RowenaTardent: adding first info needs work

2026-01-21T04:04:48Z

adding first info needs work

New page

{{Infobox religious building
| building_name = Nandangarh stupa
|native_name =
| image = File:Nandan Gadh Stupa Champaran Lauria.jpg
| image_size = 250
|alt =
|caption = The stupa at Nandangarh
| map_type = India
| map_size = 250
| map_relief = yes
| map_caption = Location in Bihar, India
| location = {{flagicon|India}} [[Lauria Nandangarh]], [[Bihar]], [[India]]
| coordinates = {{coord|26|59|54.52|N|84|24|30.52|E|display=inline,title}}
| religious_affiliation = [[Buddhism]]
| sect =
| architecture_type = [[Stupa]]
| architecture_style = [[Buddhist architecture|Buddhist]]
| year_completed = c. 3rd century BCE
| height_max =
| materials = Brick
| functional_status = Preserved
| administration = [[Maurya Empire]]
|length =
|width =
}}
'''Nandangarh stupa''' is an ancient colossal stupa located near the town of [[Lauria Nandangarh]] in [[West Champaran district]] of [[Bihar]] in [[India]]. Archaeologists have identified five phases of development in the stupa with the earliest stage dating back to the [[Maurya Empire|Mauryan period]] around the third-century BCE and later alterations being made around the first century BCE.<ref name=Sen2015>{{cite journal |last1=SEN |first1=JOYANTO K |title=The Colossal Stupa at Nandangarh: ITS Reconstruction and Significance |journal=Artibus Asiae |date=2015 |volume=75 |issue=2 |pages=179–220 |doi=10.61342/ZKKG6734 |jstor=24913608 |url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/24913608|url-access=subscription }}</ref><ref name="de Leeuw">{{cite journal |last1=van Lohuizen-de Leeuw |first1=J. E. |title=South-East Asian Architecture and the Stūpa of Nandangaṛh |journal=Artibus Asiae |date=1956 |volume=19 |jstor=3248765 |url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/3248765}}</ref>

==History==
The stupa of Nandangarh was first excavated in 1935 and 1936 by the [[Archaeological Survey of India]] under the guidance of NG Majumdar and A Ghosh.<ref name= Sen2015 /> The site itself was however noticed by [[Alexander Cunningham]] in 1861 although he initially believed the mound to have been a fort of some kind. Other archaeological finds are noted in the vicinity of the stupa including an [[Pillars of Ashoka|Ashokan pillar]] as well as other mounds which resemble the shape of a [[stupa]].<ref name="Kaushik">{{cite book|last1=Kaushik|first1=Garima|title=Women and Monastic Buddhism in Early South Asia: Rediscovering the Invisible Believers|date=2016|publisher=Routledge|isbn=978-1-317-32939-8|page=27|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=YoCPCwAAQBAJ&pg=PA27|language=en}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|last1=Pande|first1=Govind Chandra|title=India's Interaction with Southeast Asia|date=2006|publisher=Project of History of Indian Science, Philosophy, and Culture|isbn=978-81-87586-24-1|page=419|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=dnVuAAAAMAAJ|language=en}}</ref><ref>{{cite book
|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Wba-EZhZcfgC
|title=An Encyclopaedia of Indian Archaeology
|publisher=BRILL
|date=1990
|isbn=90-04-09264-1
|access-date=2012-12-28
}}</ref>

As was the custom of Buddhists in India at the time, the stupa itself was later enlarged upon in the following centuries with the earliest phase of the stupa being dated to the 3rd century BCE and later alterations and enlargements continuing until at least the 1st century BCE.<ref name="de Leeuw"/>

==Description==
The stupa has a height of 25 metres and a width of 153 metres. It is composed of six terraces and three procession paths.<ref name="de Leeuw"/>

==References==
{{reflist}}

[[Category:Maurya Empire]]
[[Category:3rd-century BC religious buildings and structures]]
[[Category:Buddhist art]]

Nandangarh stupa - Revision history

RowenaTardent: adding first info needs work