The Great Stupa, 3 rd Century BCE, Sanchi, India. BUDDHISM
Dec 24, 2015
The Great Stupa, 3rd Century BCE, Sanchi, India. BUDDHISM
• Domed reliquary for a portion of Buddha’s remains
• Symbol of Buddha’s final release
• Solid throughout, built on top of the relics
• Original stupa was built over and doubled in size– Mud and clay was encased in stone
– Gateways added at the cardinal points with carvings of the Buddha’s life and teachings on them
• Surrounded by a fence, interior walkway circles around dome
• Devotees walked around the stupa in a clockwise fashion-meant to be meditative and to symbolize the circle of life– Circumambulation
• Stupas evolved into pagoda forms
Buddha Preaching the First
Sermon, 5th c. CE,
sandstone. Sarnath,
India
• Yoga position, preaching hand gesture (mudra)
• Predella has a narrative about Buddha’s life and the Wheel, which is a symbol for teaching
• Boddhisattvas in nimbus
• Buddha often represented the same way throughout history: seated, frontal, elongated ears, symmetrical, mudras, topknot