Sanchi Stupa No.2
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The Stupa No. 2 at
Sanchi Sanchi Stupa is a Buddhist art, Buddhist complex, famous for its Great Stupa, on a hilltop at Sanchi Town in Raisen District of the States and territories of India, State of Madhya Pradesh, India. It is located, about 23 kilometers from Raisen ...
, also called Sanchi II, is one of the oldest existing Buddhist
stupa In Buddhism, a stupa (, ) is a domed hemispherical structure containing several types of sacred relics, including images, statues, metals, and '' śarīra''—the remains of Buddhist monks or nuns. It is used as a place of pilgrimage and m ...
s in India, and part of the Buddhist complex of Sanchi in Madhya Pradesh. It is of particular interest since it has the earliest known important displays of decorative reliefs in India, probably anterior to the reliefs at the
Mahabodhi Temple The Mahabodhi Temple (literally: "Great Awakening Temple") or the Mahābodhi Mahāvihāra, a UNESCO World Heritage Site, is an ancient, but restored Buddhist temple in Bodh Gaya, Bihar, India, marking the location where the Buddha is said to hav ...
in
Bodh Gaya Bodh Gayā is a religious site and place of pilgrimage associated with the Mahabodhi Temple complex, situated in the Gaya district in the Indian States and union territories of India, state of Bihar. It is famous for being the place where Gautam ...
, or the reliefs of
Bharhut Bharhut is a village in the Satna district of Madhya Pradesh, central India. It is known for a Buddhist stupa, unique in that each panel is explicitly labelled in Brahmi characters saying what the panel depicts. The major donor for the Bharhut st ...
.Alexander Peter Bell ''Didactic Narration: Jataka Iconography in Dunhuang with a Catalogue of Jataka Representations in China''. LIT Verlag Münster, 200
p.15ff
/ref> It displays what has been called "the oldest extensive stupa decoration in existence"."The railing of Sanchi Stupa No.2, which represents the oldest extensive stupa decoration in existence, (and) dates from about the second century B.C.E" John Clifford Holt, Jacob N. Kinnard & Jonathan S. Walters, ''Constituting Communities: Theravada Buddhism and the Religious Cultures of South and Southeast Asia''. SUNY Press, 201
p.197
/ref> Stupa II at Sanchi is therefore considered as the birthplace of
Jataka The ''Jātaka'' (Sanskrit for "Birth-Related" or "Birth Stories") are a voluminous body of literature native to the Indian subcontinent which mainly concern the previous births of Gautama Buddha in both human and animal form. Jataka stories we ...
illustrations.


Foundation

Stupa No. 2 is located in the Buddhist complex of
Sanchi Sanchi Stupa is a Buddhist art, Buddhist complex, famous for its Great Stupa, on a hilltop at Sanchi Town in Raisen District of the States and territories of India, State of Madhya Pradesh, India. It is located, about 23 kilometers from Raisen ...
. It was probably founded later than the Great Stupa (Stupa number 1) at Sanchi, but it contained reliquaries dated to the
Mauryan Empire The Maurya Empire was a geographically extensive Iron Age historical power in South Asia with its power base in Magadha. Founded by Chandragupta Maurya around c. 320 BCE, it existed in loose-knit fashion until 185 BCE. The primary sourc ...
period (323-185 BCE), and it was the earliest to receive decorative reliefs, about a century earlier than Stupa Nb 1. One of the key indicators to date Sanchi Stupa No.2 has been the similarity of its architectural motifs with those of
Heliodorus pillar The Heliodorus pillar is a stone column that was erected around 113 BCE in central India in Besnagar (Vidisha), Madhya Pradesh. The pillar is commonly named after Heliodorus (identified by him as a Garuda-standard), who was an ambassador of the In ...
, which is datable to circa 113 BCE due to its establishment during the rule of
Indo-Greek The Indo-Greek Kingdom, also known as the Yavana Kingdom, was a Hellenistic period, Hellenistic-era Ancient Greece, Greek kingdom covering various parts of modern-day Afghanistan, Pakistan and northwestern India. The term "Indo-Greek Kingdom" ...
Antialcidas Antialcidas Nikephoros (; epithet means "the Bearer of Victory" or "the Victorious", Brahmi: 𑀅𑀁𑀢𑀮𑀺𑀓𑀺𑀢𑀲 ''Aṃtalikitasa'', in the Heliodorus Pillar) was a king of the Indo-Greek Kingdom, who reigned from his capital at ...
, as well as similarities of the
paleography Palaeography (American and British English spelling differences#ae and oe, UK) or paleography (American and British English spelling differences#ae and oe, US) (ultimately from , , 'old', and , , 'to write') is the study and academic disciplin ...
of the inscriptions. The Stupa is located outside of the main complex of Sanchi, about 300 meters to the west, on the slope of Sanchi hill.Monuments Of Sanchi Vol.1, John Marshal
p.79ff
/ref> It is located in a lower position than Stupa 1 because the relics it contained, are those of church dignitaries from the time of
Ashoka Ashoka, also known as Asoka or Aśoka ( ; , ; – 232 BCE), and popularly known as Ashoka the Great, was List of Mauryan emperors, Emperor of Magadha from until #Death, his death in 232 BCE, and the third ruler from the Mauryan dynast ...
, who were considered as worthy of a lower position than the Buddha himself in Stupa number 1, or his disciples in Stupa number 3.


Relics

The Stupa contained a relic box with four small caskets of
steatite Soapstone (also known as steatite or soaprock) is a talc-schist, which is a type of metamorphic rock. It is composed largely of the magnesium-rich mineral talc. It is produced by dynamothermal metamorphism and metasomatism, which occur in subdu ...
inside, containing human bones. An inscription in early
Brahmi Brahmi ( ; ; ISO: ''Brāhmī'') is a writing system from ancient India. "Until the late nineteenth century, the script of the Aśokan (non-Kharosthi) inscriptions and its immediate derivatives was referred to by various names such as 'lath' or ...
was found on the relic box, mentioning that it contained "the relics of all teachers, including Kasapagota and Vachi-Suvijayita". Besides, ten saints were mentioned on the caskets, who either participated to the
Third Buddhist Council Since the Mahaparinirvana of the historical Buddha, Siddhartha Gautama, Buddhist monastic communities, the "''sangha''", have periodically convened for doctrinal and disciplinary reasons and to revise and correct the contents of the Buddhist c ...
held under
Ashoka Ashoka, also known as Asoka or Aśoka ( ; , ; – 232 BCE), and popularly known as Ashoka the Great, was List of Mauryan emperors, Emperor of Magadha from until #Death, his death in 232 BCE, and the third ruler from the Mauryan dynast ...
, or were sent as emissaries to the
Himalayas The Himalayas, or Himalaya ( ), is a mountain range in Asia, separating the plains of the Indian subcontinent from the Tibetan Plateau. The range has some of the Earth's highest peaks, including the highest, Mount Everest. More than list of h ...
to preach the Buddhist doctrine. Among them is a "Mogaliputa", who may be Mogaliputa Tissa, who presided the Third Buddhist Council, but this is disputed.


Content of the reliefs

Typically, the earliest medallions at Sanchi are dated to 115 BC, while the more extensive pillar carvings are dated to around 80 BC,Buddhist Landscapes in Central India: Sanchi Hill and Archaeologies of Religious and Social Change, C. Third Century BC to Fifth Century AD, by Julia Shaw, Left Coast Press, 201
p.90
/ref> or almost a century later than the first ones, around 15 BCE.


Early period (circa 115 BCE)

These reliefs from the early period of Sanchi II (circa 115 BCE) are the earliest known examples of Indian stone reliefs.Buddhist Landscapes in Central India: Sanchi Hill and Archaeologies of Religious and Social Change, C. Third Century BC to Fifth Century AD, Julia Shaw, Left Coast Press, 201
p.88ff
/ref> ;First Jatakas One relief of a horse-headed woman, similar to another one at the
Mahabodhi Temple The Mahabodhi Temple (literally: "Great Awakening Temple") or the Mahābodhi Mahāvihāra, a UNESCO World Heritage Site, is an ancient, but restored Buddhist temple in Bodh Gaya, Bihar, India, marking the location where the Buddha is said to hav ...
of
Bodh Gaya Bodh Gayā is a religious site and place of pilgrimage associated with the Mahabodhi Temple complex, situated in the Gaya district in the Indian States and union territories of India, state of Bihar. It is famous for being the place where Gautam ...
, is thought to be the first known representation of a
Jataka The ''Jātaka'' (Sanskrit for "Birth-Related" or "Birth Stories") are a voluminous body of literature native to the Indian subcontinent which mainly concern the previous births of Gautama Buddha in both human and animal form. Jataka stories we ...
(a story of a previous life of the Buddha), the Padakusalamanava Jataka, in which a horse-headed ogress falls in love with one of her preys, and the
Bodhisattva In Buddhism, a bodhisattva is a person who has attained, or is striving towards, '' bodhi'' ('awakening', 'enlightenment') or Buddhahood. Often, the term specifically refers to a person who forgoes or delays personal nirvana or ''bodhi'' in ...
(the future Buddha) is born of their union. These first attempts at narrative art are
aniconic Aniconism is the cultural absence of artistic representations (''icons'') of the natural and supernatural worlds, or it is the absence of representations of certain figures in religions. The prohibition of material representations may only extend ...
, as they do not represent the Buddha directly, but only his appearance in previous lives, or his symbols. These are altogether 455 medallions and half-medallions, or which 293 consist in lotus flowers, and 126 in a lotus with another motif. Only 36 of the medallions have another subject. For the first time, clearly Buddhist themes are represented, particularly the four events in the life of the Buddha that are: the Nativity, the Enlightenment, the First Sermon and the Decease. Some authors consider these reliefs as the prelude (the " prolegomenon") of the iconography of the reliefs in
Bharhut Bharhut is a village in the Satna district of Madhya Pradesh, central India. It is known for a Buddhist stupa, unique in that each panel is explicitly labelled in Brahmi characters saying what the panel depicts. The major donor for the Bharhut st ...
(100-80 BCE) and of the later and much more evolved depictions on the toranas of the Great Stupa in Sanchi (1st century BCE/CE).


Influence from the northwest

It is thought that the earliest reliefs from the last quarter of the 2nd century BCE were produced by craftsmen from the area of
Gandhara Gandhara () was an ancient Indo-Aryan people, Indo-Aryan civilization in present-day northwest Pakistan and northeast Afghanistan. The core of the region of Gandhara was the Peshawar valley, Peshawar (Pushkalawati) and Swat valleys extending ...
in northwestern Indian, a central
Indo-Greek The Indo-Greek Kingdom, also known as the Yavana Kingdom, was a Hellenistic period, Hellenistic-era Ancient Greece, Greek kingdom covering various parts of modern-day Afghanistan, Pakistan and northwestern India. The term "Indo-Greek Kingdom" ...
region, because they left mason's marks in
Kharoshthi Kharosthi script (), also known as the Gandhari script (), was an ancient script originally developed in the Gandhara Region of modern-day Pakistan, between the 5th and 3rd century BCE. used primarily by the people of Gandhara alongside vari ...
(a script used around the area of Gandhara), as opposed to the local
Brahmi Brahmi ( ; ; ISO: ''Brāhmī'') is a writing system from ancient India. "Until the late nineteenth century, the script of the Aśokan (non-Kharosthi) inscriptions and its immediate derivatives was referred to by various names such as 'lath' or ...
script. This seems to imply that these foreign workers were responsible for some of the earliest and sometimes quite foreign motifs and figures that can be found on the railings of the stupa.An Encyclopaedia of Indian Archaeology, by
Amalananda Ghosh Amalananda Ghosh (3 March 1910 – 1981) was an Indian archaeologist, author and editor of numerous works on India's ancient civilizations, and the organizer and director of archaeological expeditions during the mid-1900s. Education Ghosh was ...
, BRIL
p.295
/ref> Around the time of the first reliefs at Stupa II, in 115 BCE, the embassy of Heliodorus from the
Indo-Greek The Indo-Greek Kingdom, also known as the Yavana Kingdom, was a Hellenistic period, Hellenistic-era Ancient Greece, Greek kingdom covering various parts of modern-day Afghanistan, Pakistan and northwestern India. The term "Indo-Greek Kingdom" ...
king of
Taxila Taxila or Takshashila () is a city in the Pothohar region of Punjab, Pakistan. Located in the Taxila Tehsil of Rawalpindi District, it lies approximately northwest of the Islamabad–Rawalpindi metropolitan area and is just south of the ...
named Antialkidas, visited the court of the Sungas king
Bhagabhadra Bhagabhadra ( Brāhmī: 𑀪𑀸𑀕𑀪𑀤𑁆𑀭 , ) was a Shunga Emperor who reigned in northern and central India from around 114 BCE to 83 BCE. Although the capital of the Shungas was at Pataliputra, he was also known to have held court a ...
in
Vidisha Vidisha (विदिशा, formerly known as Bhelsa and known as Besnagar and Bhaddilpur in ancient times) is a city in Indian state of Madhya Pradesh and the administrative headquarters of Vidisha district. It is located 62.5 km north ...
, about 6 km away from Sanchi. In Vidisha, Heliodorus established the
Heliodorus pillar The Heliodorus pillar is a stone column that was erected around 113 BCE in central India in Besnagar (Vidisha), Madhya Pradesh. The pillar is commonly named after Heliodorus (identified by him as a Garuda-standard), who was an ambassador of the In ...
in a dedication to
Vāsudeva Vāsudeva (; ), later incorporated as Vāsudeva-Krishna (, "Krishna, son of Vasudeva Anakadundubhi, Vasudeva"),"While the earliest piece of evidence do not yet use the name Krsna...." in At the time of the Heliodorus pillar dedication to Vāsu ...
. This would indicate that relations between the Indo-Greeks and the Sungas had improved by that time, that people traveled between the two realms, and also that the Indo-Greeks readily followed Indian religions.


Floral designs

The vast majority of the oldest medallions and half-medallions (293 out of 455) simply consist of a lotus motif. A further 126 additional medallions and half medallions represent a lotus with another motif. Some motifs take on Hellenistic decorative forms.


Buddhist symbols

Among the medallions, purely Buddhist symbols are quite rare. However, motifs of
triratna In Buddhism, refuge or taking refuge refers to a religious practice which often includes a prayer or recitation performed at the beginning of the day or of a practice session. Its object is typically the Three Jewels (also known as the Triple ...
s and
palmette The palmette is a motif in decorative art which, in its most characteristic expression, resembles the fan-shaped leaves of a palm tree. It has a far-reaching history, originating in ancient Egypt with a subsequent development through the art o ...
s (already visible in the
Pataliputra capital The Pataliputra capital is a monumental rectangular capital with volutes and Classical Greek designs, that was discovered in the palace ruins of the ancient Mauryan Empire capital city of Pataliputra (modern Patna, Eastern India). It is dated t ...
, 3rd century BCE) appear in places, amidst multiple lotus motifs.


Later period (circa 15 BCE)

About a century later, some more descriptive reliefs were added, and often superimposed on the earlier ones, which clearly show the evolution of Buddhist art during the intervening period. This time, the reliefs are much more Buddhist in character, and are contemporary with the reliefs on the
torana A ''torana'' (; '' awr-uh-nuh') is a free-standing ornamental or arched gateway for ceremonial purposes in Hindu architecture, Hindu, Buddhist and Jain architecture of the Indian subcontinent. Toranas can also be widely seen in Southeast Asi ...
gateways of the Great Stupa at Sanchi.


Dedicatory inscriptions

There are also numerous dedicatory inscriptions on the railings of Stupa II in the
Brahmi script Brahmi ( ; ; ISO 15919, ISO: ''Brāhmī'') is a writing system from ancient India. "Until the late nineteenth century, the script of the Aśokan (non-Kharosthi) inscriptions and its immediate derivatives was referred to by various names such as ...
, in a style similar to the Bharhut Stupa. The similarity in paleography suggests that Sanchi Stupa No. 2 and Bharhut were roughly coeval.


References


External links

{{Commons category, Sanchi Stupa number 2
Google Street View tour of Sanchi Stupa No.2
Tourist attractions in Raisen district World Heritage Sites in India Mauryan art Indian architectural history Stupas in India Buddha statues in India Buddhist sites in Madhya Pradesh World Heritage Sites in Madhya Pradesh Indian Buddhist sculpture