Tusita Stupa, Sravasti, Uttar Pradesh India

Tusita Stupa is a 2000-year old stupa situated at Sravasti, in Uttar Pradesh. It is the spot where Buddha meditated to reach his mother, Queen Maya in Tusita Heaven.

Stupas are the famous Buddhist sacral buildings, places of pilgrimage and the high reverence in the Buddhist world since the ancient times.They are containing relics of Buddha Shakyamuni, those of other Enlightened Buddhas, powerful Buddhist scriptures, mantras and jewels. Each element of these structures holds a symbolic meaning and has received appropriate consecrations from high Buddhist teachers.

It is believed Stupas or chaityas have been built already in pre-Buddhist era in India as burial grounds to mark the remains of worldly rulers. But after Buddha passed away into parinirvana his remains were cremated and ashes divided and buried under 8 stupas and later two more. In this way stupas turned into places of great veneration and pilgrimages. Later, in 3d century BCE the great emperor of Magadha Ashoka started to build thousands of Stupas all over the Indian subcontinent and South Asia. It is said 84 thousand Stupas were built by Ashoka edicts and guidance. He opened the original Stupas and distributed the remains between the newly built. As stupas spread in different Asian countries, they acquired slight local features and are known as chortens in Tibet and pagodas in East Asia.

The shape of the stupa represents the Buddha, crowned and sitting in meditation posture on a lion throne. His crown is the top of the spire; his head is the square at the spire's base; his body is the vase shape; his legs are the four steps of the lower terrace; and the base is his throne.