SANCHI

Sanchi is a worldwide famous tourism spot of India ,it is located 46 km north- east of Bhopal .It takes only 40 minutes to reach SANCHI from BHOPAL by train or if one not wants to go by train then he can go by road also, NH-12 joins BHOPAL to Sanchi, it takes 0ne hour.

Sanchi is famous for its Great Stupa . It is the location of several Buddhists monuments dating from the third century BCE to the twelfth century CE. It is unique, not only for having the most perfect and well preserved stupas, but also for offering the visitor a chance to see, in one location, the genesis, flowering, and decay of Buddhist art and architecture during a period of about 1500 years -- almost covering the entire range of Indian Buddhism. This is surprising since Sanchi was not hallowed by any incident in Buddha's life nor was it the focus of any significant event in the history of Buddhism.

The foundation of this Great STUPA at Sanchi was laid by the Emperor Ashoka when he built a stupa and erected a monolithic pillar in third century BCE . Ashoka built a total of eight stupas on the hilltop of Sanchi including the Great Stupa. A great number of stupas and other religious structures were added over the succeeding centuries.
In a larger sense the stupa is also a cosmic symbol. Its hemispherical shape represents the world egg. Stupas commonly rest on a square pedestal and are carefully aligned with the four cardinal points of the compass. This is a recurrence of the symbolism of the dome whereby Earth supports Heaven and Heaven covers Earth. The axis of the world is always represented in the stupa, rising above its summit. The so-called "parasols," set one above the other along the shaft emerging from its uppermost region, represent a heavenly hierarchy. The cosmic symbolism is completed by a ritual circumambulatory path around the monument.