15 Facts About Sanchi

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

Great Stupa at Sanchi is one of the oldest stone structures in India, and an important monument of Indian Architecture.

Sanchi was her birthplace as well as the venue of her and Ashoka's wedding.

The Sanchi Stupa built during Mauryan period was made of bricks.

Sanchi Stupa is depicted on the reverse side of the Indian currency note of 200 to signify its importance to Indian cultural heritage.

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Monuments at Sanchi today comprise a series of Buddhist monuments starting from the Mauryan Empire period, continuing with the Gupta Empire period (5th century CE), and ending around the 12th century CE.

Altogether, Sanchi encompasses most of the evolutions of ancient Indian architecture and ancient Buddhist architecture in India, from the early stages of Buddhism and its first artistic expression, to the decline of the religion in the subcontinent.

Sanchi's was called Devi and later gave Ashoka two sons, Ujjeniya and Mahendra, and a daughter Sanghamitta.

Sanchi was lodged there in a sumptuous vihara or monastery, which she herself is said to have had erected.

Style of the Shunga period decorations at Sanchi bear a close similarity to those of Bharhut, as well as the peripheral balustrades at the Mahabodhi Temple in Bodh Gaya.

Pillar 25 at Sanchi is attributed to the Sungas, in the 2nd–1st century BCE, and is considered as similar in design to the Heliodorus pillar, locally called Kham Baba pillar, dedicated by Heliodorus, the ambassador to the Indo-Greek king Antialkidas, in nearby Vidisha circa 100 BCE.

Some of the friezes of Sanchi show devotees in Greek attire, wearing kilted tunics and some of them a Greek piloi hat.

Sanchi only obtained seven of these portions: he failed to secure the relics of Ramagrama in the Nepal Tarai, in face of the resolute opposition of their devoted guardians, the Nagas.

The art of Sanchi is thus considered as the ancestor of the didactic forms of Buddhist art that would follow, such as the art of Gandhara.

Since Sanchi remained mostly intact however, only few artefacts of Sanchi can be found in Western Museum: for example, the Gupta statue of Padmapani is at the Victoria and Albert Museum in London, and one of the Yashinis can be seen at the British Museum.