The Great Stupa of Sanchi, Sanchi, Madhya Pradesh India

Sanchi known for its "Stupas", is a small village in Raisen District of the state of Madhya Pradesh, India, it is located 46 km north east of Bhopal, and 10 km from Besnagar and Vidisha in the central part of the state of Madhya Pradesh. It is the location of several Buddhist monuments dating from the 3rd century BCE to the 12th CE and is one of the important places of Buddhist pilgrimage. It is a nagar panchayat in Raisen district in the Indian state of Madhya Pradesh. Toranas surround the Stupa and they each represent love, peace, trust, and courage. This World heritage site is well maintained and is open to public viewing from 8:00 AM to 5:00 PM. It takes about an hour and a half for a non-research visit of the site. Photography is allowed and audio guides are available.

The 'Great Stupa' at Sanchi is the oldest stone structure in India and was originally commissioned by the emperor Ashoka the Great in the 3rd century BCE. Its nucleus was a simple hemispherical brick structure built over the relics of the Buddha. It was crowned by the chatra, a parasol-like structure symbolising high rank, which was intended to honour and shelter the relics. It has four profusely carved ornamental gateways and a balustrade encircling the whole structure. The construction work of this stupa was overseen was Ashoka's first wife, Samragyi (Empress) Vidisha Devi herself. Sanchi was also her birthplace as well as the venue of her and Ashoka's wedding.

he most elaborate and well known of the more than 50 magnificent Buddhist monuments that crown the hilltop of Sanchi, India, is Stupa Number One or the Great Stupa. It is part of an entire complex of structures, mostly stupas, built between the 3rd Century BCE and the 12th Century AD. The stupa is not a building in any traditional sense. Once a burial or reliquary mound, the stupa has become a purely symbolic object. 

Sanchi is 68 kilometers north of Bhopal in the state of Madhya Pradesh. It is unique, not only for having the most perfect and well preserved stupas, but also for offering the visitor a chance to see, in one location, the genesis, flowering, and decay of Buddhist art and architecture during a period of about 1500 years -- almost covering the entire range of Indian Buddhism. This is surprising since Sanchi was not hallowed by any incident in Buddha's life nor was it the focus of any significant event in the history of Buddhism.