some buffaloes are shown taking a bath in the stream.
However, this panel doesn’t show any regard to spatial relationship.

Yavanas worshipping the Mahastupa

Right pillar, Inner face, Northern Gateway

The upper part has eight celestial beings- four kinnara’s and four yakshas holding pearl
garlands. The lower part has a crowd celebrating the occasion with music and dancing. The
Yavanas or foreigners are identified by their tunics and sandals, typical of Greek costume
and their curly hair. The pointed caps are identified as Central Asian costume. They are
playing various Greek and Central Asian musical instruments such as flutes and drums. This
was part of a donation made to the Buddhist place of veneration.

Sanchi is a UNESCO World Heritage Site and it provides a remarkable history of Buddhist Art
of early India spanning centuries.

*Refer to pages 90-100- Susan Huntington for sculptural art of Sanchi

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