Sanchi

Sanchi, in present-day Raisen district of Madhya Pradesh, is one of the oldest and best-preserved Buddhist sites in India. Its history begins in the 3rd century BCE, when Emperor Ashoka—after embracing Buddhism—ordered the construction of a simple brick stupa on a low hill near the ancient trade routes of Vidisha. Sanchi itself was never a place associated with the Buddha’s life; instead, it grew as a monastic and pilgrimage centre because of royal patronage and its strategic location.

Over the next few centuries, especially under the Shunga and Satavahana dynasties, the original stupa was enlarged and encased in stone, crowned with a harmika and chhatra, and surrounded by a stone railing and four exquisitely carved toranas (gateways). At its peak, the hilltop had multiple stupas, monasteries and shrines, forming a thriving Buddhist complex that remained active until around the 12th century, when Buddhism declined in most of northern India and the site slowly fell into disuse and forest cover.

Sanchi was “rediscovered” by British officers in the early 19th century. In the late 1800s and early 1900s, Sir John Marshall and the Archaeological Survey of India undertook systematic excavation and conservation, rebuilding collapsed structures using original stones. In 1989, Sanchi was inscribed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site, recognised globally as an outstanding monument of early Buddhist art and architecture.