The Great Stupa

The Great Stupa is a famous monument in Buddhist architecture. Ashoka the Great had The Great Stupa built in Sanchi, India. It was made bigger in the second century BCE.A stupa is a type of burial place for the Buddhist. The first eight of them were built around the year 483 BCE. All of them were each holding the remains of Buddha.In the third century BCE Ashoka further scattered Buddha's remains to more stupas. The stupa structure is symbolic of a hemispheric dome. It was built from rubble and dirt and it was faced with stone.The dome also symbolizes the Dome of Heaven.

On the top of the dome is a small square platform, in the middle that is supported by three circular discs or umbrellas. There discs are called chatras. They symbolize both the bo tree which Buddha was given enlightenment. Also the three levels of Buddhist consciousness, desire, form, and formlessness. These three levels help the soul to enlightenment. The dome is put on a raised base around the top for a circular walk way. When they circle the walk way they symbolically follow the path of Buddha, and awake the enlightenment. The mandala is the Buddhist diagram of the cosmos, literally meaning circle.There are thirty two foot high stone pieces decorated with stories from the life of Buddha, and other things such as vines, elephants, and peacocks.