Timing: Open from sunrise to sunset
Entry Fee: Citizens of India and visitors from SAARC (Bangladesh, Nepal, Bhutan, Sri Lanka, Pakistan, Maldives and Afghanistan) and BIMSTEC countries (Nepal, Bangladesh, Bhutan, Sri Lanka, Thailand and Myanmar): Rs 10 per head Others: US $ 5 or Rs 250 per head (children up to 15 years free) Crowning the hill-top at Sanchi, 46 kms from Bhopal, this group of Buddhist monuments can be seen from a distance. Designated a World Heritage Site by the UNESCO in 1989, Sanchi in Raisen district of Madhya Pradesh, is unique in having the most perfect and well-preserved stupas anywhere in India. Built over a period of thirteen hundred years, from the 3rd century BC to the 12th century AD, it is the largest site of Buddist remains in India. Interestingly, the monuments at Sanchi are not directly connected to the life of the Buddha. Walking around the stiipas, and the ruins of temples and monasteries that lie strewn across the hill, one is transported back in time when Buddhism had spread across the land and / the monasteries at Sanchi teemed with monks and lay worshippers. The foundation of the great religious establishment at Sanchi, destined to become an important centre of Buddhism for many centuries, was laid by Ashoka (273-236 BC), when he built a stupa and erected a monolithic pillar here. The hill-top at Sanchi made for an ideal site for a monastery. Ashoka must have been inspired by its proximity to the rich and populous city of Vidisha, as well as the serene atmosphere and seclusion that it ensured. The dedicatory inscriptions at Sanchi show that the prosperity of the Budadhist establishment here was, to a great extent, due to the piety of the rich merchant community of Vidisha. The nearness of the city to Sanchi, and its strategic location at the confluence of two rivers, the Betwa and the Bes, and two important trade-routes resulted in a great overflow of wealth. This was probably why Sanchi continued to flourish even when the empire of the Mauryas was a thing of the past. It is not known how the end came to the Buddhist establishment at Sanchi. No Buddhist monument can be assigned to the 13th century AD, though a number of Brahmanical plaques containing representations of Vishnu, Ganesha, Mahishasuramardini, datable to this period have been excavated. These can be seen in the Archaeological Museum. Systematic preservation began in 1881 and the monuments have received concerted attention and have thus been saved for posterity. Today the Buddhist stupas, monasteries and temples at Sanchi showcase the finest works of Buddhist art and architecture. The monuments of Sanchi may be divided into two groups — one comprising the edifices situated on the hill-top and the other the isolated ones on the western slope of the hill. The plateau on the top of the hill, shaped like an irregular oblong, measures about 384 m from north to south and 201 m from east to west. It is encompassed by a stone circuit-wall, built in about the 11th or 12th century AD. It can be reached by a halt kilometer drive from the township, or via a meandering path by a stone stairway for those wishing to climb. Within this wall are located the majority of the structures. There are three well-defined areas, the Main Terrace, the Eastern Area and the Southern Area, all lying within the stone circuit-wall. The only modern building in the area is a vihara that stands at the entrance to the complex. The Chethivagiri Vihara has been built by the Mahabodhi Society of Sri Lanka. The relics found in a stupa in nearby Satdhara have been enshrined in the sanctum. For sanchi madhya pradesh tour and travel guide and sanchi tour packages at best price contact Swan Tours one of the leading travel agents in India.
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AuthorSwan Tours one of the leading travel agnets in India Archives
January 2018
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