---
title: Sanchi Stupa Gate
author: Andrea Kirkby
source: https://www.worldhistory.org/image/12651/sanchi-stupa-gate/
format: machine-readable-alternate
license: Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/)
updated: 1970-01-01
---
# Sanchi Stupa Gate
_Authored by Andrea Kirkby_
## Image File
[](https://www.worldhistory.org/uploads/images/12651.jpg)
## Image Caption
The oldest [stupa](https://www.worldhistory.org/stupa/) in [India](https://www.worldhistory.org/india/), and possibly in the world, construction of the Great Stupa at Sanchi was decreed and overseen by [Ashoka the Great](https://www.worldhistory.org/Ashoka_the_Great/) (268-232 BCE). It stands 54 feet (17 meters) high and 120 feet (37 meters) wide with a spire (yashti) at the top of the dome (known as the anda) surrounded by a railing (harmika). The stupa is enclosed by a [wall](https://www.worldhistory.org/wall/) with four gates (toranas) corresponding to the cardinal points and four central events in the [Buddha](https://www.worldhistory.org/Siddhartha_Gautama/)’s life (birth, enlightenment, first sermon, [death](https://www.worldhistory.org/disambiguation/Death/)/nirvana).
## Cite This Work
### APA
Kirkby, A. (2020, September 03). Sanchi Stupa Gate. *World History Encyclopedia*.
### Chicago
Kirkby, Andrea. "Sanchi Stupa Gate." *World History Encyclopedia*, September 03, 2020. .
### MLA
Kirkby, Andrea. "Sanchi Stupa Gate." *World History Encyclopedia*, 03 Sep 2020, .
## License & Copyright
[Original image](https://www.flickr.com/photos/andreakirkby/11065577664/) by **Andrea Kirkby**. Submitted by [Ibolya Horváth](https://www.worldhistory.org/user/horvath.ibolya/ "User Page: Ibolya Horváth"), published on 03 September 2020. The copyright holder has published this content under the following license: [Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/deed.en). This license lets others remix, adapt, and build upon your work non-commercially, and although their new works must also acknowledge you and be non-commercial, they don’t have to license their derivative works on the same terms. Please note that content linked from this page may have different licensing terms.