|
Sanchi
Excursion
[ Great Stupas | The Ashoka Pillar
| The Buddhist Vihara | The Great
Bowl | The Gupta Temple | The
Museum | Sonari and Satdhara | Vidisha
| Udaygiri Caves | Gyraspur |
Udaypur | Rahatgarh | Heliodorous
Pillar | Festivals ]
Great Stupas
Great Stupa No. 1
This Stupa is the oldest stone structure in India.
About 36.5 mt in diameter and 16.4 Mt. high, with a massive hemispherical
dome, the stupa stands in eternal majesty. And the paved procession
path around it is worn smoothly by centuries of pilgrims.
- The Eastern Gateway
This gateway depicts the young prince, Gautama leaving his father's
palace on his journey towards enlightenment and the dream his
mother had before his birth.
- The
Western Gateway
The western gateway depicts the seven incarnations
of the Buddha.
- The Northern Gateway
Crowned by a wheel-of-law, this gateway depicts the miracles associated
with the Buddha as told in the jataka tales.
- The Southern Gateway
The birth of Gautama is revealed in a series
of dramatically rich carvings.
Stupa No. 2
The stupa stands at the very edge of the hill and
its most striking feature is the stone balustrade that rings it.
Stupa No. 3
This Stupa is situated close to the great stupa.
The hemispherical dome is crowned, as a mark of its special religious
significance, with an umbrella of polished stone. The relics of
Sariputta and Mahamogallena, two of the Buddha's earliest disciples,
were found in its inmost chamber.
Top
The
Ashoka Pillar
It lies close to the Southern gateway of the Great
Stupa. It is also one of the finest examples of the Ashokan pillar
and is known for its aesthetic proportions and exquisite structural
balance.
Top
The
Buddhist Vihara
The sacred relics of the Satdhara Stupa, a few
kms away from Sanchi, have been enshrined in a glass casket on a
platform in the inner sanctum of his modern monastery.
Top
The
Great Bowl
Carved out of one block of stone, this mammoth
bowl contained the food that was distributed among the monks of
Sanchi.
Top
The
Gupta Temple
This 5th century AD temple though in ruins now,
is one of the earliest known examples of temple architecture in
India.
Top
The
Museum
The Archaeological Survey of India maintains a
site museum at Sanchi. Noteworthy antiquities on display include
the lion capital of the Ashokan pillar and metal objects used by
the monks, discovered during excavations at Sanchi.
Top
Sonari
and Satdhara
There
is a group of eight Stupas at Sonari, 10 km, on one of which numerous
relics are recorded. At Satdhara, 11 km West of Sanchi, there are
two stupas.
Top
Vidisha
Vidisha or Besnagar, as it is called in the Pali
scriptures, once the prosperous capital of the Western dominions
of the Sungas, contains some remarkable antiques that throw light
on the considerable architectural development of the period. Situated
in the confluence of the Betwa and Bes rivers, Vidisha, 10 km from
Sanchi, occupies an important place among the ancient cities of
India. In the 6th and 5th centuries BC, it became an important trade
centre and a bustling city under the Sungas, Nagas, Satvahanas and
Guptas. The Emperor Ashoka was the governor of Vidisha and it finds
mention in Kalidasa's immortal Meghdoot. Deserted after the 6th
century AD, it came into prominence again as Bhilsa during the medieval
period (9th to 12th centuries AD). It later passed on to the Malwa
Sultans, the Mughals, and the Scindias.
The ruins of a Brahmanical shrine at Vidisha dedicated to Vishnu
reveal that the foundation bricks were cemented together with lime
mortar, the first known example of the use of cement in India. The
ruins are the remains of possibly the oldest known brahmanical stone
structure, dated not later than 2nd century BC. Vidisha Museum has
a superb collection of Besnagar's earliest antiques, dating from
the Sunga period. 9th century sculptures and terracotta objects,
representing the art that flourished under the Parmara patronage,
are also well represented here. Highlights of the collection from
Besnagar are the Surya Chamundi figures, the Yakshi and Ramagupta
inscriptions. The Lohangi Rock, Gumbaz-ka-Maqbara and Bijamandal
Mosque are also worth a visit.
Top
Udaygiri
Caves
13
km from Sanchi and 4 km from Vidisha are a group of rock-cut cave
sanctuaries carved into a sandstone hill that stands sentinel-like
on the horizon. An inscription in one of these states that it was
produced during the region of Chandragupta II (382-401 AD), thus
dating these caves to 4th-5th century AD.
The caves possess all the distinctive features that gave Gupta
art its unique vitality, vigour and richness of expression; the
beautifully moulded capitals, the treatment of the intercolumniation,
the design of the entrance way and the system of continuing the
architrave as a string-course around the structures.
They have been numbered probably according to the sequence in which
they were excavated, beginning with Cave 1, which has a frontage
adapted out of a natural ledge of rock, thus forming both the roof
of the cave and its portico. The row of four pillars bears the 'vase
and foliage' pattern of the eminent art historian Percy Brown. The
shrines are progressively more spacious and ornate. Cave No.9 is
remarkable for its large ceiling and massive, 8 feet high pillars,
its long portico and pillared hall. Throughout, there is evidence
that the master craftsmen of Besnagar practised their art with skill
and artistry under the Guptas, four centuries later. In Cave No.5,
a massive carving depicts Vishnu in his Varaha avatar, aloft one
tusk. Yet another stupendous sculptures is of the reclining Vishnu.
Taken as a whole, this group is a rich representation of the vitality
and strength of Gupta art and architecture.
Top
Gyraspur
41-km northeast of Sanchi, Gyraspur was a place
of considerable importance in the medieval period. Here in the ruins
called Athkhamba (Eight Pillars) and Chaukhambe (Four Pillars) are
what remain of the columned halls of two temples belonging to the
9th and 10th centuries AD. The faceted shafts of Athakhambe, with
their extreme delicacy of carving, testify to the high degree of
craftsmanship during the period. Other monuments of note at Gyraspur
are of the early 10th century: Bajra Math and the Mala Devi Temple,
the latter distinguished by its carved pillars with foliate motifs,
representative of the richest post-Gupta style.
Top
Udaypur
This place is 93 kms from Sanchi via Vidisha and
Ganj Basoda. The colossal Neelkanteshwar temple here is an outstanding
example of Parmara art and architecture of the 11th century AD.
The crowning beauty of this temple is its well-proportioned and
gracefully designed spire and delicately carved medallions adorning
its sides. Built of fine red sandstone and standing on a lofty platform,
the temple consists of a garba-griha (shrine room), a sabha (mandap
hall) and three pravesha mandaps (entrance porches).
Bijamandal, Sahi Masjid and Mahal, Sher Khan-ki-Masjid and Pisnari-ke-Mandir
are also some of the other monuments in Udaypur.
Top
Rahatgarh
Situated on the Sagar-Bhopal road is Rahatgarh,
82 km from Sanchi. It has a medieval fort and a picturesque waterfall.
Top
Heliodorous
Pillar
Close to the ruins, the only pillar that still
stands is the Heliodorous Pillar, also known as Khamba Baba. These
are the remains of votive pillars with palm-leaf capitals. It is
a monolithic, free-standing column, the pillar bears an inscription
which states that it was a Garuda Pillar, raised in honour of Vasudeva
by Heliodorus, a resident of Taxila, who had been sent to the court
of Bhagabhadra as an envoy of the Indo-Bactrian monarch, Antialkidas.
This inscription is a particularly valuable historical record, revealing
both the relations that existed between the region and the Greek
kingdoms of the Punjab, and the remarkable fact that a Greek had
become a follower of the Hindu god Vishnu. The inclusion of the
name of Antialkidas dates the erection of the Pillar to approximately
140 BC.
Architecturally, the Pillar, with its bell capital carrying a figured
superstructure, resembles the Ashoka Pillar, but is much smaller
in size, with more slender proportions. The lower portion of the
shaft is octagonal, the upper sixteen-sided, with a panel above
of thirty-two facets. The carvings have Buddhist motifs such as
a border with geese in pairs as well as Hellenic ones such as the
honeysuckle and the bead -moulding.
Top
Festivals
Chethiyagiri Vihara Festival
The Chethiyagiri Vihara festival is attended by
thousands of Buddhists monks and pilgrims. It is specially a Buddhist
festival held at Sanchi at the end of November. They attend the
festival to view the relics of Buddha's two initial disciples whose
remains were discovered in Stupa 3 (as listed at Sanchi) in 1853.
The two disciples, whose relics are the center of this festival,
were Sari Puttha and Maha Moggallana.
Top
Information on Tours & Travel excursion of Sanchi city of Madhya
Pradesh - India
|
