Church of St John dal Bastone

Church of St John dal Bastone, Pelawatte

The Church of St John dal Bastone (John of the Staff), in Pelawatte, Talangama South, is the only church in the world dedicated to the Sylvestrine hermit. His other cult centre is at St Benedict’s Cloister Church, Fabriano, in Italy.

John of the Staff

Giovanni Bonelli Bottegoni was born on 24 March 1200 in the village of Paterno, Fabriano, in the area of Italy known as the March of Ancona. He was the youngest of the five children of his wealthy farming parents, Bonello and Supela Bottegoni. A studious boy, his parents sent him to study the humanities at the University of  Bologna, where he was attracted to religious matters.  

He was suddenly afflicted with a purulent abscess on one side of his thigh, which put a stop to his studies in Bologna. He journeyed home on the back of a donkey, which weakened his thigh further. Consequently, he remained lame for the rest of his life, needing a staff to help him walk, for which he was nicknamed Giovanni dal Bastone (‘John of the Staff’).

St John of the Staff, figurine from the crypt, Fabriano

Although unable to continue studying, John had acquired a certain degree of culture. In order to support himself financially, he opened a school in Fabriano. About 1230 he was attracted by the reputation for holiness of the venerable Silvestro Guzzolini of Osimo, later canonised as St Sylvester Gozzolini, the founder of the Sylvestrine eremitic holy order.

St Sylvester Gozzolini

St Sylvester had established a hermitage at Montefano, not far from Fabriano, which followed a modified Benedictine rule. It was here that John went, to be tested by St Sylvester and be received into the holy order. The lifestyle at Montefano was austere, the aim being to minimise material things so that one’s attention was solely on God. John lived the next 60 years reclusively in a cell, observing the greatest poverty and dedicating himself to prayer. 

Sylvestrine hermitage, Montefano

Seeing his progress, St Sylvester caused John’s promotion to the priesthood. His advice was sought by his fellow monks, when afflicted by worries or doubts.  In 1264 Marsilia, a widow of Attiggio, a village at the foot of Montefano, together with her daughter Sorabona, named John a co-executor of their will, which left modest sums to each of the monks of the order (as well as other religious men and women and the poor of Fabriano). John was named first after St  Sylvester in precedence, indicating his importance.

'St John dal Bastone celebrates mass', altar of St Benedict's, Fabriano

At the conclave held after the death of St Sylvester in 1267, John was the person to whom all turned to ensure harmonious relations. He continued to preach and acquired a reputation for great sanctity, becoming the most illustrious of the first generation of followers of St Sylvester.When he was 90 years old, John’s affliction worsened. The Sylvestrine Prior-General, Blessed Bartolo Tebaldi da Cingoli had a vision of a beam of light streaming down the mountain from John’s cell to the monastery at Fabriano.  John was taken to Fabriano for treatment and died there on 24 March 1290, saying

 'Courage brothers, when I get to heaven I will pray for you. I expect you all there!'

He was laid to rest in the cloister church of St Benedict in Fabriano.

Cloister Church of St Benedict, Fabrian

John was immediately acclaimed a saint by the voice of the people, without any canonical procedure. Venerable Rambotto Vicomanni, the Franciscan Bishop of Camerino, appointed a commission of two canons, aided by two laymen with a notary as their secretary, to collect and verify evidence of the authenticity of his miracles. However, it was not until 29 August 1772, under Pope Clement XIV, that he was beatified.

Cult centres and the Sylvestrines in Sri Lanka

In 1586 a crypt was built  at the Cloister church of St Benedict,with its ceiling adorned with scenes from John's life. At the centre of the crypt is John's tomb, holding his relic and the staff that gave him his nickname. It is said that this crypt is in the house that John lived in when he moved to Fabriano; he is said, while living here prior to taking vows, to have prophesied that a church would be built on this spot.

Crypt of St John dal Bastone at the Cloister Church of St Benedict, Fabriano

In 1845, the Sylvestrine monk Fr. Giuseppe Maria Bravi (later the Vicar Apostolic of the southern vicariate of Colombo) had arrived in Sri Lanka under the auspices of Propaganda Fidei, soon to be joined by other missionary confrères. They were the first Benedictines in the island and their foundation in Sri Lanka was the first the Sylvestrines had outside Europe. They were responsible for the establishment of St Anthony's College, Katugastota, in 1854 and St Benedicts College, Colombo in 1863.

One hundred years after John dal Bastone's beatification, on 29 August 1872, the foundation stone was laid for a Church in his name, in the suburb of Pelawatte, in the town of Talangama, just outside Colombo. The Church, completed in 1881, was administered by the Sylvestrines.

Following the consecration of the Church of St John dal Bastone, the Sylvestrines moved from Colombo to the new Diocese of Kandy in 1883. They established St Sylvester's Monte Fano Monastery at Ampitiya, St Benedict's Monastery on the former Villiers' property of Adisham in Haputale and St Sylvester's College, Kandy.

By the turn of the century, Sri Lanka accounted for about 40% of the Sylvestrine congregation. It was from Sri Lanka that Fr Peter Farina, an Italian, went to Sydney in 1949, to begin the Sylvestrine congregation Down Under. 

In 1972, Friar Michael Lanza, OFM obtained in 1972 from Archbishop Thomas Cardinal Cooray, the quasi-parish of Talangama and the church was entrusted to his order, of Franciscans and in 1974, a foundation of the Order of Friars Minor was established here. Almost nine years later, the foundation stone for a friary was laid here.

Foundation stone for the re-established OFM order, built into church wall

The church celebrated its 125^th anniversary in 2006, and a commemorative five-rupee stamp was issued by the Sri Lanka Post, which depicted the façade of the church together with an image of St John Bastone from one of the stained glass windows in the church.

125th anniversary stamp

 Description

The church has a unique Italianate faux-Baroque façade (see larger photo HERE), with tropical Iberian influences. The façade is flanked by two bell towers (also used to mount loudspeakers). It is distinguished by a wide portico leading to the traditional three great doors. There are also two smaller doors leading to the outer aisles (which are not separated in this church by pillars, but form part of the nave).

Northern bell tower

The place of the traditional aisles is taken by two verandahs on the outside on either side of the nave (to which it is connected by steel-grilled doorways), to which access is via the lower arches of the bell towers. These lead (on the left) to the southern transept and the chapel and (on the right) to the northern transept and the padre's office at the rear. Two confessionals are located on these verandahs.

View from the crossing: the nave and narthex.

Above the central doorway is a cartoon of St John dal Bastone. The place of the narthex is taken by the eastern end of the nave (the traditional westward alignment is reversed), and the baptismal fount is located here. It is separated from the seating area by the shrines of two Saints - St Benedict and St Francis - which flank the entry to the central aisle.

Shrine of St Benedict

Shrine of St Francis of Assisi

 Above the doorways leading to the verandahs on either side of the nave are a number of stained-glass clerestories, depicting scenes from the Passion of Christ.

Northern aisle

In place of the apse, the transept itself houses the chancel and the sanctuary, so the main area of the church is in the shape of a 'T' rather than a '+'. However, the semblance of a cross is restored by the Sacristy, accessed via two doors on either side of the altar.

Chancel and sanctuary

Unlike the rest of the church, the crossing, the chancel and sanctuary have a ceiling, of wood. On either side of the chancel, the two arms of the transept house various shrines.

Northern transept

In the northern transept, which houses the choir, is a triple altar, the central place occupied by the shrine of St John the Apostle, flanked by those of St Anne the mother of Mary and the Madonna and child.

Shrine of St John flanked by St Anne (left) and the Madonna and child (right)

There is also a wooden triptych altar piece with a Madonna and Child  (a reproduction of the original icon of Our Mother of Perpetual Help enshrined in the Redemptorist Church of St. Alphonsus in Rome), flanked by the two sides of the Miraculous Medal of St. Catherine Labouré.

Triptych with Our Mother of Perpetual Help

The stained-glass image of St John dal Bastone used in the commemorative postage stamp was taken from that in the circular clerestory on the wall of the northern transept.

St John dal Bastone in stained glass clerestory in Northern transept

The southern transept, which leads (via a glass door) to the chapel, has a similar clerestory, this time depicting St Francis of Assisi with Christ on the Cross.

Southern transept

The southern transept contains shrines of Jesus Christ,the Virgin Mary and various saints. A triple shrine, mirroring that in the northern transept, depicts St John dal Bastone, flanked by St Sebastian, St Francis of Assisi and St Anthony of Padua, as well as the Infant Jesus.

Shrine of St John dal Bastone, flanked by St Sebastian & St Francis (on left) and St Anthony and the Infant Jesus (on right)

Feast

John dal Bastone is remembered by the monks of the order of Sylvestrines on 24 March, but the feast of the church in Pelawatte is in late July. On the day following the ninth day of prayer (Novena), the vespers mass is followed by a procession, during which the statue of the Saint is paraded through Pelawatte.

Image of St John dal Bastone taken in procession

The statue of the Saint is preceded by marching bands and by members of the congregation bearing candles. The statue's arrival at places along the route is marked by the faithful by the lighting of crackers and launching of rockets.

Women of the congregation bearing candles

The streets along which the procession travels are decorated with coconut leaves, banners, lights and crosses, punctuated by images and shrines of the Saint.

Getting there, staying there

St John dal Bastone's church is on Church Rd, Pelawatte, off the Battaramulla-Pannipitiya road, just past the Cargill's supermarket. It can be reached easily from Colombo, Ethulkotte and Rajagiriya (via Parliament Road), from Nugegoda and Pitakotte (via Talawatugoda Road) or from the E1 Southern Expressway (via Kottawa and Pannipitiya Road). Access is also possible, via the Pahalawela Road, from the Japan-Sri Lanka Friendship Road, which borders the Diyawanna Lake.

Map of Pelawatte, showing location of church

There are regular bus services along the Panniipitiya Road, and the church provides an interesting addition to a visit to the Parliament area or the Diyawanna Bird Sanctuary.

If one wishes to stay in the area, there are two very expensive villas available for rent. La Villa Sanctuary, Talawatugoda, borders the marsh, less than a kilometre from the Church. The Villa Talangama lies on the Talangama Tank, about two kilometres away. Both have excellent views of the wetlands and of the bird life protected by the sanctuary.

Click HERE for the website of the church.

Sanchi - rediscovery & restoration

Continued from: Sanchi - expansion & fall

Sanchi was rediscovered in 1818, after 600 years, by General Taylor of the Bengal Cavalry, who came upon the overgrown monuments during a campaign against the Pindharas. He reported them to be in a good state of preservation, an opinion backed by Captain Fell, who visited Sanchi the next year.

Drawings of stupas 1 & 2 by Maisey, which show the damage inflicted on them by British treasure hunters

However, in 1822 Herbert Maddock, the political agent of Bhopal, aided by his zealous assistant Captain Johnson, inflicted considerable damage to the magnificent monuments, looking for treasure.

Eastern gateway and Great Stupa by Murray

Subsequently, several - more serious -  observers recorded plates at Sanchi, sending them to Numismatist and Philologist James Prinsep of the Asiatic Society. Most importantly, in 1837, Captain E. Smith copied and sent Prinsep twenty-five inscriptions and Captain W. Murray sent more drawings. The most important for Prinsep were Smith's copies of the inscriptions.

Facsimile of inscription from Sanchi copied by Captain Smith

Prinsep noticed that they all ended with two letters:He guessed (with the help of an Indian Pundit, who is seldom given any credit) that they represented the word danam (gift) and took their values to be 'D' and 'N'. He used this clue as a key to decipher the Brahmi Script. Prinsep's article in the Asiatic Society journal can be read HERE. 

The ruins, then called the 'Bhilsa Topes' ('Bhilsa' being the mediaeval name of Vidisha, tope being Hindi for a stupa) were further explored, beginning about 1840, by the 'Father of the Indian Archaeological Survey', by Captain (later Major General) Alexander Cunningham. Together with Captain (later General)  Frederick Charles Maisey he managed to recover a great deal of valuable material.  Unfortunately, the primitive techniques they used damaged the monuments further.

Great Stupa in 1906 [original at Victoria & Albert Museum]

The structures were not in good shape, and restoration work was begun in 1881, supervised by Major HH Cole, the Curator. However, work was slow and did not go very far (as may be observed from the 1906 photo of the Great Stupa, above). The credit for the restoration of the Sanchi site should go to Sir John Marshall, the Director General of Archaeological Survey of India, under whom this work was carried out in 1912-1919.

Sanchi hilltop site plan

Altogether over 50 monuments were excavated and conserved. Of these 30 were stupas which, apart from the Great Stupa and Stupas 2 & 3, were quite small, as exemplified by Stupas 28 and 29, seen below.

View from the top: the lesser domes of Stupas 28 & 29 adjacent to Stupa 5, which is hidden behind the trees

Before Marshall came on the scene, however, there had been much looting of the site. Articles such as the beautiful thrice-bent (tivanka) Bodhisattva torso from Temple 45 (9th century, now at the Victoria and Albert Museum) ended up in private collections. Indeed, there was even a proposal to cart off the fences and gateways of the Great Stupa to England!

Figurines of Sariputta and Maha-Mogallana

In 1851, Cunningham found two relic boxes inside Stupa 3, engraved with the names of Sariputta and Maha-Moggallana, the two chief disciples (agra-sravakas) of the Buddha, containing bone-relics. These found their way to London and ended up in the Victoria and Albert Museum. 

In 1939 the Maha Bodhi Society (the Buddhist organisation established by Sir Edwin Arnold and the Sri Lankan Buddhist leader Anagarika Dharmapala) requested their return. In 1947 the relics arrived in India and were entrusted to the  Maha Bodhi Society. After touring India, Myanmar and Sri Lanka (parts of the relics remained in the latter two countries), they were returned in 1952 to Sanchi, where they were enshrined in the newly-built Chetiyagiri Vihara by Prime Minister Shri Jawarhalal Nehru.

Chetiyagiri Vihara

Fortunately, the Indian government has separated the modern Vihara premises from the archaeological site, preventing the inhibition of the latter's pristine splendour (as has taken place, for example in Anuradhapura in Sri Lanka). 

Guides in shalwar khameez & dupatta

Visitors are shown around the site by pulchritudinous women guides, dressed in monochromatic but not displeasing attire. For a touch of colour, one should look at the local visitors from Bhopal and Vidisha, in their sarees, shalwar khameezes (pajamas), lehenga cholis (long skirts & blouses) and dupattas (scarves).

Visitors: sarees, shalwar khameezes, and (girl in orange) lehenga choli & dupatta; the little boy wears a Nehru waistcoat with his shalwar khameez.

The site offers breathtaking vistas of the Malwa countryside, particularly from the upper pradakshina patha of the Great stupa. The view of the landscape from near the Western gateway is HERE.

The Archaeological Museum, run by the Archaeological Survey of India, is at the foot of the hill, between the station and the archaeological site. It holds many of the items excavated from Sanchi and other nearby sites, including material returned from Britain.

Barrier free

In co-operation with the Bhopal-based voluntary organisation Arushi, the Archaeological Survey of India has made the site the first in India to be barrier-free for physically challenged people. The stupas have been made wheelchair-accessible, special tactile walkways have been constructed for easy access and manoeuvrability, information plaques and signs in braille have been made available, along with beepers and a Braille map, while toilets and canteen areas which cater to the otherwise-abled have been provided. Most importantly, the guides and other staff have been trained and sensitised to deal with physically challenged tourists, including those in wheelchairs and with visual impairments.

The people speak a local dialect, but standard Hindi is understood. Because of tourists from Sri Lanka, Sinhala and English are also widely spoken, and it is possible to get by in these languages as well.

Sanchi - map of location

Sanchi can be visited with ease from Bhopal, which is well connected by air (domestically, from  Ahmedabad, Delhi, Ahmedabad, Hyderabad, Indore, Mumbai & Raipur) and rail as well as road. There are road and rail links from Vidisha. Regular bus services connect Sanchi with Vidisha, Raisen, Bhopal, Sagar, Indore and Gwalior. 

There are few places to stay in Sanchi: the Madhya Pradesh Tourism Development Board's Gateway Retreat hotel (**½, bookable on-line) and its Gateway Cafeteria (also bookable on-line), the Krishna Hotel and the New Jaiswal Lodge. There is also a Public Works Department 'circuit house', but this must be booked through the Raisen District Collector. 

It was due to the dearth of rooms in Sanchi that the governments of Sri Lanka and Madhya Pradesh co-operated to build the New pilgrims' rest house for the Mahabodhi Society, the Sanchi Vandana Niketana (Sinhala) or Theertha Niketan (Hindi). It includes an image house and sermon rooms for pilgrims. Rooms can be booked by contacting the resident monk.

Mahabodhi Pilgrims' Rest and temple

During the pilgrimage season (Autumn-Winter), rooms are difficult to come by, so it may be easier to stay at Vidisha or even Bhopal (where there are many more hotels) and commute. 

However you may come, or wherever you may stay, Sanchi should not be missed. It is one of the great archaeological sites of the world. Unfortunately it is not sufficiently appreciated. Neither, it should be noted, is the rest of incredible Madhya Pradesh which, while resplendent with ancient sites, beautiful vistas and nature reserves (Rudyard Kipling's Mowgli stories were set in 'Seeonee' and the Mowgli Pench Sanctuary is located there)  receives only a fraction of the more than 5 million visitors to India each year.

Sanchi - expansion & fall

Continued from Caityagiri Vihara, Sanchi

Monastery 51

Sanchi has seven monastery buildings in total. The first appears to have been Monastery 51, which might have been commissioned by Queen Devi. Its thick walls were built with flat bricks, while charred wood remnants indicate that the superstructure was of wood. About 33 metres (108 feet) square, it consisted of a central open courtyard  enclosed by a verandah and flanked cells (kuti) for the monks to live in. Apart from the 22 cells, it also contained common rooms. It is situated west of the Western gateway of the Great Stupa, just beyond the upper tank.

By way of comparison, according to the Bible, Solomon's Temple in Jerusalem was 60 cubits (27 metres) long and 20 cubits (9 metres) wide, less than a third the size of this monastery.

The Great Stupa rebuilt

About half a century after the demise of Asoka, a Mauryan general, Pusyamitra overthrew his overlords and established the Sunga dynasty. Pusyamitra is said to have persecuted Buddhists and it appears that the great Stupa of Sanchi was damaged at this time. However, the later Sungas rebuilt it and erected Stupas 2 & 3. 

The dome of the Great Stupa was mounted on a high circular drum, with space for a path (pradakshina patha) meant for circumambulation, with access via a double staircase from an outer pradakshina patha at ground level. 

Elevation & plan of the Great stupa

The dome was flattened near the top and crowned with a square platform with railings on top of the stupa (harmika), and three superimposed parasols (a chattravali or chattra).

The Sungas were driven from the area by the Sātavāhanas, an Andhra family who started out as vassals of the Mauryas but declared independence. 

The Sātavāhanas were responsible (c 70 BC - 50 AD) for replacing the wooden fence-like enclosure (vedika - evolved from ancient Vedic villages) and gateways (toranas) with stone balustrades and elaborate stone gateways. An inscription on the Southern gateway reads:

Gift of Ananda, the son of Vasithi, the foreman of the artisans of rajan Siri Satakarni

(Satkarni being a Sātavāhana monarch).

Eastern gateway (torana) and balustrade (vedika)

They also added the gateways and balustrades to the other, Sunga-era stupas. The carvings on the gateways and balustrades were mainly of scenes from the life of the Buddha and from his previous incarnations (the Jatakas). The image of the Buddha himself was absent, but various sacred events were represented by motifs, such as the Dhammacakka (wheel of the Dhamma), the stupa, the Bo-tree, the Buddha's footprint and animals, like the horse named Kantaka, on which he left his home. The elephants on the Eastern gateway, for instance, probably represent the legend of the birth of the Buddha.

Detail of Eastern gateway (torana)

The carvings were mostly gifts by prominent citizens, who appear to have requested their favourite Buddhist scenes, and the artisans who executed them drew from the ordinary daily life of the period. As a result, the gateways and balustrades provide us with an insight into contemporary mundane existence,  including such minutiae as clothing, jewellery, tools, utensils and weapons. 

Guardian of the gate on Eastern gateway

For instance, the image of a guardian of the gate (dvarapala) in the panel below shows a soldier armed with a spear and a sword-scabbard. The spear has a broad head, with sharp sides for hacking with, as described in Kautilya's Arthasastra. The man is adorned with bangles and a niska or ornamental collar, and wears a dhoti, one end draped over his arm like the end of a Roman toga; evidently, he was quite the man-about-town.

Steppe dynasties, the Guptas and the Gurjaras
The Sātavāhanas were displaced by the Sakas (the Western Satraps), who conquered the area in the 1st century AD,  and later by the Kushans. During the reign of the Kushan King Vasishka (247-265) several inscriptions were made at Sanchi, including one found on the pedestal of a Buddha statue in the debris of Stupa 29.

Vasishka, from a contemporary coin

These descendants of steppe peoples were conquered by the Gupta dynasty. The Guptas embellished Sanchi with temples and statues, including four statues of the Buddha facing the four gateways of the Great stupa.

Buddha statue

By now, the representation of the Buddha by iconic motifs had given way, apparently under the influence of the Indo-Greeks of Gandhara (modern Kandahar). Read more about Buddhist aniconism HERE. It should be noted parenthetically, however, that there is a school of thought which considers that Buddha images antedated this period and that the aniconic theory is wrong. Read about it HERE.

Some history here, involving invasions and alternating dynasties. If you wish to avoid it, skip the three paragraphs below.

The Gupta Empire fell under the onslaught of Hephthalites, called Sveta Huna (White Huns) or Turuksha (Turks) by the Indians. A Huna king, Toramána, established his sovereignty over eastern Malwa about 485 AD. His son, Mihirakula conquered most of North India and established an anti-Buddhist persecution in 515 AD. Fifteen years later, he was defeated, apparently by a coalition of anti-Huna forces led by the Aulikara king Yasodharman, who chased him to Kashmir. A decade later, Yasodharman's death saw the demise of his empire and Guptas again ruled the Malwa kingdom.

The Guptas were in turn displaced by the Pushyabhutis, one of whom, Rajyavardhana, captured Malwa in 605 AD. On Rajyavardhana's murder, his brother Harsha came to the throne. Harsha or Harshavardhana was the last of the four great Buddhist emperors, the others being Asoka, the Græco-Bactrian Menander (known as Milinda) and the Kushan Kanishka.

On Harsha's death, his empire broke up, to be taken over by the Gurjara Pratihâra dynasty, one of whom, Nagabhatta I, conquered Malwa. Following several years of struggle, the Pala dynasty of Bengal displaced them in the area. They possibly ruled through the Paramara Kings of Malwa, who succeeded them sometime in the 9th century. The Paramaras held Malwa until the 12th century. 

Later development & fall
There were several upsurges of building and other creative activity in this era. To the Aulikara-Gupta period (6th century AD) can be dated one upsurge, during which Stupas 5 and 7 were built. Others occurred during the 7th to 8th centuries (after Harsha brought stability) and again about the 10th century. Much of this activity was in the form of rebuilding or embellishing existing monuments.

Temple 18

An exemplary monument is Temple 18, located just south of the Great Stupa. It is a Buddhist chaitya hall, a prayer hall housing a small relic chamber (chaitya is derived from the Sanskrit for 'a pyre' or 'a pile of ashes'. It is built like a classic Buddhist rock-cut hall of worship (chaitya-griha). 

Temple 18 - plan by Maisey

The temple consists of an apse, a central nave and side-aisles, immediately facing the Great Stupa. The temple was originally built on a raised platform in the Maurya or Sunga era. 

In the 7th century AD, the temple was rebuilt; the apse was based on the earlier foundation of the temple. It was surrounded by  a solid masonry wall and looked out on an antechamber formed by several 5.2 metre high square pillars and pilasters over which were mounted architraves, on which was fitted the wooden roof.

The temple was re-modelled in the 10th or 11th century. The floor-level of the apse was raised and carved door jambs were added.

Nothing remains of the small stupa which was at the centre of the apse and which contained relics, some of which were recovered by archaeologists in the 19th century.

While most of India became Hindu, in eastern Malwa Buddhism continued to flourish until the 12th century, up to when the monastery complex existed with the support of Vidisha, rebuilt as Bhilsa in the 9th century.

Reconstruction of the Sanchi ruins (from 'The Architecture of India' by Satish Grover)

After the 13th century, the monastery seems to have been abandoned and knowledge of it was apparently lost. This may have been because of attacks of Turkic Islamic rulers such as Iltutmish, who in  1234-35 led an expedition to Malwa, sacking Ujjain, Bhilsa and Raisen; and Alla-ud-din Khalji who repeated the performance in 1292-93.

Continued: Sanchi - rediscovery & restoration

Caityagiri Vihara, Sanchi

In October 2009 I had the good fortune to visit the Buddhist pilgrimage site of Sanchi in India. The site, although off the beaten track for most pilgrims, has especial importance to Sri Lankans, for reasons made clear (it is hoped) below.

The village of Sanchi is located in the Raisen district of Madhya Pradesh, about 45 kilometres north-east of Bhopal, on the Malwa plateau. It is about 8 km from Vidisha and has a population of about 7,000 whose income is dependant mainly on the tourism generated by the place’s significance in Buddhist history. The tourists are those who come to visit the Vihara (Buddhist Monastery) atop the adjacent, 91 metre-high hill. 

Entrance to the Sanchi monastery complex

This hill was originally known as Vedisagiri (hill of Vidisha) or Caityagiri (hill of the monastery) and later as Bota Sri-Parvata. The monastery was known as Kakanava or Kakanaya in the 2nd century BC: this might be derived from an inscription on a pillar, Kakanaye bhagavato pamanalathi,  which either meant 'may the Buddha's blessings radiate always' or 'the Buddha's staff at Kakanaya' - the scribe may have been punning!

Visitors climbing up the hill

After about the 5th century  AD it was named Kakanadabota (probably meaning 'kakanada monastery'. Two centuries later, the hill was Bota Sri Parvata ('blessed monastery hill'). This became Santi Sri Parvata ('santi' or 'shanthi' meaning 'bright', 'shining' or 'peace', शान्तिः in Sanskrit). Through vulgar usage, Santi became Sanchi - सांची in Hindi.

Asoka & Devi
The Mauryan Emperor Asoka the Great was a convert to Buddhism. Sickened by the casualties (One hundred and fifty thousand were deported, one hundred thousand were killed and many more died from other causes) of his victorious campaign to conquer Kalinga (modern Orissa), he was receptive to the teachings of the Buddha. He then set about propagating Buddhism with all the zeal of the convert.

Prior to rising to the imperium, Asoka was governor of Avanti, one of the 16 Janapadas or settlements of ancient India. He married Devi, the daughter of a merchant-banker (vaishya-setti) of Vidisha, who bore him a son, Mahinda and a daughter, Sanghamitta.

Asoka and Devi, played by actors Shah Rukh Khan & Hrishitaa Bhatt in the swashbuckling, swords-&-sandals Bollywood epic Asoka

Mahinda was later to convert the King of Sri Lanka, Devanampiya Tissa, to Buddhism, while his sister Sanghamitta was to take to the island a sapling of the great sacred Bo Tree at Bodhgaya - which, planted in Anuradhapura, became the Sri Mahabodhi, the oldest recorded tree in the world. Both Mahinda and Sanghamitta are said to have begun their journeys from the monastery at Sanchi, where Asoka had built a dagoba, the earliest representation of a hemispherical stupa in India (earlier stupas appear to have been more phallic).

Socio-economic significance
Sanchi was in a quiet and secluded area suitable for meditation, while not being too far from Vidisha which (apart from being Devi’s birthplace)  was a rich and populous city, having a wealthy community of merchants and bankers capable of supporting such a large monastery. 

Sanchi's position on the main early trade routes [original at V & A website]

Vidisha was strategically close to the confluence of the Betwa and Beas rivers, as well as on the main trading route from the Gangetic plain to Ujjain (Udeni, the capital of Avanti - Ozene to the ancient Greeks) and beyond: to the Deccan in the south and the Arabian Sea ports of Broach (Bharukachcha - Greek Barygaza) and Sopara (Supparaka - Greek Suppara) in the west. It was along these routes that the artistic and cultural influences were exchanged, along with trade goods. 

According to British Archaeologist Julia Shaw, who did an extensive archaeological survey of the area, monks moved into the area armed with a culture of agrarian and urban production (including irrigation systems), enabling local communities to extend their economic support to new monasteries which sprang up in the hinterland of Vidisha; Sanchi may have been a 'strategic base' for missionaries of the new belief system.

Upper tank

The hill itself was the site of a rainwater harvesting system, its slopes forming a natural catchment area. It had three reservoirs or tanks, each above the other; gullies and drains collected rainwater and channelled them into each tank, and water flowed downhill from one tank to the next. The upper tank (a converted quarry), which provided water to the monasteries on the western slope, has been restored.

 The Great Stupa

The Great Stupa & southern gateway

Sanchi might have existed as a Buddhist monastery before Asoka, but he certainly embellished it. He erected Stupa 1, the 'Great Stupa', the main dagoba of the complex at the centre of the hill-top plateau. It was one of 84,000 said to have been built by Asoka to house the relics of the Buddha taken from seven of eight older dagobas.

Great Stupa, drawings done by Maisey in 1851

The Stupa was made with four paths and gateways, to represent a junction of four roads, since a stupa should always be erected at a crossroad. The stupa was surrounded by a wooden fence and had the gateways were of wood. The shape appears to evoke a swastika - a sacred solar symbol and nothing to do at all with anti-Semitism or fascism. 

Swastikas, Nazi & solar (courtesy: Temple Illuminatus website)

Asoka's edict pillar
At its southern end, Asoka erected a pillar, an example of the Seleucid-influenced Græco-Buddhist æsthetic style, with its exquisite proportions and structural balance. It was broken by a local landlord to make a sugar cane press - an early, oriental example of Thatcherism - and only the shaft stands here today.

Asoka's pillar

On the pillar was inscribed one of Asoka's famous edicts, which read (the opening lines are illegible):

'... path is prescribed both for the monks and the nuns: As long as (my) sons and great-grandsons (shall reign and) as long as the sun and moon (shall shine), the monk or nun who shall cause divisions in the Sangha should be caused to put on white robes and to reside in a non-residence. It is my desire that the Sangha may be united and of long duration.'

Note: The Sangha is the Buddhist 'clergy'. Read more about it HERE.

Lion-capital of the Asoka pillar

The rest  of Asoka's pillar is now housed in the Sanchi Archaeological Museum, including its capital, famous for its four lions standing back-to-back. This symbol, found atop several Asokan edict-pillars, was later to be adopted as the national emblem of India. 

Indian emblem (courtesy: Government of India website)

 The complete pillar was 12.8 metres high and weighed about 50 tonnes - a considerable load to transport from what is now Uttar Pradesh to Sanchi and then up the hill (even with today's heavy Tata lorries).

Continued: Sanchi - expansion & fall