Glossary · S
Stupa
Also called stupas, stūpa, dagoba, chedi
A Buddhist monument: a solid hemispherical mound enshrining relics, crowned by a harmika and parasols and worshipped by walking round it.
Rules that use the word
The stupa: a solid mound with a crown. Build the stupa as a solid hemispherical mound (anda) over relics, on a circular terrace (medhi), and crown it with a railed enclosure (harmika) and a mast of parasols (chattra).
The stupa where four roads meet. Enshrine the relics of a Buddha, like those of a universal king, in a stupa raised where four great roads meet, so that all who pass may honour them.
Small stupas round the great one. Let monks and pilgrims raise small stupas for merit close round the great stupa, so that its terrace fills over the centuries with lesser monuments.
Where it appears in the book
In the chapters South and Southeast Asia, China, Japan and Korea.
A feature of Buddhist India architecture.
Nearby in the glossary
Stoa · Stomion · Stretcher · Stroll garden · Stupi · Stylobate · Sukiya · Systyle