William Carroll

Professor Watson
Project 3
October 31, 2022

Circumambulation and the Great Stupa of Sanchi

Depicted above is the floor plan of the Stupa of Sanchi. As circularity was a common
theme that stood out to me while witnessing this form, I decided to dive in deeper to describe the
historical and transitional elements through the use of color. The priests used the upper level to
circumvent the stupa while the lower level was reserved for pilgrim use, and each was labeled
respectively red and blue. This social hierarchy of use highlights the differences in
circumambulation paths but still reveals the overall circularity that the form instigates. A slice
has been taken out of the mound and the colored layering reveals how the mound’s circularity
was built upon for years; from 250 BCE to 250 CE. The toranas were added in roughly 25 CE, so
they are colored with a midtone between the lightest gray used and the darkest gray. The lightest
gray represents the start of the mound and, as the layer progresses to a darker shade, it represents
the passage of time to the final maturity of the stupa. Lastly, the jagged green arrows indicate the
functionality of the toranas and how they were used to preserve the circumambulation of the
stupa by pushing out external elements; preserving the sacred and leaving the profane.
 William Carroll
Professor Watson
Project 3
October 31, 2022

Bibliography

Fazio, Michael, “Buildings across Time: An Introduction to World Architecture, 5th Edition.
(US: McGraw-Hill Higher Education, 2018), 66 - 69.

Here, the foundational context of the Stupa and the main reference to the Stupa of Sanchi
was found. Additionally and on page 68, the reference image was found to use as a baseline to
my diagram. Processional paths and other information was pulled from here and added to my
diagram.

Asher, Frederick “A Companion to Asian Art and Architecture: On Maurya Art.” (US: Blackwell
Publishing Ltd., 2011), 430 - 431.

Although this text primarily focused on Ashoka’s Pillars, there was some further
contextualization happening with how these Stupa’s were placed which further enhanced the
diagram.