The Stupa of Bharhut: A Buddhist Monument ornamented with Numerous Sculptures illustrative of Buddhist Legend and History in the Third Century BC

Bharhut is located at the head of the narrow Mahiyar valley in central India, 200 miles northwest of Sanchi, where the ancient trade route from the western coastal regions to the eastern metropolis of Pataliputra joined the road to northern Sravasti. In the days of Mauryan Emperor Asoka (c. 272–234 BC) a brick stupa measuring about 68 feet in diameter and covered with plaster was constructed at Bharhut. During the reign of the Sungas, who were in power in the second century BC and reigned until the year 72 BC, a richly decorated stone railing, 88 feet in diameter, was added to enclose the mound. Nothing is now visible of the celebrated stupa at this Buddhist site other than a shallow depression in the ground. Bricks and sandstone fragments are strewn all around. The remains of the sandstone railing pillar and gateways that surrounded the stupa have all been removed. They are mostly displayed in the Bharhut gallery at the Indian Museum, Calcutta. The present work originally published in 1879, describes the stupa when it was originally discovered by Alexander Cunningham and the sculptured scenes and Jatakas that adorned the railings and the gateways of the stupa.