Everything about Sanchi can be described in a single word, simply splendid. Be it the beautiful descriptions on the four gates of the stupas or the famour Ashoka pillar or even the remains of the educational institute, everything in this place radiates a calmness invoking the divine presence. I spent some wonderful hours on a winter Sunday morning watching my mind completely bewitched by the radiance of Sanchi. Now, a world heritage centra, Sanchi Stupa is a grandeur in itself! The historians say that though Sanchi Stupa was built by Emperor Ashoka, it’s hardly mentioned in any of the doctrines. Stupa was built by emperor Ashoka around third century BC and Lord Buddha lived in 5th century BC. Its believed that Lord Buddha never visited Sanchi.
The Hill of Sanchi is situated about 9 kilometres south-west of Vidisha in Madhaya Pradesh, India. Crowning the hilltop of Sanchi nearly 91 metres in height, a group of Buddhist monuments commands a grand view even from a distance. It is unique not only in its having the most perfect and well-preserved stupas but also in its offering a wide and educative field for the study of the genesis, efflorescence and decay of Buddhist art and architecture for a period of about thirteen hundred years, from the third century B.C. to the twelfth century, A.D., almost covering the whole range of Indian Buddhism.
Pic : Medhini Seshadri
