Buddhist Monuments at Sanchi
 Sanchi is situated at a distance of 46 km from Bhopal in central India, and houses the best examples of Buddhist art and architecture. The remains of the Buddhist monuments of Sanchi include tupas, pillar, temples and monasteries. Stupas are large hemispherical domes with central chambers where relics of the Buddha are placed. The site had been left abandoned and was overrun with vegetation when it was discovered in 1818. Statues of Buddha did not exist at that time because people worshipped the Stupa as a symbol of Buddha instead. Canopy layers known as Chatra at the top of the stupa represent Buddha’s past, present and future. This place is visited by pilgrims fro far-off places for religious point of view.
The great Stupa is surrounded by a railing with four gateways known as “Torana” covering the each side of the stupa. The decorative relief portrays the world of ancient Buddhism. A Yakshi Goddess is carved on the east gate. She’s a Goddess of the Forest worshipped long before Buddhism. This Yaksha, a God of the Forest was carved on the west gate. He is believed to be the origin of the later God figure, Vaisravana. On the north gate there are carvings of people worshipping the Stupa. They’re making offerings, playing instruments and worshipping. Relief work on the south gate shows how people fought over the Buddha’s remains. After the war they were divided into 8 parts, and later divided into 84 thousand parts. This process allowed Buddhists to build numerous Stupas throughout Asia.
On these stone carvings, the Buddha was never depicted as a human figure. People then believed that he was an enlightened supreme being and should not be depicted as human. The horse on which he left his palace and renounced worldly goods is represented by the soles of his feet and an umbrella. Buddha is represented in many different symbols, and has been represented as a tree symbolizing his enlightenment, a lotus representing his birth, and a wheel representing his Nirvana or salvation. This wheel is known as the “Wheel of Law”, which represents Buddha and his teachings.
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