Which of the following are true about the stupa? (a) The Buddha had enjoined the erection of stupas over his ashes (b) The custom of rearing stupas was pre-Buddhist (c) The Jainas also erected this form of memorial in early times (d) The extant Dhamekha stupa of Sarnath is one of the oldest Choose the correct option:

Which of the following are true about the stupa? (a) The Buddha had enjoined the erection of stupas over his ashes (b) The custom of rearing stupas was pre-Buddhist (c) The Jainas also erected this form of memorial in early times (d) The extant Dhamekha stupa of Sarnath is one of the oldest Choose the correct option: Correct Answer (a), (b) and (c) only

The Buddha had instructed his followers to cremate his body as the body of a universal monarch would be cremated and then to distribute the relics among various groups of his lay followers, who were to enshrine them in hemispherical reliquaries called stupas.

  • His body lay in a coffin for seven days before being placed on a funeral pyre and was set ablaze by the Buddha’s chief disciple, Mahakashyapa, who had been absent at the time of the Buddha’s death.
  • After the Buddha’s cremation, his relics were entrusted to a group of lay disciples, but armed men arrived from seven other regions and demanded the relics. In order to avert bloodshed, a monk divided the relics into eight portions.
  • According to tradition, 10 sets of relics were enshrined, 8 from portions of the Buddha’s remains, 1 from the pyre’s ashes, and 1 from the bucket used to divide the remains.
  • The stupa (“stupa” is Sanskrit for heap) is an important form of Buddhist architecture, though it predates Buddhism. The custom of rearing stupas was pre-Buddhist. Hence, statement 2nd is correct.
  • A stupa is a dirt burial mound faced with stone. In Buddhism, the earliest stupas contained portions of the Buddha’s ashes, and as a result, the stupa began to be associated with the body of the Buddha. 
  • Plutarch tells the same story of him which is told of Buddha, that after his death several cities wanted to have the body of this righteous king entombed in their own domain, and the dispute was adjusted
  • by a division of the sacred ashes which resulted in. the erection of several stupas in different places. Hence, statement 1st is correct.

Jainism originated in the Indian subcontinent in the 6th century BCE.
Jainism has influenced and contributed to many artistic spheres in India, such as painting, sculpture, and architecture.
Modern and medieval Jains built many temples, especially in western India.

  • The earliest Jain monuments were temples based on the Brahmanical Hindu temple plan and monasteries for Jain monks.
  • Among the earliest Jain monuments are the Udayagiri and Khandagiri Caves in Orissa, carved out as residential blocks for Jain monks during the reign of King Kharavela of Kalinga (193–170 BCE).
  • The Jainas also erected this form of memorial in early times.
  • The Jain stupa was a type of stupa erected by the Jains for devotional purposes. A Jain stupa dated to the 1st-century BCE-1st century CE was excavated at Mathura.
  • Jain legends state that the earliest Jain stupa was built in the 8th century BCE, before the time of the Jina Parsvanatha.
  • There is a possibility that the Jains adopted stupa worships from the Buddhists, but that is an unsettled point.
  • However, the Jain stupa has a peculiar cylindrical three-tier structure, which is quite reminiscent of the Samavasarana, by which it was apparently ultimately replaced as an object of worship.
  • The name for stupa as used in Jain inscriptions is the standard word "thupe".

Sanchi Stupa is a Buddhist complex, famous for its Great Stupa, on a hilltop at Sanchi Town in State of Madhya Pradesh.

The Great Stupa at Sanchi is one of the oldest stone structures in India, and an important monument of Indian Architecture. It was originally commissioned by the emperor Ashoka.

Dhamekha stupa of Sarnath - 

  • Originally constructed in 249 BCE later replaced in 500 CE.
  • It was built by emperor Ashoka of the Maurya Dynasty.
  • The significance of this sacred place is that it marks the spot where Lord Buddha preached the first sermon to His five disciples after attaining enlightenment in Bodh Gaya. 

Related Questions

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A passage is given with five questions following it. Read the passage carefully and select the best answer to each question out of the given fouralternatives. He wasn't the first, nor would he be the last, but the wiry, bespectacled man from Gujarat is certainly the most famous of the world's peaceful political dissidents.Mohandas Gandhi – also affectionately known as Mahatma – led India's independence movement in the 1930s and 40s by speaking softly without carrying much ofa big stick, facing down the British colonialists with stirring speeches and non-violent protest. More than anything else, historians say, Gandhi proved that one manhas the power to take on an empire, using both ethics and intelligence. Urges Britain to quit India It is hard to imagine the thin, robed Gandhi working in the rough and tumble world of law, but Gandhi did get his start in politics as a lawyer in South Africa, where he supported the local Indian community's struggle for civil rights. Returning to India in 1915, he carried over his desire to improve the situation of the lower classes. Gandhi quickly became a leader within the Indian National Congress, a growing political party supporting independence, and traveled widely with the party to learnabout the local struggles of various Indian communities. It was during those travels that his legend grew among the Indian people, historians say. Gandhi was known as much for his wit and intelligence as for his piety. When he was arrested several more times over the years for his actions during the movement,Gandhi calmly fasted in prison, believing that his death would embarrass the British enough to spur independence, which had become the focus of his politics by1920. Gandhi's non-cooperation movement, kicked off in the early 1920s, called for Indians to boycott British goods and traditions and become self-reliant. His mostfamous protest came in 1930, when Gandhi led thousands of Indians on a 250-mile march to a coastal town to produce salt, on which the British had a monopoly. Bapu was known for his:
A passage is given with five questions following it. Read the passage carefully and select the best answer to each question out of the given fouralternatives. He wasn't the first, nor would he be the last, but the wiry, bespectacled man from Gujarat is certainly the most famous of the world's peaceful political dissidents.Mohandas Gandhi – also affectionately known as Mahatma – led India's independence movement in the 1930s and 40s by speaking softly without carrying much ofa big stick, facing down the British colonialists with stirring speeches and non-violent protest. More than anything else, historians say, Gandhi proved that one manhas the power to take on an empire, using both ethics and intelligence. Urges Britain to quit India It is hard to imagine the thin, robed Gandhi working in the rough and tumble world of law, but Gandhi did get his start in politics as a lawyer in South Africa, where he supported the local Indian community's struggle for civil rights. Returning to India in 1915, he carried over his desire to improve the situation of the lower classes. Gandhi quickly became a leader within the Indian National Congress, a growing political party supporting independence, and traveled widely with the party to learnabout the local struggles of various Indian communities. It was during those travels that his legend grew among the Indian people, historians say. Gandhi was known as much for his wit and intelligence as for his piety. When he was arrested several more times over the years for his actions during the movement,Gandhi calmly fasted in prison, believing that his death would embarrass the British enough to spur independence, which had become the focus of his politics by1920. Gandhi's non-cooperation movement, kicked off in the early 1920s, called for Indians to boycott British goods and traditions and become self-reliant. His mostfamous protest came in 1930, when Gandhi led thousands of Indians on a 250-mile march to a coastal town to produce salt, on which the British had a monopoly. Which of the following can help one to "take on" an empire?
A passage is given with five questions following it. Read the passage carefully and select the best answer to each question out of the given fouralternatives. He wasn't the first, nor would he be the last, but the wiry, bespectacled man from Gujarat is certainly the most famous of the world's peaceful political dissidents.Mohandas Gandhi – also affectionately known as Mahatma – led India's independence movement in the 1930s and 40s by speaking softly without carrying much ofa big stick, facing down the British colonialists with stirring speeches and non-violent protest. More than anything else, historians say, Gandhi proved that one manhas the power to take on an empire, using both ethics and intelligence. Urges Britain to quit India It is hard to imagine the thin, robed Gandhi working in the rough and tumble world of law, but Gandhi did get his start in politics as a lawyer in South Africa, where he supported the local Indian community's struggle for civil rights. Returning to India in 1915, he carried over his desire to improve the situation of the lower classes. Gandhi quickly became a leader within the Indian National Congress, a growing political party supporting independence, and traveled widely with the party to learnabout the local struggles of various Indian communities. It was during those travels that his legend grew among the Indian people, historians say. Gandhi was known as much for his wit and intelligence as for his piety. When he was arrested several more times over the years for his actions during the movement,Gandhi calmly fasted in prison, believing that his death would embarrass the British enough to spur independence, which had become the focus of his politics by1920. Gandhi's non-cooperation movement, kicked off in the early 1920s, called for Indians to boycott British goods and traditions and become self-reliant. His mostfamous protest came in 1930, when Gandhi led thousands of Indians on a 250-mile march to a coastal town to produce salt, on which the British had a monopoly. Who is he referred to in the first paragraph of the passage?
A passage is given with five questions following it. Read the passage carefully and select the best answer to each question out of the given fouralternatives. He wasn't the first, nor would he be the last, but the wiry, bespectacled man from Gujarat is certainly the most famous of the world's peaceful political dissidents.Mohandas Gandhi – also affectionately known as Mahatma – led India's independence movement in the 1930s and 40s by speaking softly without carrying much ofa big stick, facing down the British colonialists with stirring speeches and non-violent protest. More than anything else, historians say, Gandhi proved that one manhas the power to take on an empire, using both ethics and intelligence. Urges Britain to quit India It is hard to imagine the thin, robed Gandhi working in the rough and tumble world of law, but Gandhi did get his start in politics as a lawyer in South Africa, where he supported the local Indian community's struggle for civil rights. Returning to India in 1915, he carried over his desire to improve the situation of the lower classes. Gandhi quickly became a leader within the Indian National Congress, a growing political party supporting independence, and traveled widely with the party to learnabout the local struggles of various Indian communities. It was during those travels that his legend grew among the Indian people, historians say. Gandhi was known as much for his wit and intelligence as for his piety. When he was arrested several more times over the years for his actions during the movement,Gandhi calmly fasted in prison, believing that his death would embarrass the British enough to spur independence, which had become the focus of his politics by1920. Gandhi's non-cooperation movement, kicked off in the early 1920s, called for Indians to boycott British goods and traditions and become self-reliant. His mostfamous protest came in 1930, when Gandhi led thousands of Indians on a 250-mile march to a coastal town to produce salt, on which the British had a monopoly. What led to the growth of legend of Mahatma Gandhi among the Indians?