The Great Stupa Of Sanchi Research Paper

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A Sacred Place: The Great Stupa of Sanchi

By Anne Zamarron
04/25/2015

(The Imperial Buddhist Monument : The Great Stupa of Sanchi)

The Great Stupa of Sanchi is one of the oldest Buddhist scared places.
It is dome or egg shaped with four entrances positioned from the four cardinal points, north, east, south and west. Elaborate decorations embellish the exterior walls. Most of the designs are bass relief. The Great stupa is one of eight stupas in Sanchi, and is the most elaborate. The dome is topped with three spherical shapes like umbrellas. Each of the four entrances is pillars of carved stone representing the stages of the life of Buddha. Some of the carvings are elephants, trees and lotus flowers. Each of these items represent parts of Buddha’s life, and teachings. The shape of egg or dome is meant to represent the earth and its cosmic relationship to the heavens. …show more content…

Built by King Ashoka, emperor of India, (or his fellow servants) who was originally a Hindu. Ashoka did not like the feelings he had after killing more than 100,000 people in war so he became a Buddhist. The Great Stupa is a tribute to the different period of Buddha’s life and teaching. What then is the purpose and meaning of the Great Stupa at Sanchi? A stupa is not a building in any traditional sense. Initially a burial or reliquary mound, it became a symbolic object, a symbol of the Buddha, a symbol of his final release from the cycle of birth and rebirth – the Parinirvana or the “Final Dying” to the

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