Buddhist Monuments at Sanchi

About the Buddhist Monuments at Sanchi

Sanchi is not in Bhopal. The monuments stand on a hill about 10 kilometres from the city of Vidisha, which was a wealthy trading city when the stupa was built, and they are visited as an excursion from Bhopal.

It was the Indian emperor Ashoka's embrace of Buddhism in the 3rd century BC that turned the faith into one of the world's major religions. Historical sources tell us Ashoka had been left traumatised by the death toll of a war he had waged, and in Buddhism he saw a path on which he could conquer minds and hearts with morality rather than weapons. To spread that message he erected stupas and other monuments with inscriptions. Most have since been badly damaged or destroyed. The Great Stupa at Sanchi is the best preserved of them all, and it contains relics of Buddha himself. The dome is more than 16 metres high and 36 metres in diameter, having been expanded over the centuries.

The site and its carvings

The four gateways

The toranas at the four cardinal points were built in the 1st century BC, after Ashoka's death, sponsored by different lay worshippers and carved by various craftspeople at different times, which gives each a slightly different style. Every gateway has two square pillars with a set of four lions, elephants or pot-bellied dwarves supporting a grid of three architraves.

Scenes on the architraves

The southern gateway shows the Stupa of Ramagrama near Lumbini, the only stupa with original relics of Buddha that Ashoka did not open, along with scenes from the Siege of Kushinagar and the story of Chhaddanta Jataka. The northern gateway shows different incarnations of Buddha and the moment Sujata offered him food. The eastern gateway shows Buddha leaving Kapilavastu, and Ashoka visiting the Bodhi tree.

Around the Great Stupa

Smaller stupas stand around the main one, together with the remains of later temples and monasteries. There is evidence of Buddhist activity here until at least the 12th century AD, after which the community was virtually abandoned by the 13th century and the monuments fell into disrepair until the site was rediscovered in the 19th century.

Planning your visit

Sanchi is a hilltop archaeological site, so it means walking and climbing, and it is worth pairing with the other Buddhist sites nearby.

• Treat it as a day excursion from Bhopal rather than a city sight.
• Allow time at the four gateways; the carvings are the reason to be here and they do not reveal much at a glance.
• Consider adding Satdhara, about 17 kilometres from Sanchi, where the main stupa was probably built during Ashoka's rule.
• Sonari, Andher and Murelkhurd also hold evidence of stupas and settlements, and the stupas at Satdhara and Sonari are easily reachable from Sanchi.

Best time to visit

The site is open ground on a hilltop, so a cooler part of the day suits it best. Morning light also makes the carvings on the gateways easier to read, and leaves the afternoon free for Satdhara or Sonari.