SANCIII, a small village situated on a low ridge of a sandstone hill, on the left bank of the Betwa, 20 miles to the N.E. of Bhopal, and about 5i miles S.W. of Bhilsa. About the beginning of the Christian era, it was the capital of a kingdoin called Sanaka-nika, and is famous as the site of some of the most extensive and remarkable Buddhist remains in India, the centre of the great grim') described by General Cunningham under the name of (.The Bhilsa Topes.' The principal buildings which now remain occupy only the middle part of the level top, and a narrow belt leading down the hill to the westward. They consist of one great stupa or tope with its railing and other adjuncts ; about ten smaller stupas, some now showing nothing more than the founda tions • a stone bowl, 41 feet in diameter and 2I feet 'deep, supposed to have once contained Buddha's holy nettle, and other objects of anti quarian interest.
It is narrated in the Mahawanso that Asoka when on his way to Ujjain, of which.place lie bad been nominated governor, tarried some time at Chityagiri, or, as it is elsewhere called, 1Vessan agara, the modern 13isnagar, close to Sanchi. He there married Devi, the daughter of the chief, and by her had twin sons, Ujjenio and Mahindo, and afterwards a daughter, Sanghanaitta. The two first named entered the priesthood, and played a most important part in the introduction of Buddhism into Ceylon.
The ruins at Sanchi are those of a stupa, and not a dhagoba. The ruins called No. 2 tope contained the remains of ten Buddhist teachers who took part in the third great convocation held under Asoka, and some of whom were sent on missions to foreign countries to dizsemi nate the doctrines then settled ; No. 3 tope con tained two relic caskets. One of these enclosed relics of Maim Moggalana, the other of Saripntra, friends and companions of Buddha himself, aud usually called his right and left hand disciples. The Buddhist tope is believed to have been erected by king Asoka B.C. 250, an age when the use of stone in buildings was in its infancy, beginning to replace wood, whose forms of construction the tope was ma,de to imitate.
Three forms pervade all the monuments of both Sanchi and Amravati :—(1) Topes or stupas, mound-like buildings erected for the preservation of relics ; (2) Chaityas, which, both in form and purpose resemble early Christian churches ; (8) Viharas residences of priests and monks attached to the ;copes and chaityas. The topes at Sanchi
form part of a great group of such monuments, extending over a district of 17 miles, and num bering 40 or 50 tumuli. The great tope consists of an enormous mound, built in the following manner :—First, a basement 121 feet in diameter and 14 feet high ; on the top of this a terrace or procession path 5 feet 6 inches wide ; within this rises the dome, a truncated hemisphere 39 feet hig,di, originally coated with plaster. On the top of the dome is a level platform measuring 34 feet across ; within this was a square relic box, of sixteen square pillars with rails, and, over all, a circular support for the umbrella which always crowned these monuments. But the most remark able feature of the building is the rail, which surrounds it at the distance of 9 feet 6 inches from the base, and consists of 100 pillars 11 feet high, exclusive of the gigantic gateways. These gateways are covered with the richest and most fantastic sculptures, both in the round and in bas-relief. About one-half of their sculptures represent the worship of trees or of dliagobas (relic shrines) ; others represent scenes in the life of Buddha, and others an•ain ordinary events, feasting, concerts, etc. Mr.Fergusson considers thesesculptures superior in merit to those of Egypt, but inferior to the art as practised in Greece. The sculpture at Sanclii are the more rude and vigor ous. Those at Aniravati are on a. scale of excel lence, perhaps nearer to the contemporary art of the Roman empire under Con.stantine than any other that could be named, or of the early Italian renaissance.' Two races may be readily distinguished as depicted in the sculptures. First, the Hindus, originally pure Aryans, though of mixed blood at the age of the sculptures, evidently the dominant race. The men wear the dhoti and turband ; the women are covered with jewels, but otherwise nude. This last is a feature found elsewhere. The second race wore kilts and cloaks, and (most marked peculiarity) are represented_with beards, which the Aryans never wear. The women wear neat and decent dresses and no ornaments. These would appear to be the aborigines of the country. —Imp. Gaz. viii.