Best Answer on Stupa Buddhist origin, a repository of relics, and a votive and commemorative structure in Buddhist tradition.
UPSC Civil Services (Prelims) Exam 2023, General Studies Paper I
Question
With reference to ancient India, consider the following statements:
1. The concept of Stupa is Buddhist in origin.
2. Stupa was generally a repository of relics.
3. Stupa was a votive and commemorative structure in Buddhist tradition.
How many of the statements given above are correct?
(a) Only one
(b) Only two
(c) All three
(d) None
Table of Contents
Answer with detailed explanation and sources
Answer
(b) Only two
Topic
Indian History / Ancient India
Indian History / Art & Culture
Explanation
Statement 1. The concept of Stupa is Buddhist in origin.
The word ‘Stupa’ is a Sanskrit word which means ‘heap’. The word stupa refers to a mound-like or hemispherical structure containing relics. The place was used for meditation.
Is Stupa Buddhist origin? The article by Lucknow University says that,
The word Stupa is mentioned in the Rigveda, Atharvaveda, Vajasaneyi Samhita, Taittriya Samhita. Rigveda refers to a Stupa raised by the King Varuna above the forest in a place having no foundation .The word ‘estuka’ is also used in the same sense in Rigveda, probably by then anything raised on the ground like a heap/pile might have been known as Stupa. However the Pali word ‘thupa’ is quite similar to the term ‘Stupa’. Thupa means a conical heap, a pile or a mound or a conical or bell shaped shrine containing a relic.
NCERT Class 12, History, Chapter 4: Thinkers, beliefs and Buildings, pages 96, 97, 98 further answers ‘Is Stupa Buddhist origin?’?
Why were stupas built
There were other places too that were regarded as sacred. This was because relics of the Buddha such as his bodily remains or objects used by him were buried there. These were mounds known as stupas. The tradition of erecting stupas may have been pre-Buddhist, but they came to be associated with Buddhism. Since they contained relics regarded as sacred, the entire stupa came to be venerated as an emblem of both the Buddha and Buddhism. According to a Buddhist text known as the Ashokavadana, Asoka distributed portions of the Buddha’s relics to every important town and ordered the construction of stupas over them. By the second century BCE a number of stupas, including those at Bharhut, Sanchi and Sarnath had been built.
Hence Statement 1 is incorrect.
Statement 2. Stupa was generally a repository of relics.
By the definition, yes stupa was generally a repository or place to keep relics. In Buddhism this was primarily the place to keep relics of Buddhist monks.
Hence Statement 2 is correct.
Statement 3. Stupa was a votive and commemorative structure in Buddhist tradition.
NCERT Class 12, History, Chapter 4: Thinkers, beliefs and Buildings, pages 96, 97, 98
The structure of the stupa The stupa (a Sanskrit word meaning a heap) originated as a simple semi-circular mound of earth, later called anda. Gradually, it evolved into a more complex structure, balancing round and square shapes. Above the anda was the harmika, a balconylike structure that represented the abode of the gods. Arising from the harmika was a mast called the yashti, often surmounted by a chhatri or umbrella. Around the mound was a railing, separating the sacred space from the secular world.
The early stupas at Sanchi and Bharhut were plain except for the stone railings, which resembled a bamboo or wooden fence, and the gateways, which were richly carved and installed at the four cardinal points. Worshippers entered through the eastern gateway and walked around the mound in a clockwise direction keeping the mound on the right, imitating the sun’s course through the sky. Later, the mound of the stupas came to be elaborately carved with niches and sculptures as at Amaravati, and Shahji-ki-Dheri in Peshawar (Pakistan).
Hence Stupa was a votive and commemorative structure in Buddhist tradition.
Hence Statement 3 is correct.
Therefore only two statements, Statement 2 and 3 are correct.
Sources
NCERT Class 12, History, Chapter 4: Thinkers, beliefs and Buildings, page 98
https://ncert.nic.in/ textbook/pdf/lehs104.pdf
Difficulty level
Moderate
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Written By: Brijesh Singh