The document discusses key principles of Buddhism and some of its important architectural monuments in India, such as stupas and pillars. It notes that Buddhism was founded in the 6th century BCE by Gautama Buddha and preaches the path of spiritual practice and insight to end suffering. Major monuments discussed include the Great Stupa at Sanchi, known for its elaborate gateways and carvings depicting Buddhist teachings, and the Ashoka pillars erected throughout India, such as the famous pillar at Sarnath topped with a lion capital.

1. Monumental principles
of the Buddhist era

3.  Based on the teachings of Lord Buddha, who was born in 563 BCE
at Lumbini, Nepal (Sect founded in 7th century BC)
 Buddhism preaches the path of practice and spiritual development,
thus, leading an insight into the truth of life
 The main objective of Buddhism is to end the suffering of cyclic
existence or 'samsara' by awakening a being to the realisation of the
truth and the achievement of liberation.
 Buddhism, which is considered today more of a religion than a
thought, focuses on moral discipline or 'sila', meditation or 'samadhi'
and wisdom or 'prajna' rather than that of idol-worship.
 In 528 BCE, when Siddharta Gautama achieved enlightenment
under the Bodhi tree at BodhGaya (Bihar, India) and became
Gautam Buddha, He moved on further towards Banaras (Now
Varanasi, Uttar Pradesh), where at Sarnath.

4.  The Four Truths:-
I. The noble truth of Suffering
II. The noble truth of Cause Suffering
III. The noble truth of the Cessation
IV. The noble truth of Cessation of
Suffering
 The Eight-Fold Path:-
I. Right Belief
II. Right Aspiration
III. Right Speech
IV. Right Conduct
V. Right Means of Livelihood
VI. Right Exertion
VII. Right Mindfulness
VIII. Right Meditation

5.  Types of buildings
 Edicts inscribed on rock
 Monolithic pillars
 Stupas
 Monolithic accessories to shrines
 Castle and places
 Rock cut chambers
 Buddhist monasteries

6.  Boldly designed, finely proportioned, conceptually well
balanced
 Monumental –free standing pillars not part of architectural
composition
 Shaft is circular piece of stone stone tapering upwards
40-50ft long
 Capital -
 symmetrical design
capital
shaft
Inverted lotus
or bell

7.  After many years of teaching Buddha died at the age of
80 .his body was cremated and ashes were divided in to
eight parts the ashes were then deposited in several special
mound –shaped monuments called Stupas
 Umbrella were often mounted at the top of stupa as a sign
of honor and respect
 Also known as thupa ,thope, pagoda ,dagoba

8. An Ashokan pillar across from a stupa at Kolhua, near Vaishali, in
Bihar

10. • Sanchi is a small village in Raisen district of Madhya Pradesh.It is 46
km NE of Bhopal,Capital of Madhya Pradesh.It is famous for it houses
Buddhist monuments called "Stupas" dating to 3rd century BCE."Stupa"
in Sanskrit stands for "heap",Stupas are large hemispherical domes or
mound like structure containing a central chamber, in which the relics
of the Buddha were placed.
• A circular tumuli of earth covered with stone or brick which propagates
the ‘Doctrine
• Also known as ‘Relic Shrines’
Spherical dome symbolises the
infinite sky, the abode of God
Top of dome is a small decorative
balcony called ‘Harmika’
At top is a rainvase or ‘Varsha sthala’

12. . The upper pradakshina
path was perhaps
reserved for monks , the
traditioanal one at ground
base of dome aaterrace of
base of dome terrace of level was open to all
‘Medhi’ with aa‘Pradakshina’
‘Medhi’ with ‘Pradakshina’ devotees .
path for worshippers
path for worshippers
Ambulatory passage with gateways
called ‘Torana’
Stupa is enclosed in a wooden or stone
railing called ‘Vedica’

13. The reconstruction of the stupa was
started in as early as 150 B.C.,when the
existing stupa was enlarged nearly twice
its previous size.
The dome ‘anda’ or ‘egg’is a solid brick
work 32.32 in diameter and 12.8m high
In some stupas , the dome was coloured and
also some recesses were left at the intervals
for receiving small lamps to be lit at the time
of festivals
The stupa was enclosed within a wooden or
stone railing called as ‘’Vediaca’’leaving an
ambulatory passage with a gateways called as
‘Toranas’,at each end of the cardinal points.
•The Great Stupa is 120 feet across (36.6 meters) and, excluding the railing and umbrella, is 54
feet high (16.46 meters).

14. There are four gateways known
as “Torana” at each side of the
stupa in four directions east
,west,north,south. The
decorative relief portrays the
world of ancient Buddhism.
A 3-tier stone or wooden
umbrella called ‘Chhatravali’
Outside the railing there stood once the
famous Ashoka pillar.
Canopy layers known as Chhatra at the
top of the stupa represent Buddha’s past,
present and future.

15. West Gate
On west gate the Yaksha, a God of the Forest
was carved . He is believed to be the origin of
the later God figure, Vaisravana. There’s an
image of a wheel and people worshipping it
in the centre of the West gate. The wheel is
known as the “Wheel of Law”, which
East Gate represents Buddha and his teachings.
On the east gate A
Yakshi Goddess is South Gate
carved on the Torana. On the South gate shows how people fought
She is a Goddess of the over the Buddha’s remains. After the war they
Forest worshipped were divided into 8 parts, and later divided
long before Buddhism. into 84 thousand parts. This process allowed
Buddhists to build numerous stupas
North Gate
throughout Asia
On the North Gate there are
carvings of people
worshipping the stupa . It
depicts people making
offerings, playing instruments
and worshipping.

16. Northern gateway

17. Southern gateway

19. Pradakshina path is fenced by Railing or
‘Vedica’ 3.35m high

20. Stupa and Asoka Pillar, Vaishali, Bihar. Emperor Asoka is believed to have
redistributed the holy relics of the Buddha and enshrined them in vast stupas
across his empire

21. I. Amravati,3rd centuryA.D.
II. Sarnath,6th century A.D.
III. Karli,2nd century A.D.
IV. Ajanta,6th century A.D.
V. Barhut, 2nd century A.D.
VI. Bodh Gaya, 75 B.C.

22.  Amaravati which also known as Amrawati or Amraoti is a popular ancient city,
which lies on the bank of River Krishna at a distance of 65 kilometers from
Vijaywada in Hyderabad,Andhrapradesh
 One of the major attractions of Amravati consists of
the remains of a 2000-year-old Buddhist settlement,
along with the great Buddhist stupa. There is also a
temple dedicated to Lord Amaresvara in the city.
 Founded by an emissary of the great Emperor
Ashoka, it is also known as the Mahastupa and Deepaladinne (the Mound of
Lamps).
 The stupa is made of brick with a circular vedika and depicts Lord Buddha in
a human form, subduing an elephant.

23. Dome (Upper)
The main part of the Amaravati Stupa was a solid great dome which most likely stood
about 18 meters high. The dome was made of pale green limestone which was probably
painted with bright colors.
The upper part of the dome was probably decorated with plaster garlands. Garlands
made of real vines and flowers were used to decorate buildings for festivals and
special occasions.
By the end of the 1700s all that could be seen
of the structure was a mound of rubble and
some pieces of sculpture on the ground.
Experts estimate the stupa, at around 35 m in
height and diameter, to have exceeded the
Sanchi Stupa in size.

24. Amaravati today
In the late nineteenth century, most of the
main Amaravati sculptures were taken from
the site and sent to museums. Most of the
sculptures are in a museum at Chennai, India
and at Amaravati itself. Many are also in the
British Museum.
There are various representations of Lord
Buddha in the form of sculptures in the
Amravati Stupa. There are beautiful carvings
and sculptures which interpret the life of
Buddha and his incarnations from the Jataka
tales

25. Reconstruction of the Great
Stupa, Amaravati based on a
drawing from Douglas Barrett's
'Sculptures from Amaravati in
the British Museum' (1954)

26. Railing crossbar with monks worshiping a
fiery pillar, a symbol of the Buddha, , Great
Stupa of Amaravati
The Great Departure of Prince Siddhartha,
Amaravati

27. Carvings from the Great Stupa at Amaravati,
Andhra Pradesh, founded 3rd C. BC
Railing pillar with the Interpretation of
the Dream of Queen Maya, Great Stupa
of Amaravati

28. Railing pillar with King Shuddhodana
Dome sculpture from the Great Stupa at and Queen Maya, parents of Prince
Amaravati, Andhra Pradesh Siddhartha, on an elephant

29. Upper left corner of a drum slab,
Great Stupa at Amaravati
Drum slab from the Great Stupa at
Amaravati, 3rd C. AD

30. The stupa at Sarnath marks the
spot where the Buddha gave his
first sermon after attaining
enlightenment.
The present stupa is 31.3
meters tall and 28.3 meters
wide/ 128 feet high and 93 feet
in diameter.
Swastika and lotus wreath
designs cover the lower
portion.

31. niche

32. Ruins in the nearby fields.

35. Sthambas or Pillars with religious
emblems were put up by pious
Buddhists in honor of Buddha or other
great Buddhists. Fragments of
sthambas belonging to Mauryan times
and later were found at Sanchi,
Sarnath, Amaravati and
Nagarjunkonda.
The pillars of Ashoka are a series of columns dispersed throughout the
northern Indian subcontinent, erected or at least inscribed by the Mauryan
king Ashokaduring his reign in the 3rd century BCE. The first Pillar of
Ashoka was found in the 16 century by Thomas Coryat in the ruins of
ancient Delhi.

36. This Ashokan Pillar is one of several free-standing, highly polished sandstone
pillars from the reign of the Mauryan Emperor Ashoka found across northern
India. The tall, heavy column isn't supported by a base or platform and is
crowned by a capital with a single lion. The authoritative, open-mouthed lion is
seated on a square dais that juts from the capital's base, which is decorated with
an inverted lotus blossom. Similar to other pillars that have been discovered in
the region, it is made of a single piece of light colored sandstone and
transported from a quarry in Chunar, near Varanasi (Benares).
The pillar, erected by Ashoka in Kolhua near a brick stupa (a domed memorial
for the Buddha) and the ruins of a Buddhist monastery, commemorates the last
sermon of the Buddha before he achieved enlightenment. Its lion capital faces
north, the direction the Buddha took on his last voyage. Only ten pillars with
intact inscriptions have been found, although many more were erected during
the emperor's reign. The inscriptions describe edicts of ethical conduct, public
and private, based on non-violence and the tenets of Buddhism, that were
created and promulgated by Ashoka.

37. A portion of the Ashoka Pillar, 15.25 meters
high, surmounted by the famous lion-capital
and a dharma chakra above the heads of
the four lions stands embedded near the
Dharmarajika stupa at Sarnath.
The pillar bears the edict of Ashoka
warning the monks and nuns against
creating a schism in the monastic order.
The broken fragments of the Pillar are now in
the Museum at Sarnath.

38. The base of the Lion Capital pillar, in its original site in the Deer
Park at Sarnath
The inscription on the surviving base of the pillar

39. Front view of the single lion capital in vaishali

40. Another Ashokan Pillar of note is the one at Lauriya Nandangarh in Bihar.
•Erected in the 3rd century BC it is made of highly polished Chunar sand-stone.
Standing 9.8 metres high it rises from the ground and has no base structure.
• It is surmounted by a bell-shaped inverted lotus.
The abacus on it is
decorated with flying geese
and crowning it is a sitting
lion. The pillar is an example
of the engineering skill of the
craftsmen of Mauryan times.