Part 10 - The monuments (The Dhamek Stūpa)

(The Dhamek Stūpa) The most remarkable monument that immediately catches the attention of the visitor is the Dhamek stupa, reported by Alexander Cunningham first. It is a colossal, solid cylindrical stupa of a diameter of 93 feet at the base and about 143 feet in height including its foundations.^[1] Cunningham discovered the stupa in a rather sorry state with long grasses and vegetations grown on it. Full credit for its restoration goes to him with two local masons he recreated the ornamentations done on the stupa. The tower consisted of a circular stone drum of a height of 11.20 metre. This portion is made out of stones brought from the Chunar region. The stone made lower portion has eight projecting faces with niches.^[2] Immediately below them one can see elaborately carved floral and geometric motifs. Birds and human figures also appeared there occasionally. Probably this was done by the Gupta workmen.

After a careful examination of the structure Cunningham reached the conclusion that it was a solid hemispherical stupa, 49 feet in diameter at base and about 35 or 40 feet in height, including the usual pinnacle. Later, when the upper portion had become ruinous it was repaired by a casing wall of 16.5 feet thick. The diameter of the edifice becomes 82 feet. He concluded that the inner hemisphere was an ancient relic stupa and on becoming ruinous was repaired by two brothers -Sri Sthirapala and Vasanta Pala, with an inner chamber and eight niches. Cunningham looked for a relic casket inside the stupa. He mounted to the top and dag a shaft or a well of 5 metre diameter to the bottom.

Some 3 feet below from the top he found an inscribed Buddhist slab of some 6^th- 7^th centuries Buddhist creed. It was put to the structure in a later date and the stupa was originally built up much earlier. He even went deeper and found it increasingly difficult to move deeper owing to the toughness of the lower stones of the edifice. The lower portion was solid and made of 2 to 3 feet long and 18 inches thick stones joined by iron clamps. At a depth of 28 feet he reached plain soil. Cunningham tried to know what event this stupa commemorated. Either it was erected by Emperor Aśoka to commemorate some important event of the Buddha’s life or it was a structure in honour of the Maitreya or the future Buddha. The later view finds support from Hiuen Tsang who says that it was to mark the coming of the future Buddha who will be a welfarer of the future. Cunningham also investigated the meaning of the name Dhamek. He saw that the local people know nothing of the name. But it was obvious that the name had something to do with Dharma. It is probably an abbreviation of the Sanskrit word Dharmopadeśaka or the preacher of dharma. He concludes that here the word surely means the Buddha who preached his first sermon and therefore undoubtedly the monument derived its name from this great incident.^[3]

Alternatively it has been suggested that the word Dhamek is derived from the Sanskrit word Dharmekṣa or Pāli Dharmekkha, the beholding of the dharma, summed up in the first sermon of preached by the Buddha at the deer park. In both cases the preaching of the Buddha has been associated with the name of the tower.^[4]

Footnotes and references:

[1]:

B. Majumdar, op.cit.1947, p.40.

[2]:

Annual Report, Archaeological Survey of India, 1904-05, Delhi, Swati Publications, 1990, p.73.

[3]:

Alexander Cunningham, op.cit, p.113.

[4]:

B. Majumdar, op.cit, p.41.