Temples of the Ancient East 1: Sanchi and Borobudur

Question 1

Great Stupa

Sanchi, India

c. 250 BC – 250 AD

Answer 1

• Rocks mounded over the graves of important people
• Comparable to small village memorial
• Imbued with universal, religious power
• Circumambulation
  
  • ‘Parikrama’
  • Chanting verses in scripture
• Hill as dome of the heavens
• Vertical world axis
• Cosmological

Question 2

The Shrine of Borobudur

Java, Indonesia

c. 790‐850 AD

Answer 2

• Aligned with Pawan and Mendut, other major buddhist monuments
• Built on earth mound - 50 m above landscape
• Strong sense of symmetry
• Notion of square and circle
• Strong emphasis on cardinal axis
• Choreographs the process of Enlightenment
  
  • Three levels (desire, forms, formlessness)
• System of stairways + corridors
• Narrative relvief panels on ballustrades + walls

Question 3

Key Charatceristics of the Stupa

Answer 3

• Torana - gateway element at the entrance
• Verdika - surrounds stupa, for the monks to circumambulate
• Harmika - fence element encasing the verdika
• Chatra - symbolises bhodi tree