NationMaster - Encyclopedia: Stupa

A stupa (from the Pāli) is a type of Buddhist mound-like structure found across the Indian subcontinent, other parts of Asia, and increasingly in the Western World. Stupas are known in many Southeast Asian countries as chedi, for example Thai เจดีย์ (from a Pāli synonym of stupa: Chaitya); in some countries (particularly Sri Lanka) as dagoba (from Sanskrit dhatu- element, component, or relic + garbha - storehouse or repository); or as tope (from Hindi top, derived from Sanskrit stūpa, a heap). Download high resolution version (866x578, 111 KB) Wikipedia does not yet have an article with this exact name. ... Download high resolution version (866x578, 111 KB) Wikipedia does not yet have an article with this exact name. ... , Sanchi is a small village in India, located 46 km north east of Bhopal, and 10 km from Besnagar and Vidisha in the central part of the state of Madhya Pradesh. ... PÄli is a Middle Indo-Aryan dialect or prakrit. ... A replica of an ancient statue found among the ruins of a temple at Sarnath Buddhism is a philosophy based on the teachings of the Buddha, SiddhÄrtha Gautama, a prince of the Shakyas, whose lifetime is traditionally given as 566 to 486 BCE. It had subsequently been accepted by... Map of South Asia (see note) This article deals with the geophysical region in Asia. ... Small Text For other uses, see Asia (disambiguation). ... The term Western world, the West or the Occident (Latin occidens -sunset, -west, as distinct from the Orient) [1] can have multiple meanings dependent on its context (e. ... Location of Southeast Asia Southeast Asia is a subregion of Asia. ... A chaitya-griha (stupa hall) is a meeting or assembly often used for purposes similar to a stupa. ... The Sanskrit language ( , for short ) is a classical language of India, a liturgical language of Hinduism, Buddhism, Sikhism, and Jainism, and one of the 23 official languages of India. ... Hindi ( , Devanagari: or , IAST: , IPA: ), an Indo-European language spoken mainly in northern and central India, is the official language of the Union along with English. ...

Description

The stupa is the earliest Buddhist religious monument and was originally only a simple mound made up of mud or clay, or a cairn in barren areas, to cover supposed relics of the Buddha. After the ‘passing away’ of the Buddha his remains were cremated and the ashes divided and buried under eight stupas with two further stupas encasing the urn and the embers. Little is known about these early stupas, particularly since it has not been possible to identify the original ten monuments. However, some later stupas, such as at Sarnath and Sanchi, seem to be embellishments of earlier mounds. In the third century BC, after his conversion to Buddhism, the emperor Ashoka had the original stupas opened and the remains distributed among the several thousand stupas he had built. Nevertheless, the stupas at the eight places associated with the life of the Buddha continued to be of particular importance. Accordingly, the importance of a stupa changed from being a funerary monument to being an object of veneration. As a consequence their appearance changed also. Image File history File links Size of this preview: 800 Ã— 600 pixelsFull resolution (1920 Ã— 1440 pixel, file size: 630 KB, MIME type: image/jpeg) Evolution of the Butkara Stupa. ... Image File history File links Size of this preview: 800 Ã— 600 pixelsFull resolution (1920 Ã— 1440 pixel, file size: 630 KB, MIME type: image/jpeg) Evolution of the Butkara Stupa. ... The Butkara Stupa is an important Buddhist shrine in the area of Swat, Pakistan. ... Image File history File linksMetadata Download high resolution version (2048x1536, 1447 KB) Summary Main Stupa at Samye Ling, prior to completion of prayer wheel house (wrecked by road accident December 2005). ... Image File history File linksMetadata Download high resolution version (2048x1536, 1447 KB) Summary Main Stupa at Samye Ling, prior to completion of prayer wheel house (wrecked by road accident December 2005). ... Kagyu Samyé Ling Monastery and Tibetan Centre is a Tibetan Buddhist complex associated with the Kagyu school located at Eskdalemuir near Langholm, Scotland. ... Download high resolution version (1473x993, 173 KB)This picture is of the ruby and gold relic casket holding a crystal reliquary with three fragments of bone believed to be true relics of Gautama Buddha, buried by the Kushan Emperor Kanishka in the 2nd century A.D. at his stupa in... Download high resolution version (1473x993, 173 KB)This picture is of the ruby and gold relic casket holding a crystal reliquary with three fragments of bone believed to be true relics of Gautama Buddha, buried by the Kushan Emperor Kanishka in the 2nd century A.D. at his stupa in... For the magazine see Cairn Magazine. ... A relic is an object, especially a piece of the body or a personal item of someone of religious significance, carefully preserved with an air of veneration as a tangible memorial, Relics are an important aspect of Buddhism, some denominations of Christianity, Hinduism, shamanism, and many other personal belief systems. ... Media:Example. ... Sarnath (also Mrigadava, MigadÄya, Rishipattana, Isipatana) is the deer park where Gautama Buddha first taught the Dharma, and where the Buddhist Sangha came into existence through the enlightenment of Kondanna. ... , Sanchi is a small village in India, located 46 km north east of Bhopal, and 10 km from Besnagar and Vidisha in the central part of the state of Madhya Pradesh. ... Allegiance: Magadhan Empire Rank: Emperor Succeeded by: Dasaratha Maurya Reign: 273 BC-232 BC Place of birth: Pataliputra, India Battles/Wars Kalinga War Emperor Ashoka the Great (Devanagari: à¤…à¤¶à¥‹à¤•(:); IAST transliteration: , pronunciation: ) (304 BCâ€“232 BC) (Imperial Title:Devanampiya Piyadassi ie He who is the beloved of the Gods who, in...

They evolved into large hemispherical mounds with features such as the torana (gateway), the vedica (fence-like enclosure evolved from the vedic villages), the harmika (a square platform with railings on top of the stupa), chattrayashti (the parasol or canopy) and a circumambulatory around the stupa. From the first century BCE onwards, stupas were incorporated into the hall of the chaitya-griha. A torana is an element of Hindu and Buddhist architecture. ... Proto-Indo-European Indo-European studies The Vedic civilization is the earliest civilization in Indian history of which we have written records that we understand. ... A chaitya-griha (stupa hall) is a meeting or assembly often used for purposes similar to a stupa. ...

The oldest known stupa is the Dhamek Stupa at Sanchi, India, while the tallest is the Phra Pathom Chedi in Nakhon Pathom, Thailand, with a height of 127 metres. Dharmek Stupa Dhamek Stupa is located at Sarnath, 13 km away from Varanasi in the state of Uttar Pradesh. ... , Sanchi is a small village in India, located 46 km north east of Bhopal, and 10 km from Besnagar and Vidisha in the central part of the state of Madhya Pradesh. ... Phra Pathom Chedi Phra Pathom Chedi (Thai à¸žà¸£à¸°à¸›à¸à¸¡à¹€à¸ˆà¸”à¸µà¸¢à¹Œ) is the highest stupa of the world with a height of 127 m. ... Nakhon Pathom (Thai à¸™à¸„à¸£à¸›à¸à¸¡) is one of the central provinces (changwat) of Thailand. ...

The stupa evolved into the pagoda as Buddhism spread to other Asian countries. The pagoda has varied forms that also include bellshaped and pyramidal ones. Today, in the Western context, there is no clear distinction between the stupa and the pagoda. But in general stupa is used for a Buddhist structure of India or south-east Asia, while pagoda refers to a building in east Asia which can be entered and which may be secular in purpose. A pagoda at Sibu, Sarawak, Malaysia This article is about the building style. ... Location of Southeast Asia Southeast Asia is a subregion of Asia. ... East Asia Geographic East Asia. ...

Fundamentally, a stupa is essentially made up of the following five constituents:

a). A square base
b). A hemispherical dome
c). A conical spire
d). A crescent moon
e). A circular disc This article includes a list of works cited or a list of external links, but its sources remain unclear because it lacks in-text citations. ...

Each of these components is rich in metaphoric content and is identified with one of the five cosmic elements said to make up the entire manifested existence. These are earth, water, fire, air and space.