Stupa: Difference between revisions

Some authors have suggested that stupas were derived from a wider cultural tradition from the [[Mediterranean]] to the [[South Asia]], and can be related to the conical mounds on circular bases from the 8th century BCE that can be found in [[Phrygia]] (tomb of [[Midas]], 8th c. BCE), [[Lydia]] (such as the tomb of [[Alyattes]], 6th c. BCE), or in [[Phoenicia]] (tombs of [[Amrit]], 5th c. BCE).<ref>"It is probably traceable to a common cultural inheritance, stretching from the Mediterranean to the Ganges valley, and manifested by the sepulchres, conical mounds of earth on a circular foundation, of about the eighth century B.C. found in [[Erythrae|Eritrea]] and [[Lydia]]." {{cite book |last1=Rao |first1=P. R. Ramachandra |title=Amaravati |date=2002 |publisher=Youth Advancement, Tourism & Cultural Department Government of Andhra Pradesh |page=33 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=h-jVAAAAMAAJ |language=en}}</ref><ref>On the hemispherical Phenician tombs of [[Amrit]]: {{cite book |last1=Coomaraswamy |first1=Ananda K. |title=History of Indian and Indonesian art |date=1972 |page=[https://archive.org/details/in.gov.ignca.52349/page/n313 12] |url=https://archive.org/details/in.gov.ignca.52349}}</ref><ref>Commenting on [[Gisbert Combaz]]: "In his study L'évolution du stupa en Asie, he even observed that "long before India, the classical Orient was inspired by the shape of the tumulus for constructing its tombs: Phrygia, Lydia, Phenicia ." in {{cite book |last1=Bénisti |first1=Mireille |last2=K |first2=Thanikaimony |title=Stylistics of Buddhist art in India |date=2003 |publisher=Indira Gandhi National Centre for the Arts |isbn=9788173052415 |page=12 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=hO9OAAAAYAAJ |language=en}}</ref>  

Stupa. Srikumar M. Menon et al. 2016 https://www.nias.res.in/publication/%E2%80%9Cround-mound%E2%80%9D-and-its-structural-requirements-possible-scenario-evolution-form-stupa</ref> This includes site associated with the [[Indus Valley Civilization]] where broken Indus-era pottery was incorporated into later Buddhist burials.<ref name=Schopen/> Structural features of the stupa- including its general shape and the practice of surrounding stupas with a stone or wooden railing- resemble both pre-Mauryan era cairn burials, as well as pre-historic relic burials found in southern India.<ref name=Schopen/> Some stupas not believed to have been looted have been found to be empty when excavated, as have some pre-historic cairn sites, and animal bones are suspected to have occasionally been deposited at both types of sites.<ref name=Schopen/>

{{Further|Buddhist architecture}}

Religious buildings in the form of the Buddhist stupa, a dome shaped monument, started to be used in India as commemorative monuments associated with storing sacred relics of the Buddha.<ref name=Ency>Encyclopædia Britannica (2008), ''Pagoda''.</ref>  After the [[parinirvana]] of the Buddha, his remains were cremated and the ashes divided and buried under eight mounds with two further mounds encasing the urn and the embers.<ref name=Ency/> The relics of the Buddha were spread between eight stupas, in [[Rajagriha]], [[Vaishali (ancient city)|Vaishali]], [[Kapilavastu (ancient city)|Kapilavastu]], [[Allakappa]], [[Ramagrama]], [[Pava]], [[Kushinagar]], and [[Vethapida]].<ref name="BAStupa"/> The [[Piprahwa]] stupa also seems to have been one of the first to be built.<ref name="BAStupa"/>

[[Guard rail]]s —consisting of posts, crossbars, and a coping— became a feature of safety surrounding a stupa.<ref name=Chandra>Chandra (2008)</ref> The Buddha had left instructions about how to pay homage to the stupas: "And whoever lays wreaths or puts sweet perfumes and colours there with a devout heart, will reap benefits for a long time".<ref name="BA143">Buddhist Architecture, Lee Huu Phuoc, Grafikol 2009, p.143</ref> This practice would lead to the decoration of the stupas with stone sculptures of flower garlands in the Classical period.<ref name="BA143"/>

====Development of the Pagoda====

==Notable stupas==