Sanchi Stupa

The Historical Inscription

It was indeed a special day to stand in front of the celebrated Stupa. It wasn’t just a fine specimen of Buddhist Architecture but also a structure that has some well preserved inscriptions in Brahmi script carved in stones.

Since school days, history was one of my favourite subjects. The love for design and art was probably nurtured by the pages of the textbooks with pictures of monuments and places of historical places with elegant carvings and grand facades. The elaborate Gateway of the famous Sanchi Stupa made a special impression on my young mind and developed a curiosity about Indian art. Even though it was one of the first monuments to have made a great influence, the opportunity to see it in person came just over 12 years back, during my tour of the country undertaken to explore Indian scripts. It was indeed a special day to stand in front of the celebrated Stupa. It wasn’t just a fine specimen of Buddhist Architecture but also a structure that has some well preserved inscriptions in Brahmi script carved in stones.

The construction of the Sanchi Stupa was commissioned by Emperor Ashoka and was completed under the guidance of his queen Devi and princess Vidisha. The importance of this monument in today’s world is that it is one of the most well preserved Buddhist Stupa in India. Such historical buildings are of special importance as they help us understand the origins and development of Buddhist art and architecture in reference to India. It also helps us to visualize the history of Sanchi.

The Sanchi Inscription of Chandragupta II

The Sanchi Inscription of Chandragupta IIhas a record of a donation made by Chandragupta II to the Buddhist initiative in Sanchi during his reign. The significance these inscriptions lay beyond history of a region and place. It has been pivotal in deciphering the ancient Brahmi Script- the one considered the mother of all Indian scripts. One can find the 3 styles of this script, The Ashokan Brahmi, The Gupta Brahmi and The Kushan Brahmi.

The credit of decoding the Brahmi Script goes to the British antiquarian, philologist and the founding editor of the Journal of the Asiatic Society of Bengal, James Prinsep, in 1837. The word ‘Danam’ written in the inscription became the key that unlocked the script for him.

The inscription also is a proof of the utmost respect the subjects had towards their king and Buddhism as there are records of numerous other donations given by locals. It truly has been a walk in the past that glorified a king and a noble path towards god.