Ramagrama stupa ( ne, रामग्राम नगरपालिका, also Ramgram, Rāmgrām, Rāmagrāma) is a

stupa A stupa ( sa, स्तूप, lit=heap, ) is a mound-like or hemispherical structure containing relics (such as ''śarīra'' – typically the remains of Buddhist monks or nuns) that is used as a place of meditation. In Buddhism, circum ...

located in Ramgram Municipality, in the

Parasi District Nawalparasi (West of Bardaghat Susta) district or Nawalparasi West, as known commonly ( ne, नवलपरासी (बर्दघाट सुस्ता पश्चिम) वा नवलपरासी पश्चिम ), also frequent ...

Nepal Nepal (; ne, नेपाल ), formerly the Federal Democratic Republic of Nepal ( ne, सङ्घीय लोकतान्त्रिक गणतन्त्र नेपाल ), is a landlocked country in South Asia. It is ma ...

. This

Buddhist pilgrimage The most important places in Buddhism are located in the Indo-Gangetic Plain of northern India and southern Nepal, in the area between New Delhi and Rajgir. This is the area where Gautama Buddha lived and taught, and the main sites connected ...

site containing

relics In religion, a relic is an object or article of religious significance from the past. It usually consists of the physical remains of a saint or the personal effects of the saint or venerated person preserved for purposes of veneration as a tangi ...

Gautama Buddha Siddhartha Gautama, most commonly referred to as the Buddha, was a wandering ascetic and religious teacher who lived in South Asia during the 6th or 5th century BCE and founded Buddhism. According to Buddhist tradition, he was born in L ...

was constructed between the

Mauryan The Maurya Empire, or the Mauryan Empire, was a geographically extensive Iron Age historical power in the Indian subcontinent based in Magadha, having been founded by Chandragupta Maurya in 322 BCE, and existing in loose-knit fashion until 1 ...

and

Gupta Gupta () is a common surname or last name of Indian origin. It is based on the Sanskrit word गोप्तृ ''goptṛ'', which means 'guardian' or 'protector'. According to historian R. C. Majumdar, the surname ''Gupta'' was adopted by sev ...

periods, according to research by Nepal’s Department of Archaeology.

History

Gautama Buddha's parents were from two different mahājanapadās (kingdoms) of the

Solar dynasty The Solar dynasty ( IAST: Suryavaṃśa or Ravivaṃśa in Sanskrit) or the Ikshvaku dynasty was founded by the legendary king Ikshvaku.Geography of Rigvedic India, M.L. Bhargava, Lucknow 1964, pp. 15-18, 46-49, 92-98, 100-/1, 136 The dynasty is ...

— his father (

Śuddhodana Śuddhodana (; Pali: ''Suddhōdana''), meaning "he who grows pure rice," was the father of Siddhartha Gautama, better known as the Buddha. He was a leader of the Shakya, who lived in an oligarchic republic, with their capital at Kapilavastu. ...

) belonged to the

Shakya Shakya ( Pāḷi: ; sa, शाक्य, translit=Śākya) was an ancient eastern sub-Himalayan ethnicity and clan of north-eastern region of the Indian subcontinent, whose existence is attested during the Iron Age. The Shakyas were organised ...

kingdom, while his mother (

Maya Maya may refer to: Civilizations * Maya peoples, of southern Mexico and northern Central America ** Maya civilization, the historical civilization of the Maya peoples ** Maya language, the languages of the Maya peoples * Maya (Ethiopia), a popul ...

) was from the

Koliya Koliya (Pāli: ) was an ancient Indo-Aryan clan of north-eastern South Asia whose existence is attested during the Iron Age. The Koliyas were organised into a (an aristocratic oligarchic republic), presently referred to as the Koliya Repub ...

kingdom. According to

Buddhist texts Buddhist texts are those religious texts which belong to the Buddhist tradition. The earliest Buddhist texts were not committed to writing until some centuries after the death of Gautama Buddha. The oldest surviving Buddhist manuscripts ...

, after Buddha's Mahaparinirvana, his cremated remains were divided and distributed among the princes of eight of the sixteen mahājanapadās. Each of the princes constructed a stupa at or near his capital city, within which the respective portion of the ashes was enshrined. These eight stupas were located at: #

Allakappa Allakappa was, in Buddhist tradition, one of the eight republics to whom were given the relics of the Buddha upon his death, or Parinirvana.Buddhist Architecture, Lee Huu Phuoc, Grafikol 2009, p.140-174 Initially, the relics had been kept exclusi ...

, a settlement of the Bulī people. The precise location of this place is not currently known. # Kapilavastu, capital city of the

kingdom (the location of this stupa is the subject of some controversy; there is evidence it was actually constructed at

Piprahwa Piprahwa is a village near Siddharthnagar city in Siddharthnagar district of the Indian state of Uttar Pradesh. Kalanamak rice, a scented and spicy variety of rice is grown in this area. It lies in the heart of the historical Buddha's homela ...

) # Kusinārā, capital city of one of the two Malla republics # Pāvā, capital city of the other Malla republics #

Rājagaha Rajgir, meaning "The City of Kings," is a historic town in the district of Nalanda in Bihar, India. As the ancient seat and capital of the Haryanka dynasty, the Pradyota dynasty, the Brihadratha dynasty and the Mauryan Empire, as well as the d ...

a major city of the

Magadha Magadha was a region and one of the sixteen sa, script=Latn, Mahajanapadas, label=none, lit=Great Kingdoms of the Second Urbanization (600–200 BCE) in what is now south Bihar (before expansion) at the eastern Ganges Plain. Magadha was rul ...

kingdom # Rāmagrāma, a major city of the

kingdom (this settlement is sometimes referred to as ''Koliyanagara'') # Vesāli, capital city of the

Vajjika League The Vajjika ( Pāli: ) or Vrijika ( Sanskrit: ) League, Confederacy, or Sangha, also called simply Vajji ( Pāli: ) or Vriji ( Sanskrit: ), was an ancient Indo-Aryan tribal league which existed during the later Iron Age period in north-east ...

# Veṭhadīpa, a settlement of Veṭhadīpaka Brahmins. The precise location of this place is not currently known. Some 300 years later, Emperor

Ashoka Ashoka (, ; also ''Asoka''; 304 – 232 BCE), popularly known as Ashoka the Great, was the third emperor of the Maurya Empire of Indian subcontinent during to 232 BCE. His empire covered a large part of the Indian subcontinent, s ...

opened seven of these stupas and removed the Buddha relics (his goal was to redistribute the relics into 84,000 stupas which he planned to construct throughout the

Maurya Empire The Maurya Empire, or the Mauryan Empire, was a geographically extensive Iron Age historical power in the Indian subcontinent based in Magadha, having been founded by Chandragupta Maurya in 322 BCE, and existing in loose-knit fashion until ...

). According to legend, the serpent king was guarding the Ramagrama stupa, and prevented Ashoka from unearthing the relic, making it one of the eight undisturbed stupas.

Archaeological research

To this day, Ramagrama stupa remains the only intact and original stupa containing relics of Buddha. The stupa has been an object of great reverence and pilgrimage site since its original construction. The stupa is now buried under a mound of earth and is awaiting further research. The dimensions of the stupa complex are 10m high and 23.5m in diameter. A geophysical survey revealed a perfect quadrangular Kushan monastery buried below the surface, whose dense concentration of brick prevented crops from growing, leading to the area being known as an "unlucky field".

World Heritage Status

This site was added to the

World Heritage A World Heritage Site is a landmark or area with legal protection by an international convention administered by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO). World Heritage Sites are designated by UNESCO for ...

Tentative List by

UNESCO The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization is a List of specialized agencies of the United Nations, specialized agency of the United Nations (UN) aimed at promoting world peace and security through international coope ...

on May 23, 1996 in the Cultural category.

Gallery

Ramgram Stupa 8.jpg, statue and entrance gate at Ramagrama stupa Ramgram Stupa Gate Statue.jpg, statue and entrance gate at Ramagrama stupa Ramgram Stupa Entry View2.jpg, pathway leading to Ramagrama stupa Ramgram Stupa 12.jpg, view of Ramagrama stupa Ramgram Stupa 4.jpg, view of Ramagrama stupa Ramagrama Stupa.jpg, sacred Bodhi tree (''

Ficus religiosa ''Ficus religiosa'' or sacred fig is a species of fig native to the Indian subcontinent and Indochina that belongs to Moraceae, the fig or mulberry family. It is also known as the bodhi tree, pippala tree, peepul tree, peepal tree, pipal tree ...

'') at Ramagrama stupa Ramgram Stupa 15.jpg, sacred Bodhi tree at Ramagrama stupa Stupa of Ramagrama - Bottom Architrave - Rear Side - East Gateway - Stupa 1 - Sanchi Hill 2013-02-21 4464.JPG, a

bas-relief Relief is a sculptural method in which the sculpted pieces are bonded to a solid background of the same material. The term '' relief'' is from the Latin verb ''relevo'', to raise. To create a sculpture in relief is to give the impression that th ...

of the Ramagrama stupa, from the east gateway of Great Stupa at

Sanchi Sanchi is a Buddhist complex, famous for its Great Stupa, on a hilltop at Sanchi Town in Raisen District of the State of Madhya Pradesh, India. It is located, about 23 kilometres from Raisen town, district headquarter and north-east of Bh ...

, in

Raisen District Raisen District is a district of Madhya Pradesh state of India. The town of Raisen is the district headquarters. The district is part of Bhopal Division. Sanchi University of Buddhist-Indic Studies is the first international university located ...

of the

State State may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Literature * ''State Magazine'', a monthly magazine published by the U.S. Department of State * ''The State'' (newspaper), a daily newspaper in Columbia, South Carolina, United States * ''Our S ...

Madhya Pradesh Madhya Pradesh (, ; meaning 'central province') is a state in central India. Its capital is Bhopal, and the largest city is Indore, with Jabalpur, Ujjain, Gwalior, Sagar, and Rewa being the other major cities. Madhya Pradesh is the second ...

, India Ramagrama lintel.jpg, left, a bas-relief of the Ramagrama stupa, from the Catalogue of the Museum of Archaeology at Sarnath in 1914

References

External links

Ramgram Stupa, the Buddha relic stupa of NepalRamgram Stupa ko Behal-Nawalparsi
(video in Nepali language) {{Buddhist temples in Nepal 5th-century BC establishments in Nepal Archaeological sites in Nepal Buddhist pilgrimage sites in Nepal Buddhist relics Buildings and structures in Parasi District Nāgas Religious buildings and structures in Nepal Stupas in Nepal