ColumbusRunion: made initial details more to come.

2025-09-11T07:06:35Z

made initial details more to come.

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{{Use dmy dates|date=January 2016}}
{{Use Indian English|date=January 2016}}
{{Infobox settlement
| name = Sanchi Town
| native_name =
| native_name_lang =
| other_name =
| settlement_type = [[Nagar panchayat]]
| image_skyline = Village Sanchi - Sanchi Hill - 2013-02-22 4557.JPG
| image_caption = Sanchi town from the Sanchi hill, MP
| map_caption =
| pushpin_map = India Madhya Pradesh
| pushpin_label_position = right
| coordinates = {{coord|23.480656|N|77.736300|E|display=inline,title}}
| subdivision_type = [[Country]]
| subdivision_name = {{Ind}}
| subdivision_type1 = [[States and union territories of India|State]]
| subdivision_name1 = [[Madhya Pradesh]]
| subdivision_type2 = [[District]]
| subdivision_name2 = [[Raisen district|Raisen]]
| established_title = 
| established_date =
| unit_pref = Metric
| area_total_km2 =
| elevation_footnotes =
| elevation_m =
| population_total = 6785
| population_as_of = 2001
| population_density_km2 = auto
| demographics_type1 = Languages
| demographics1_title1 = Official
| demographics1_info1 = Hindi
| timezone1 = [[Indian Standard Time|IST]]
| utc_offset1 = +5:30
| postal_code_type = 
| postal_code =
| website =
}}

[[File:Elephant procession to Sanchi Tope in Sanchi, Madhya Pradesh.jpg|thumb|Elephant procession to Sanchi Tope in Sanchi, Madhya Pradesh]]
'''Sanchi Town''' is a [[Nagar panchayat]], near [[Raisen|Raisen town]] in [[Raisen District]] of the [[States and territories of India|state]] of [[Madhya Pradesh, India]], it is located {{cvt|46|km}} north east of [[Bhopal]], and {{cvt|10|km}} from [[Besnagar]] or [[Vidisha]] in the central part of the state of Madhya Pradesh. Known for its "[[Sanchi Stupa]]s", it is the location of several [[Buddhist]] monuments dating from the 3rd century BC to the 12th CE and is one of the important places of [[Buddhist pilgrimage]].

==Etymology of Sanchi==
In [[Mahavamsa]] the site is referred to as Chetiyagiri, which was visited by [[Mahinda (buddhist monk)|Mahinda]] and his mother Devi. Early votive inscription refer to the place as Kakanaya. In the Gupta period it was termed Kakanada-Bota, and Bots-Shri-Parvat in the 7th century.<ref>Debal Mitra, Sanchi, ASI, 1992, p. 6</ref> A small hilltop village, just besides the stupa complex, is still called Kanakheda.

The name Sanchi might have originated from [[Sanskrit]] and [[Pali]] word '' sanch'' meaning "to measure". In [[Hindi]], however ''Sanchi'' or ''Sancha'' means "Moulds of Stones".

==Demographics==
{{As of|2001}} India [[census]],<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.censusindia.net/results/town.php?stad=A&state5=999|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20040616075334/http://www.censusindia.net/results/town.php?stad=A&state5=999|archive-date=2004-06-16|title= Census of India 2001: Data from the 2001 Census, including cities, villages and towns (Provisional)|access-date=2008-11-01|publisher= Census Commission of India}}</ref> Sanchi had a population of 6,785. Males constitute 53% of the population and females 47%. Sanchi has an average literacy rate of 67%, higher than the national average of 59.5%: male literacy is 75%, and to
female literacy is 57%. In Sanchi, 16% of the population is under 6 years of age.

==Monuments at Sanchi==
{{See also|Sanchi}}
[[File:Sanchi Stupa from Eastern gate, Madhya Pradesh.jpg|thumb|The Great [[Sanchi Stupa]]]]
[[File:Chetiyagiri Vihar 02.jpg|thumb|Chetiyagiri Vihara]]
There are numerous monuments at Sanchi. The main are these, using the numbers assigned by Sir [[Alexander Cunningham]], founder of the [[Archaeological Survey of India]], who led excavations at Sanchi in 1854, which are still often used in the literature:<ref>Debal Mitra, Sanchi, ASI, 1992</ref>
* The main terrace: Stupa 1 (Great Stupa), Stupa 3, Pillar 10 (Ashoka Pillar), Temple 18 (Mauryan apsidal), Temple 17 (Gupta).
* Eastern Area: Temple 45 (10th century CE).
* Southern Area: Temple 40
* The western slope: Monastery 51 and Stupa<ref>2.w.dailynews.lk/2006/11/28/news30.asp</ref>
* The Archaeological Museum<ref>[http://asi.nic.in/asi_museums_sanchi.asp Archaeological Museum, Sanchi (Madhya Pradesh]</ref>

==Nearby Buddhist sites==
Sanchi is one of a number of Buddhist sites in close vicinity of Vidisha. Other Buddhist complexes<ref>Bhilsa Topes, Cunningham, 1854</ref> nearby are;
* Sonari
* Satdhara (the remains of Sariputta and Moglayan from here are now in Sanchi)
* Bhojpur
* Andher
All the sites are south of Vidisha. Some other Buddhist sites have been recently studied.<ref>{{cite journal | last1 = Shaw | first1 = Julia | year = 2011 | title = Monasteries, Monasticism, and Patronage in Ancient India: Mawasa, a Recently Documented Hilltop Buddhist Complex in the Sanchi Area of Madhya Pradesh | journal = South Asian Studies | volume = 27 | issue = 2| pages = 111–130 | doi = 10.1080/02666030.2011.614409}}</ref>

==Buddhist University==
On 11 September 2012, the [[Government of Madhya Pradesh]] announced the [[Sanchi University of Buddhist-Indic Studies]], which is being built in collaboration with the government of [[Sri Lanka]] and [[Bhutan]] and will be located at Sanchi, in close proximity to the stupa. Designed by Sri Lankan architect SW Isurunath Bulankulame, the university will have various facilities, combined with a green landscape and usage of natural energy.

The foundation stone for the university was laid on 17 September 2012 by Sri Lankan president [[Mahinda Rajapaksa]], Bhutan's Prime Minister Jigmi Yozyer Thinley, and Mahabodhi Society of Sri Lanka president Bangala Upatissa Nayaka Thero, amid high security due to a massive protest being organised by MDMK leader [[Vaiko]] against Rajapaksa, who had specially arrived in [[Madhya Pradesh]] with many protesters, but ultimately stopped.

{{wide image|Sanchipano1.jpg|1024px|Panoramic view of Sanchi: Monastery 36, Temple 18, Stupa 1, shelter with fragments of Pillar 10||none}}

==Solar city==
On September 6, 2023, Sanchi, home to a World Heritage Site in Madhya Pradesh, was inaugurated as India’s first solar city.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Slow burn of the Solar boom |url=https://www.nagrika.org/post/solar-rooftop}}</ref> The project, which involves the installation of rooftop solar panels at all institutional buildings like schools, government offices, railway stations, post offices, and streetlights, has been claimed to reduce more than 14,000 tonnes of carbon dioxide emissions annually, which is equivalent to the amount of CO₂ reduced by over 2 lakh adult trees.<ref>{{Cite news |date=2023-09-07 |title=Sanchi becomes India's first solar city |url=https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/industry/renewables/sanchi-becomes-indias-first-solar-city/articleshow/103466294.cms?from=mdr |access-date=2025-09-11 |work=The Economic Times |issn=0013-0389}}</ref>

==References==
{{Reflist}}

{{Districts of Madhya Pradesh}}
{{Bhopal Division}}
{{Authority control}}

[[Category:Cities and towns in Raisen district]]

Sanchi, Madhya Pradesh - Revision history

ColumbusRunion: made initial details more to come.