A report on Sanchi

Plan of the monuments of the hill of Sanchi, numbered 1 to 50.
The Ashoka pillar at Sanchi.
The capital of the Sanchi pillar of Ashoka, as discovered (left), and simulation of original appearance (right). It is very similar to the Lion Capital of Ashoka at Sarnath, except for the abacus, here adorned with flame palmettes and facing geese, 250 BCE. Sanchi Archaeological Museum.
by later illustrations among the Sanchi reliefs
The Great Stupa under the Sungas. The Sungas nearly doubled the diameter of the initial stupa, encasing it in stone, and built a balustrade and a railing around it.
Foreigner on a horse, circa 115 BCE, Stupa No2.
Sunga period railings were initially blank (left: Great Stupa), and only started to be decorated circa 115 BCE with Stupa No.2 (right).
Sunga pillar No25 with own capital on the side.
Siri-Satakani inscription
Cave No.19
The Worship of the Bodhisattva's hair
Vedisakehi damtakārehi rupakammam katam
The Great Stupa at the time of the Satavahanas.
Temptation of the Buddha, with the Buddha on the left (symbolized by his throne only) surrounded by rejoicing devotees, Mara and his daughters (center), and the demons of Mara fleeing (right).
War over the Buddha's Relics, kept by the city of Kushinagar, South Gate, Stupa no.1, Sanchi.
King Ashoka visits Ramagrama, to take relics of the Buddha from the Nagas, but he failed, the Nagas being too powerful. Southern gateway, Stupa 1, Southern Gateway, Sanchi.
Ashoka in grief, supported by his two queens, in a relief at Sanchi. Stupa 1, Southern gateway. The identification with Ashoka is confirm by a similar relief from Kanaganahalli inscribed "Raya Asoko".
Bodhi tree temple depicted in Sanchi, Stupa 1, Southern gateway.
Temple for the Bodhi Tree (Eastern Gateway).
foreigners illustrated at Sanchi worshiping the Great Stupa
Foreigners worshiping Stupa
Greek travelling costume
Another one
Miracle at Kapilavastu
Miracle of the Buddha walking on the river Nairanjana
Procession of king Suddhodana from Kapilavastu
"The promenade of the Buddha", or Chankrama, used to depict the Buddha in motion in Buddhist aniconism.
Bimbisara with his royal cortege issuing from the city of Rajagriha to visit the Buddha
Foreigners making a dedication at the Southern Gateway of Stupa No 1
Stupas and monasteries at Sanchi in the early centuries of the current era. Reconstruction, 1900
Sanchi inscription of Chandragupta II.
Temple 17: a Gupta period tetrastyle prostyle temple of Classical appearance. 5th century CE
Statue of Padmapani (5th c.or 9th c.) Victoria and Albert Museum.
Pillar 26: one of the two four-lions stambha capitals at Sanchi, with lions, central flame palmette and Wheel of Law (axis, stubs of the spokes and part of the circumference only), initially located at the Northern Gateway of the Great Stupa. Sanchi Archaeological Museum.
Pillar 26: lion pillar capital at time of discovery, with Dharmachakra wheel (reconstitution). Northern Gateway.
this image
Pillar 35 column stump (right), and bell capital with abacus, positioned upside down.
Vajrapani statue of pillar 35, 5th c. CE. Sanchi Archaeological Museum.
Temple 18 at Sanchi, an apsidal hall with Maurya foundations, rebuilt at the time of Harsha (7th century CE).
Temple 45
The Great Stupa as breached by Sir Herbert Maddock in 1822. Watercolor by Frederick Charles Maisey, in 1851.
Ruins of the Southern Gateway, Sanchi in 1875.
A Gate to the Stupa of Sanchi 1932
Chetiyagiri Vihara
Inscribed panel from Sanchi in Brahmi script in the British Museum
The last two letters to the right of this inscription in Brahmi form the word "dǎnam" (donation). This hypothesis permitted the decipherment of the Brahmi script by James Prinsep in 1837.
General view of the Stupas at Sanchi by F.C. Maisey, 1851 (The Great Stupa on top of the hill, and Stupa 2 at the forefront)
The Great Stupa (Stupa No.1), started in the 3rd century BCE
Stupa No.2
Stupa No.3
Buddhist Temple, No.17
Remains of the Ashokan Pillar in polished stone (right of the Southern Gateway), with its Edict.
Sanchi Minor Pillar Edict of Ashoka, in-situ (detail of the previous image).
Remains of the shaft of the pillar of Ashoka, under a shed near the Southern Gateway.
Side view of the capital. Sanchi Archaeological Museum.<ref name="p.25-28 Ashoka pillar"/>
Shunga balustrade and staircase.
Shunga stonework.
Shunga vedika (railing) with inscriptions.
Deambulatory pathway.
Summit railing and umbrellas.
Flame palmette.
Flame palmette and lotus.
Peacock.
Woman riding a Centaur.
Lotus.
Half lotus.
Lion.
Elephant.
Elephant with branch.
Floral motif.
Lakshmi with lotus and two child attendants, probably derived from [[:File:Venus with two cupids 2.jpg|similar images of Venus]]<ref>An Indian Statuette From Pompeii, Mirella Levi D'Ancona, in Artibus Asiae, Vol. 13, No. 3 (1950) p. 171</ref>
Griffin with Brahmi script inscription.
Female riding a Centaur.
Lotus within beads and reels motif.
Stairway and railing.
Lotus medallions.
Floral designs.
Post relief.<ref>Marshall p. 82</ref>
Relics of Sariputra and Mahamoggallana.
Detail of the foreigners, in Greek dress and playing carnyxes and aolus flute. Northern Gateway of Stupa I (detail).
Foreigners holding grapes and riding winged lions, Sanchi Stupa 1, Eastern Gateway.<ref>"The Diffusion of Classical Art in Antiquity, John Boardman, 1993, p. 112 Note 91</ref>
Foreigners riding horses.
Foreign heroe fighting a Makara
Foreigners on horses, wearing headbands, caps and boots. Western gate of Stupa 1.
Hero with headband wrestling a Makara.
Indians riding horses.
Indians riding bulls.
Indians riding bulls.
Queen Maya lustrated by Elephants.
The Buddha represented by the Dharmacakra.
Bodhi Tree.
Winged lion.
Winged lions.
The Buddha represented by the Dharmacakra.
Men and Women on Elephants.
Men and Women on Elephants.
Stupa representing a Buddha.
Lakshmi lustrated by Elephants.
Men on lions.
Men on lions.
2nd panel
3rd panel
Second panel
Bottom panel Dvarapala guardian deity or devotee.
Second panel
Possibly demons, or the attack of Mara.
Second panel
Bottom panel Dvarapala guardian deity or devotee.
2nd panel
3rd panel
A Seated Buddha statue (Gupta temple).
Buddha Statue (Great Stupa).
Seated Buddha (Great Stupa).
Pillar 34 with lion.<ref>Marshall p. 52 Pillar 34</ref>
The winged lion capital of pillar 34 (lost).
Great Stupa, Eastern Gateway, in 1875.
West Gateway in 1882.
South Gateway in 1882.
Great Stupa, Northern Gateway in 1861.
Temple 18 in 1861.
A vision of ancient Indian court life, using motifs from Sanchi (wood engraving, 1878).

Buddhist complex, famous for its Great Stupa, on a hilltop at Sanchi Town in Raisen District of the State of Madhya Pradesh, India.

- Sanchi

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Rudrasena II (256-278 CE). Head right, wearing close-fitting cap / Three-arched hill; group of five pellets to right.

Rudrasena II (Western Satrap)

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King of the Western Satraps, and the 19th ruler of the Kshatrapa dynasty.

King of the Western Satraps, and the 19th ruler of the Kshatrapa dynasty.

Rudrasena II (256-278 CE). Head right, wearing close-fitting cap / Three-arched hill; group of five pellets to right.

The region of Sanchi-Vidisha was again captured from the Satavahanas during the rule of Rudrasena II, as shown by finds of his coinage in the area.

Bhagabhadra

Bhagabhadra

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One of the kings of the Indian Shunga dynasty.

One of the kings of the Indian Shunga dynasty.

Bhagabhadra
The Indo-Greek king Antialcidas was the one who sent an embassy to Bhagabhadra.
Some of the expansion work at the Great Stupa at Sanchi may have been sponsored by Bhagabhadra.

This is also corroborated by some artistic realization on the nearby Sanchi stupa thought to belong to the period of the Shungas.

A silver coin of 1 karshapana of the Maurya empire, period of Bindusara Maurya about 297-273 BC, workshop of Pataliputra. Obv: Symbols with a Sun Rev: Symbol Dimensions: 14 x 11 mm Weight: 3.4 g.

Bindusara

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Bindusara ((r.

Bindusara ((r.

A silver coin of 1 karshapana of the Maurya empire, period of Bindusara Maurya about 297-273 BC, workshop of Pataliputra. Obv: Symbols with a Sun Rev: Symbol Dimensions: 14 x 11 mm Weight: 3.4 g.
Territorial evolution of Magadha and the Maurya Empire between 600 and 180 BCE, including possible expansion under Bindusara prior to 273 BCE.

A fragmentary inscription at Sanchi, in the ruins of the 3rd century BCE Temple 40, perhaps refers to Bindusara, which might suggest his connection with the Buddhist order at Sanchi.

Sridharavarman ruled in an area around Vidisha/Sanchi and Eran, where his inscriptions were found. Probable image of Satyanaga, Sridharavarman's general.

Sridharavarman

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Sridharavarman ruled in an area around Vidisha/Sanchi and Eran, where his inscriptions were found. Probable image of Satyanaga, Sridharavarman's general.
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The "Mahakṣatrapa" title (Brahmi:Gupta ashoka m.svgGupta ashoka h.svgGupta ashoka kss.jpg ashoka tr.jpgGupta ashoka p.svg) given to Sridharavarman in the Eran pillar inscription.
The Kanakerha inscription of Sridharavarman.
Location of the pillar of Sridharavarman with his inscription, in Eran. Coordinates: 24.0864°N, 78.1762°W
inscription of Goparaja
Rudrasimha II ruled the Western Satraps at the time of Sridharavarman.
Samudragupta ruled in the East at the time of Sridharavarman.
The vanquished "Śaka" (Gupta_allahabad_sh.svgGupta_allahabad_k.svg) mentioned by Samudragupta in the Allahabad pillar (Line 23) was probably Sridharavarman.

Sridharavarman (Gupta script:, Shri-dha-ra-va-rmma-na, ruled circa 339-368 CE) was a Saka (Indo-Scythian) ruler of Central India, around the areas of Vidisa, Sanchi and Eran in the 4th century CE, just before the Gupta Empire expansion in these areas.

Udayagiri, Cave 5, Viṣṇu as the Varāha Avatar, general view

Udayagiri Caves

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The Udayagiri Caves are twenty rock-cut caves near Vidisha, Madhya Pradesh from the early years of the 5th century CE.

The Udayagiri Caves are twenty rock-cut caves near Vidisha, Madhya Pradesh from the early years of the 5th century CE.

Udayagiri, Cave 5, Viṣṇu as the Varāha Avatar, general view
The Udayagiri Lion Capital, found near Udayagiri Caves, was first reported by Alexander Cunningham and is now in Gwalior. It is dated to closing decades of 2nd-century BCE, or is possibly a Gupta-period rework of a Mauryan capital.
Location of the Udayagiri Caves in relation to Besnagar, Vidisha, Sanchi and the Heliodorus pillar.
Probable image of Chandragupta II, paying homage to Varaha, avatar of Vishnu, in Udayagiri Caves (Cave 5), circa 400 CE.
Another lion capital from Udayagiri, on the model of the Pillars of Ashoka. Gupta period. Gwalior Fort Archaeological Museum.
5th-century Vishnu at Udayagiri Caves.
Udayagiri temples feature square or near square plans. Above: Plans of Cave 1, 3 and 5.
Cave 1 pillar is second from right; The rightmost pillar is in Cave 19.
Skanda (Kartikeya) sculpture in Cave 3.
Cave 4, Śiva liṅga
Cave 6 Shakti Durga as Mahishasura-mardini.
The Sanskrit inscriptions in Udayagiri caves that help date it to about 401 CE.
Cave 13, reclining Vishnu
One of the earliest known Ganesha reliefs.
Cave 19 inscription by some pilgrim Kanha. The "१०୯३" is Nagari for "1093", a year that is 1036-37 in Georgian calendar.
Inscription in the Jaina cave 20.

The region of Udayagiri and Vidisha was a Buddhist and Bhagavata site by the 2nd century BCE as evidenced by the stupas of Sanchi and the Heliodorus pillar.

Architecture of a Hindu temple (Nagara style). These core elements are evidenced in the oldest surviving 5th–6th century CE temples.

Hindu temple architecture

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Inner sanctum, the garbha griha or womb-chamber, where the primary Murti or the image of a deity is housed in a simple bare cell.

Inner sanctum, the garbha griha or womb-chamber, where the primary Murti or the image of a deity is housed in a simple bare cell.

Architecture of a Hindu temple (Nagara style). These core elements are evidenced in the oldest surviving 5th–6th century CE temples.
The Meenakshi temple complex of Madurai, mostly built between 1623 and 1655 CE, a large complex in the Dravidian architecture of South India, dominated by gopuram gatehouse towers. The two main shrines are much smaller, with gold tops.
A Badami Shiva temple in Karnataka.
Kailasanatha temple, remarkably carved out of one single rock was built by Rashtrakuta king Krishna I (r. 756–773 CE)
17th-century palm leaf manuscript page on temple building, Odisha.
The 8×8 (64) grid Manduka Hindu Temple Floor Plan, according to Vastupurusamandala. The 64 grid is the most sacred and common Hindu temple template. The bright saffron centre, where diagonals intersect above, represents the Purusha of Hindu philosophy.
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Dashavatara temple sculpture at Deogarh, completed about 500 CE.
Architecture of the Khajuraho temples
Dravidian (South Indian) Hindu Temple Architecture
Navlakha Temple, Ghumli, Gujarat, 12th century
Devotions in the Swaminarayan temple in Houston, Texas (2004)
The profile of the 13th-century Po Klong Garai Temple near Phan Rang includes all the buildings typical of a Cham temple. From left to right one can see the gopura, the saddle-shaped kosagrha, and mandapa attached to the kalan tower.
Nashik Maharashtra temple, cross section and plan (1910 sketch)
Vrindavan Uttar Pradesh temple plan
Khajuraho Madhya Pradesh temple plan
Puri Odisha temple complex plan
Bhubneshwar Odisha, a smaller temple plan
Halebidu Karnataka temple plan
Chidambaram Tamil Nadu temple plan
Thiruvallur, Tamil Hindu temple complex
Mandapa of a temple in South India. Much temple sculpture was originally painted.
Stepped floorplan of Dattatreya Temple (one side of the shrine) with five projections at Chattarki in Gulbarga district, 12th century CE
Shrine wall and superstructure in Kasivisvesvara temple at Lakkundi
Ornate Gadag style pillars at Sarasvati Temple, Trikuteshwara temple complex at Gadag
Mahadeva Temple at Itagi, Koppal district in Karnataka, also called Devalaya Chakravarti,<ref name="deva">Cousens (1926), p. 101</ref><ref name="fine">Kamath (2001), pp. 117–118</ref> 1112 CE, an example of dravida articulation with a nagara superstructure.
Single storey gopura (Dravidian architecture)
Two storey gopura (Dravidian architecture)
Pillar elements (shared by Nagara and Dravidian)
Athisthana architectural elements of a Hindu temple
Entablature elements
A vimana with mandapam elements (Dravidian architecture)

The earliest preserved Hindu temples are simple cell-like stone temples, some rock-cut and others structural, as at Temple 17 at Sanchi.

John Marshall (archaeologist)

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English archaeologist who was Director-General of the Archaeological Survey of India from 1902 to 1928.

English archaeologist who was Director-General of the Archaeological Survey of India from 1902 to 1928.

He then moved on to other sites, including the Buddhist centres of Sanchi and Sarnath.

Triratna on a Taxila coin, 185-168 BCE (detail).

Triratna

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Buddhist symbol, thought to visually represent the Three Jewels of Buddhism (the Buddha, the Dharma, the Sangha).

Buddhist symbol, thought to visually represent the Three Jewels of Buddhism (the Buddha, the Dharma, the Sangha).

Triratna on a Taxila coin, 185-168 BCE (detail).
The compound Buddhist symbols: Shrivatsa within a triratana, over a Dharmacakra wheel, on the Torana gate at Sanchi. 1st century BCE.
The Triratna or "Three Jewels" symbol, on a Buddha footprint (bottom symbol, the top symbol being a dharmachakra). 1st century CE, Gandhara.
Triratna symbol on the reverse (left field) of a coin of the Indo-Scythian king Azes II (r.c. 35-12 BCE).
2nd century BCE coin of the Kunindas, incorporating on the reverse the Buddhist triratna symbol on top of a stupa.
Amaravati Triratna symbols.
Symbol of the Three Jewels

The Triratna can be found on frieze sculptures at Sanchi as the symbol crowning a flag standard (2nd century BCE), as a symbol of the Buddha installed on the Buddha's throne (2nd century BCE), as the crowning decorative symbol on the later gates at the stupa in Sanchi (2nd century CE), or, very often on the Buddha footprint (starting from the 1st century CE).

Coinage of Vashishka. Circa 240–250 CE. Obverse: [ÞAONANOÞAO BAZH]ÞKO K[O]ÞA[NO] (Shaonanoshao Bazishko Koshano) in Greco-Bactrian script, Vasishka, nimbate, diademed, and crowned, standing facing, head left, sacrificing over an altar to left, and holding trident in left hand; filleted trident to left; "Vira" in Brahmi script to inner left at feet; "Va" in Brahmi between legs; "Chu" Brahmi chu.jpg in Brahmi script in inner right field. Reverse: ΔXOO in Greco-Bactrian script, nimbate and diademed Ardoxsho seated facing on throne, feet holding filleted investiture garland in right hand and cradling a cornucopia in left arm; above, tamgha to left.

Vāsishka

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Kushan emperor, who seems to have had a short reign following Kanishka II.

Kushan emperor, who seems to have had a short reign following Kanishka II.

Coinage of Vashishka. Circa 240–250 CE. Obverse: [ÞAONANOÞAO BAZH]ÞKO K[O]ÞA[NO] (Shaonanoshao Bazishko Koshano) in Greco-Bactrian script, Vasishka, nimbate, diademed, and crowned, standing facing, head left, sacrificing over an altar to left, and holding trident in left hand; filleted trident to left; "Vira" in Brahmi script to inner left at feet; "Va" in Brahmi between legs; "Chu" Brahmi chu.jpg in Brahmi script in inner right field. Reverse: ΔXOO in Greco-Bactrian script, nimbate and diademed Ardoxsho seated facing on throne, feet holding filleted investiture garland in right hand and cradling a cornucopia in left arm; above, tamgha to left.
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Gold Dinar of Vasishka (as Vaskushana). Oesho, probably Shiva, appears on the reverse. Circa 240-250 CE

His rule is recorded as far south as Sanchi, where one and possibly another inscription in his name have been found, dated to the year 22 (The Sanchi inscription of "Vaskushana"-i.e. Vasishka Kushana) and year 28 (The Sanchi inscription of Vasaska-i.e. Vasishka) of a Kushan era (widely thought to be the second century of the Kanishka era).

Sanchi Yakshi Figure

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Detail of the northern gate at Sanchi, with similar yakshi brackets below the upper and middle beams.

The Sanchi Yakshi Figure is a sandstone statue of the Shalabhanjika Yakshi from the ancient Buddhist site of Sanchi in the state of Madhya Pradesh, India.