Sanchi, 52 km from Bhopal
and 10 km from Vidisha railway station, is a serene hill
crowned by a group of stupas, monasteries, temples and
pillars dating from 3rd Century BC to the 12th Century AD.
The glory that was Sanchi, an ancient seat of Buddhist
learning and place of pilgrimage, can still be experienced
in its complex structures where many Buddhist legends found
expression in the rich sculpture.
Sanchi is little more than a
small village at the foot of the hill on which the site is
located. The Buddhist sites of Sanchi were included on the
World heritage List in 1989.
The Buddha is not represented
through figures at Sanchi, but through symbols, as was the
tradition in the early period of Buddhism. The lotus
represents the Buddha's birth, the tree signifies his
enlightenment, the wheel represents his first sermon and the
stupa represents his nirvana or salvation. The footprints
and the throne denote the Buddha's presence.
