Stupas at the Upper Indus Valley region

Buddhism with its advanced Mahayano-Vajrayanic form reached Tibet and its neighbouring area Ladakh mainly from eastern India in about seventh century CE. According to Tibetan Buddhist tradition three types of Stupa comes under the Mahayana type, classified by Nagarjuna they are in the form of an inverted bowl, a tiny-house and group of eight Stupas (Plate-IV). These forms of Stupas are found in Tibet and Ladakh.

Tibetan Buddhist tradition differs from the Pali texts when it comes to the names of the places where original Stupas were built on the relics of Buddha. Dorjee (1996: xi) refers to two unique kinds of Stupa: one simulating a raised post or column and the later a structure with multiple auspicious doors. The former kind of Stupa type is not found in India but Minar-i-Cakri in Afghanistan which is a pre-Islamic Buddhist monument may represent a post like Stupa recorded in the Tibetan tradition. Possibly the column like structure was influenced by Vedic concept of skambha (a pillar like structure) which was adapted by the Buddhists. The multiple door type is found in Ladakh, similar type of ancient structure is the Caukhandi Stupa at Sarnath and Stupa at Kesariya, Bihar of seventh-eight century. This type travelled to South East Asia and culminated in Borobudur with modifications. A noteworthy feature in the elevation pattern in some of the Stupas of Ladakh area is quite similar to the pidha type of tiers in the form of pyramidal structure of receding stepped mouldings of the Orissan temples indicating some close cultural links between Orissan and Indo-Tibetan structural tradition.

Thus with the passing away of time the structural activities of Buddhist Stupas of Barhut, Sanchi, Amravati etc underwent changes and along with the constructions of Stupas, chaityas and viharas. Buddhism flourished unabated till twelfth-thirteenth century CE.

The importance of Stupa as a sacred object of veneration continued in unbroken sequences and large number of votive Stupas were constructed in large, medium and smaller dimensions on stone, bricks including monolithic Stupas with images of Buddha and Buddhist divinities and also devoid of images. The monolithic votive Stupas reported from Nalanda, Bodhgaya, Sarnath, Sanchi, Orissa etc are forming a class by themselves for the study of the art, iconography and architecture associated with Buddhism.

As already stated above magnificent temple building activities flourished in the Pala Empire as exemplified in Nalanda (Temple No-3). Mahabodhi temple at Bodhgaya, central shrine at Vikramsila are leaving behind a great legacy of Buddhist pursuits in art and architecture throughout the length and breadth of the country.

After discussing the ‘Development of Stupa Architecture in India’ includes the stupa architecture from early to later phase, textual and archaeological references on stupa architecture and important stupas across India and abroad. In the next chapter ‘The Stupa Architecture in Orissa’ the main Stupa, the structural stupas, monolithic stupas, and the stylized forms in details of the four major excavated sites of Orissa has been done. The above discussion both from literary sources and from Archaeological remains has been carried out briefly to facilitate the study to see how and what extent the stupa development was influenced from the general trend seen at different time in the subcontinent or to what extent it had its regional manifestation and development or otherwise