Satdhara Buddhist Stupa -Madhya Pradesh

Address

Satdhara Buddhist Stupa Satdhara Road, Murli Khedi, Madhya Pradesh 464661

Diety

Buddha

Introduction

Satdhara is the name of a Buddhist archaeological site consisting of stupas and viharas, located 9 km west of Sanchi, Madhya Pradesh, India. There are in all four groups of stupas surrounding Sanchi within a radius of twenty kilometers: Bhojpur and Andher in the southeast, Sonari to the southwest, and Satdhara to the west.

Puranic Significance

The cluster of ancient Buddhist relics estimated to date back to the 2nd century BC. Satdhara is a relatively lesser-known Buddhist site in Madhya Pradesh – a sharp contrast to the nearby UNESCO World Heritage Site of Sanchi. The hilltop, lined by teak forest on the one side, and by brick structures on the other Side. There are small stupas and remnants of monasteries. A series of dilapidated stone steps lead to the roof of a monastery, where nature has taken its course and the grass now springs wild from within the stone. Stupa No: 1, a large and rather magnificently preserved dome in three tiers rises from a patch of green, surrounded only by forest and centuries-old relics. In 1854, Alexander Cunningham, a British army officer and an archaeologist, excavated the site and reported that this stupa was similar in scale to its famous counterpart in Sanchi, measuring more than 30 meters across and 12 meters high.