Buddhist religious architecture developed in the Indian subcontinent in the third century BCE. The Indian subcontinent is the peninsular region of South Asia, which includes India, Bangladesh, and Pakistan, usually also Sri Lanka, Nepal, Bhutan, and some disputed territory currently controlled by China, and sometimes Myanmar. ...

Two types of structures are associated with early Buddhism: stupas and viharas. The initial function of a stupa was the veneration and safe-guarding of the relics of the Buddha. The earliest existing example of a stupa is in Sanchi (Madhya Pradesh). In accordance with changes in religious practice, stupas were gradually incorporated into chaitya-grihas (stupa halls). These reached their highpoint in the first century BCE, exemplified by the cave complexes of Ajanta and Ellora (Maharashtra). Viharas were developed to accommodate the growing and increasingly formalised Buddhist monasticism. An existing example is at Nalanda (Bihar). Statues of Buddha such as this, the Tian Tan Buddha statue in Hong Kong, remind followers to practice right living. ... A stupa A stupa (from the Sanskrit) is a type of Buddhist structure found across the Indian subcontinent and Asia. ... Vihara is a Sanskrit and Pali word designating a Buddhist monastery. ... A stone image of the Buddha. ... Sanchi is a small village of India, located 46 km north east of Bhopal, in the central part of the state of Madhya Pradesh. ... Madhya Pradesh (मध्‍य प्रदेश) is a state in central India. ... A chaitya-griha (stupa hall) is a meeting or assembly often used for purposes similar to a stupa. ... Ajanta (more properly Ajujnthi), a village in the erstwhile dominions of the Nizam of Hyderabad in India and now in Buldhana district in the state of Maharashtra(N. lat. ... Kailasanatha Temple Ellora is an ancient village 30 km from the city of Aurangabad in the Indian state of Maharashtra famous for its magnificent rock cut architecture comprising of Buddhist, Hindu and Jaina cave temples and monasteries built between the 6th and 10th century A.D. These structures were excavated... Maharashtra (महाराष्ट्ऱ) is Indias third largest state in terms of area and second largest in terms of population after Uttar Pradesh. ... Monasticism (from Greek: monachos—a solitary person) is the religious practice of renouncing all worldly pursuits in order to fully devote ones life to spiritual work. ... National Institute of Technology in city of Calicut (also NIT Calicut or NITC) is one of the premier institutions for technical education in India. ... Bihar (बिहार in Devanagri) is a state situated in the eastern part of India. ...

Buddhist temples were developed rather later and outside the Indian subcontinent, where Buddhism gradually declined from the early centuries CE onwards, though an early example is that of the Mahabodhi temple at Bodh Gaya in Bihar. The word temple has different meanings in the fields of architecture, religion, geography, anatomy, and education. ... Bodh Gaya or Bodhgaya is the place of Buddhas attainment of Enlightenment. ... Bihar (बिहार in Devanagri) is a state situated in the eastern part of India. ...

See also

• Buddhism
• Buddhist art