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Chaukhandi Stupa
Chaukhandi Stupa
Religion
AffiliationBuddhism
StatusPreserved
Location
LocationIndia Sarnath, Varanasi, Uttar Pradesh
StateUttar Pradesh
Chaukhandi Stupa is located in India
Chaukhandi Stupa
Shown within India
Geographic coordinates25°22′27″N 83°01′25″E / 25.374102°N 83.023658°E / 25.374102; 83.023658

Chaukhandi Stupa is a Buddhist stupa in Sarnath located 8 kilometres from Cantt Railway Station in Varanasi, Uttar Pradesh, India. Stupas have evolved from burial mounds and serve as a shrine for a relic of the Buddha.[1] The site was declared to be a monument of national importance by the Archaeological Survey of India in June 2019. [2]

History[edit]

The Chaukhandi Stupa is thought originally to have been built as a terraced temple during the 7th and 8th centuries to mark the site where Buddha and his first disciples met traveling from Bodh Gaya to Sarnath. Later Govardhan, the son of a Raja Todar Mal, modified the stupa to its present shape by building the octagonal tower to commemorate the visit of Humayun, the Mughal ruler.[3]

Today the stupa is a high earthen mound covered with a brickwork edifice topped by an octagonal tower. It is maintained by the Archaeological Survey of India.

Various plinths at the Chaukhandi Stupa
Close up of Chaukhandi Stupa plinth

See also[edit]

Reference notes[edit]

  1. ^ "History of Architecture - Shrines and temples". historyworld.net. Retrieved 18 December 2006.
  2. ^ "Chaukhandi Stupa declared to be "of national importance"". The Hindu. 9 June 2019. ISSN 0971-751X. Retrieved 9 June 2019.
  3. ^ "Chaukhandi Stupa". Varanasicity.com. Retrieved 16 October 2006.

External links[edit]


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