Q.Discuss how and why stupas were built.
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Start your 14-day free trial to unlock the full solution →Stupas were built as sacred mounds enshrining relics of the Buddha or his disciples, serving as focal points for worship, pilgrimage, and the spread of Buddhist teachings — their construction was both an act of devotion and a political statement.
The story of stupa-building begins with the Buddha’s own instructions. According to the Mahaparinibbana Sutta, the Buddha told his disciple Ananda that after his death, his relics should be enshrined in a stupa at a crossroads — a place where people would gather, pay homage, and feel inspired. This simple directive set in motion a tradition that would span centuries and continents.
After the Buddha’s cremation, his ashes were divided into eight portions and distributed among eight ruling clans, each of which built a stupa over its share. These early stupas were probably simple earthen mounds, but they established the core idea: a stupa is a reliquary, a physical marker of the Buddha’s presence even after his passing. Over time, the practice expanded to include relics of prominent monks and even objects the Buddha had used.
The word “stupa” literally means “heap” or “mound” in Sanskrit — a fitting name for what began as a pile of earth and stones.
The real transformation came under the Mauryan emperor Ashoka (third century BCE). After the devastating Kalinga war, Ashoka embraced Buddhism and set out to spread its message across his empire. One of his most visible acts was the opening of the original eight relic stupas and the redistribution of the Buddha’s relics into thousands of new stupas throughout his realm. This was not merely a religious gesture — it was a political one. By linking his rule to the Buddha’s legacy, Ashoka legitimised his authority and unified his diverse empire under a shared spiritual symbol.
Ashoka’s stupas were still relatively modest, but they established the basic architectural form: a hemispherical dome (anda) representing the cosmic mountain, a square railing (harmika) at the top symbolising the abode of the gods, and a central pillar (chhatri) representing the tree of life or the axis of the world. The entire structure was enclosed by a stone railing (vedika) with four gateways (toranas) facing the cardinal directions.
The stupa was not just a monument to be looked at — it was designed for circumambulation (pradakshina). Worshippers walked around the dome in a clockwise direction, following the path of the sun, as an act of devotion and meditation.
The most famous surviving stupas — at Sanchi, Bharhut, and Amaravati — were built or enlarged during the Shunga and Satavahana periods (second century BCE to first century CE). These later stupas were far more elaborate than Ashoka’s originals. The simple earthen mound was now encased in brick and stone, and the railings and gateways were covered with intricate carvings.
Why did people invest so much labour and wealth in building stupas? The NCERT textbook gives several reasons. First, the stupa was a merit-making act. Donors — whether kings, merchants, or ordinary householders — believed that funding the construction or decoration of a stupa would earn them spiritual merit, improving their chances of a better rebirth. Inscriptions on the railings at Sanchi record donations from guilds of ivory workers, garland makers, and even a courtesan. This was not a project of kings alone; it was a community effort.
Second, the stupa served as a teaching tool. The carvings on the gateways and railings depicted scenes from the Buddha’s previous lives (Jataka stories), his final life, and important events in Buddhist history. For a largely illiterate population, these visual narratives were the primary way of learning the dharma. A pilgrim walking around the stupa would see, for example, the story of Prince Vessantara giving away everything he owned, or the Buddha’s enlightenment under the Bodhi tree. …
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