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Dhame k Stup a | Imag e Cre d its : Sap ru

Sreenyanika Das

Buddhist Stupas in India you should take a visit to

Bef ore I start helping you out in the adventure of knowing about Stupas, let me tell you what a Stupa really is. AStupa (Sanskrit) is a mound-like or semi hemispherical structure built with underdone bricks used of tensurrounded by a brick f ence by Buddhists f or meditation. There are f ive kinds of stupas classif ication basedon f unctions: relic stupa (relics or remains of Buddha and his disciples), object stupa (objects belonged toBuddha and his disciples), commemorative stupa (built to commemorate the events in the lif e of Buddha),symbolic stupa (to symbolize aspects of Buddhist theology) and votive stupa (in order to gain spiritualbenef its, these are regularly visited).

Some of the important Buddhist Stupas in India that you should plan a visit to have been summarised below:

Dhamek Stupa: this stupa is of a cylindrical shape, located in Sarnath and it is said to mark the spot of a deerpark (Rishipattana) where the Buddha gave the f irst sermon to his f ive disciples af ter accomplishingenlightenment, ”revealing his Eightf old Path leading to nirvana”. The stupa was enlarged on six occasions butthe upper part is still unf inished.

Sanchi Stupa: Sanchistupa is located in Sanchi.The Sanchi Stupa is theoldest stone structure inIndia. It was originallycommissioned by theemperor Ashoka the Greatin 3rd century BC. It is builtover a relic of Buddha. Thechatra( a parasol- likestructure) as a crown at thetop of the stupa signif ieshigh-rank, which is used tohonour and protect therelics.

Sanchi Stup a | Imag e Cre d its : Eile e n

Shanti Stup a | Imag e Cre d its : Tushar Kanti

Buddha at its basepreservedby The14th DalaiLamahimself .The stupais a greattouristattractionas it givesanunmatchedpanoramicview of the

surroundings.

Deur Kotha: It is located inMadhya Pradesh and is alsocredited to the Mauryan Emperor Ashoka the great.

Bojannakonda: Located45kms away f romVishakhapatnam, it isbelieved to be madebetween 4th to 9th centuryAD that’s when the threephases of Buddhism(Hinayana, Mahayana andVajrayana) f lourished inSangharam (nowSankaram).

Kushinagar: This sacredplace is located inGorakhpur, Uttar Pradesh.This is where GautamaBuddha attained hisParinirvana af ter his death.

Burme se Pag o d a in Kushinag ar | Imag e cre d its : Shub h Sing h

Nagarjunakonda: Locatedin Andhra Pradesh, it is veryrich in history even one ofthe richest place f or thehistory of Buddhism. It isnear the Nagarjunasagar.

There are Amaravati Stupa,Kesaria Stupa (Bihar),Pavurallakonda (nearVishakhapatnam),Thotlakonda (nearVishakhapatnam),Salihundum (AndhraPradesh) Chaukhandi Stupa(Sarnath, Uttar Pradesh)etc. which are also of greatinterest towards thetourists.

So these are some stupasyou can really include in your travel list. Visit ing these places can grant you mental peace, spirituality, goodamount of history and so much more.